MotoGP Jerez: Marquez move inspired by Rossi

"I remember Valentino and many riders. I just tried to do the same," - Marc Marquez.
Lorenzo and Marquez touch, Spanish MotoGP 2013
Lorenzo and Marquez touch, Spanish MotoGP 2013
© Gold and Goose

Marc Marquez admitted he would be just as angry as Jorge Lorenzo if the situation at the final corner of Sunday's Spanish MotoGP at Jerez was reversed.

But the MotoGP rookie insisted it would be the loss of a position, rather than the manner of the overtake, that would leave him feeling aggrieved.

Marquez dramatically snatched second place from the reigning world champion, in front of their home fans, by diving for the inside under braking at the newly renamed 'Jorge Lorenzo Corner' no less.

The pair made contact at the apex, with Lorenzo bumped wide while Marquez accelerated to the finish line.

Yamaha rider Lorenzo conceded he had made a mistake - "I thought Marquez was further behind so I didn't take a defensive line" - but was clearly still angry and refused multiple requests to talk further about the incident.

"I'm 'warm' [angry] after losing second place in the last corner, so it is better not to say anymore."

Marquez, who became MotoGP youngest winner at the previous Austin round and now leads the world championship by three points over Pedrosa, expressed some sympathy - but insisted it was a typical last-lap racing incident.

"Sure I would be angry," said Marquez, when asked how he would feel if it happened to him. "I'm younger than Jorge and maybe I would be 'warm' also, if not for the pass then because I lose one place. I think that would make me more angry than the pass.

"I saw he opened the door and I go in. In the past many passes were quite similar. For me it is just a race. I just tried to do my 100 percent. Last lap, last corner. If someone does it to me, sure I would be angry because I lose one position."

It may not have been for victory, but Marquez's move was the latest in a series of memorable Jerez showdowns at the final turn - most notably the Rossi-Gibernau 2005 clash and Doohan-Criville 1996 incident.

Marquez, renowned for harsh racing in the 125 and Moto2 classes, had studied them all.

"I saw many times on the videos you can overtake at the last corner. I remember Valentino and many riders. I just tried to do the same," he said.

"At first I thought 'okay we will finish third and it's a good place for us'. But then I saw that Jorge opened the door a bit and I thought 'okay' and I tried to go in.

"The most important thing is that we both finished the race. I'm sorry for Jorge, but I think this is a race and everybody tries to do his 100 percent."

But would Marquez have tried the same pass if team-mate Dani Pedrosa had been in front of him?

"I don't think so, because I saw on the data that Dani was so strong at that corner," said Marquez. "All weekend I was struggling there because he was braking so hard and because he was taking a tighter line. So I don't think it would be possible."

Asked for his opinion of the incident, race winner Pedrosa said:

"I haven't seen it, but it's the last corner and a fight for second place. When these things happen, one side always says 'yes, I know it's on the limit but I won' and the other side says 'sh*t I lost!' Obviously the good thing is nobody fell. It wasn't maybe on purpose to touch, but these things happen sometimes in racing.

"2005 with Rossi and Gibernau, 1996 with Doohan and Criville... It's last corner, it's Jerez, it's like this."

Lorenzo at least stayed on two wheels (unlike Criville) and out of the gravel trap (unlike Gibernau).

Read More