06.03.2022
Moto gp
The opening race of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship came to a premature end for Álex Márquez as he slid out just before the halfway point of the Qatar Grand Prix. The LCR Honda CASTROL rider had made a superb start at the Losail International Circuit, pushing himself into the battle for a top-10 position before his crash.
Having qualified on the sixth row, Álex knew he needed a fast getaway on Sunday and produced just that as he climbed from 18th into 11th spot by the end of the first lap. He showed encouraging rhythm on the 2022 RC213v bike in race conditions before a freak incident saw him lose the front end at turn one under no real pressure.
Álex Márquez – NC
“The objective today was just to finish the race; after the difficult time we had in qualifying, it was important to finish and build up a base. We made a change today from qualifying and the feeling was great. I made a really good start and was able to move up into 11th or 12th on the first lap and I was going well and being realistic with my pace. But then I had a really strange crash at the first corner, after the straight, I suddenly locked the front. We need to analyse what happened exactly but, in my opinion, I didn’t make a mistake. I saw some smoke coming out of Oliveira’s bike the lap before my crash, but I’m not really sure what happened. I want to say sorry to my team, I gave my best, but as I said, my objective was to finish the race and we didn’t achieve it. I’m happy about how Sunday went until the crash, specially how the feeling (with the bike) came back. Our eyes are on Mandalika now and having a good weekend there.”
