Neil Hodgson explains Marco Bezzecchi, Marc Marquez MotoGP clash: “He wasn’t trying to pass”
Watch Neil Hodgson explain Marco Bezzecchi’s scary collision with Marc Marquez on the opening lap of the Indonesian MotoGP.
TNT Sports MotoGP commentator Neil Hodgson has given a detailed video breakdown of Marco Bezzecchi’s collision with Marc Marquez in Sunday’s Indonesian Grand Prix.
Bezzecchi clipped the back of Marquez on entry to the fast Turn 7 on the opening lap, knocking the newly crowned champion from his bike, before also crashing heavily in the gravel trap.
Marquez suffered a right collarbone fracture, the exact nature of which will only be known after further scans in Madrid on Monday, while Bezzecchi escaped battered and bruised.
Former WorldSBK champion and MotoGP rider Hodgson believes Bezzecchi - starting on pole and winner in the Sprint before another bad start in the grand prix - wasn’t trying to pass at that moment.
“From the aerial view, you can see that it's not that Marc's slow. It's the fact that basically Marco Bezzecchi is fast. He gets good drive… As he turns into Turn 7, he sort of panics, rolls off the throttle, hits the back of Marc, and down he goes.”
“I genuinely don't think Marco Bezzecchi was trying to pass"
Replaying from another angle, Hodgson adds:
“Look how Marco Bezzecchi has a slide [out of Turn 6] and basically squares the corner off. And because he essentially turns the bike with the slide, it enables him to pick the bike up.
“And by picking the bike up, you're onto the drive part of the tyre, and it's almost like the bike jumps forward.
“I genuinely don't think that Marco Bezzecchi was trying to pass Marc Marquez on this corner.
"Just with the drive, as it pushed him forward, he ended up in no man's land. He panicked. He got target fixation. It all happens incredibly quickly.
“At the last minute, he tries to sort of back out of it. Shuts the throttle but unfortunately clips Marc and cleans him completely out.
“Marc's injured his shoulder. Marco Bezzecchi’s proper beaten up… It’s racing. It can happen. It wasn't intentional.”
Bezzecchi is yet to explain the incident, having skipped his media duties to undergo medical checks.
However, the Italian apologised to Marquez for causing the incident on social media, with Marquez telling fans not to have "hard feelings towards Marco".
Watch the full video of Hodgson explaining the incident below:
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
