Gresini MotoGP team-mates collide: “A shame that happened”
Fermin Aldeguer and Alex Marquez talk about their contact in the Austrian MotoGP race.
The Austrian MotoGP was not a standout race for Ducati in general, nor was it for the Gresini team, whose riders made contact early on.
Alex Marquez ended up crashing out of the race while outside the top-10. Fermin Aldeguer, on the other hand, ended up eighth at a circuit where last year he was second.
The two came together in the opening corners of the race, with Marquez coming off the worse of the two.
“Just the first lap, trying to recover position,” said Aldeguer about the incident with his Gresini Racing team-mate.
“For sure, Diggia [Fabio Di Giannantonio] tried to overtake Quartararo, they go a little bit straight.
“I was in one part and I tried to overtake also Alex [Marquez], and I arrived to Quartararo with a lot of speed.
“I put the bike a little bit straight and we [Aldeguer and Marquez] made a little contact, not super-big.
“For sure, he lost more position than me. I remained there, but nothing.
“I think in another case, we saw other overtakes [that were] more in the limit.”
Marquez had a similar perspective to Aldeguer, that the incident was not a major one, although he felt it was “a shame” for it to happen between team-mates.
“I mean, there was a lot of people there in front,” said Marquez.
“He overtook me, but then Fabio [Quartararo] was there.
“We had a contact, and then I was nearly on the gravel, but nothing more.
“I mean, it was like it is, and that's it.
“It's a shame that happened between team-mates, but first lap, always everybody wants to recover.”
Aldeguer and Marquez are now entering their final MotoGP races together at Gresini. Marquez will move to the factory KTM team next season, while Aldeguer will stay with Ducati but move to the VR46 Racing Team.
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
