"It was my fault" - Alex Marquez explains missing glove after Assen MotoGP crash
Alex Marquez has taken full responsibility for the missing glove seen after his heavy Assen MotoGP crash and apologised to Alpinestars.
Alex Marquez has explained why his left glove was missing as he sat in the gravel trap after his heavy red-flag crash during Friday's MotoGP practice at Assen.
“It was my fault,” Alex Marquez said.
“I closed the glove, but with all the sweating and a lot of heat, I needed to close it a little bit tighter.
“So just that. It was my fault completely, and I want to say sorry to Alpinestars because in the end, it's their image, but it was the rider's fault.”
Fortunately, Marquez's other protective equipment prevented any further damage to the collarbone and vertebra he fractured at Catalunya last month.
“I was there on the ground trying to check the collarbone, but it’s okay,” he said.
“All this will make me stronger in the future, and is part of the job.”
The Spaniard was declared fit to return on Saturday morning, skipped qualifying, but then took up his twelfth place on the Sprint grid.
However, he adopted a very different approach after admitting to a “big mistake” on Friday.
“I decide to continue to have more laps on the bike. I think it’s the best way to recover from my injury on the collarbone, and all the impact in Montmeló.
“The crash yesterday was not in the plan, but it was important today to make the sprint with no risk, trying not even to overtake people.
“Yesterday, I did a big mistake trying to over-ride, because the first time attack was good, and I was already sixth or seventh. So I said, ‘Okay, I want to be in Q2’.
“That was not the way to think in the condition I am in, but I have the speed, and this is the problem.
“So today, we avoided Q2 for that reason, and then we focused on the Sprint, and tomorrow will be the same.
“Try to make the warm-up, and after the warm-up, we will decide to make the race or not.
“But if we make the race, I will try to make as many laps as I can, but with no risk, and trying to be calm.”
Marquez finished the Sprint in 13th.
Team-mate Fermin Aldeguer was less fortunate after his Friday crash, being ruled out of the remainder of the weekend with a fractured vertebra.
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