Marc Marquez reveals he almost suffered same crash as Alex Marquez in Barcelona sprint

Ducati’s Marc Marquez admits he had ‘given up’ when Alex Marquez crashed out of the lead of the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix sprint as he suffered a similar Turn 10 scare moments before.

Gresini’s Alex Marquez took pole at Barcelona on Saturday and was on course for a commanding sprint win when he crashed at Turn 10 with four laps to go.

This released Marc Marquez into a lead he would convert to his 14th sprint success of 2025, which moves him 187 points clear in the championship.

The elder Marquez brother had a huge front end scare at Turn 7 a lap after Alex Marquez had crashed, but revealed he also nearly fell at Turn 10 a few laps before the Gresini rider did.

“Yeah, I mean mixed feelings, honestly speaking, because today Alex was super-fast and when I saw his crash… it was his day,” he told the official MotoGP website.

“But tomorrow he will have a new chance. But we were there, one more time, in a weekend where we are struggling a bit.

“We were there in second position. I tried to catch Alex after that moment [on lap one] with Fabio [Quartararo].

“But I saw that he was faster and then I gave up. But with that bike, be did that small mistake.

“In the next lap, I nearly lost the front too; I saved it with the left elbow. But let’s see tomorrow. Will be a very long race.”

“The previous two laps I already slowed down because I had a moment in that Turn 10,” he added.

“I saw some black marks and for me it was more the rear started to drop and then created that the front was more on the limit because it was more difficult to stop the bike.

“And maybe there he locked the front. But, Alex is showing a very good level and this is the most important thing.”

Marc Marquez offers theory for Alex Marquez Barcelona sprint crash

Marc Marquez believes Alex Marquez’s crash could have been down to the balance of the Ducati changing when the pace is eased back.

He says this is what led to his Turn 7 scare a lap later.

“Here, it’s a strange circuit,” he explained.

“We saw last year here in the sprint race Pecco [Bagnaia], at Turn 5, when he slowed down [he crashed].

“Then we saw today Alex. Maybe he slowed down and it changed the bike balance.

“When I slowed down the next lap I nearly crashed because it changes the bike balance and then you are pushing more the front tyre.

“The people say ‘ah, he needs to slow down’. But slowing down means two tenths, three tenths per lap. Still we are riding very fast and on the limit.”