Marc Marquez says he was “inside my limit” when he made a “big mistake” and crashed out of a commanding lead in the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas.
The Honda rider led from pole, and had built up a buffer of over three seconds to Yamaha's Valentino Rossi when he went down at Turn 12 on lap nine.
Unable to restart his RC213V, Marquez was forced into retiring from a race on American soil for the first time in his career, with his run of six-straight Circuit of the Americas wins also ending.
Marquez says the data showed he took Turn 12 “very similar” to how he had been doing, and insists he was riding within himself when he fell.
“Of course it was a mistake, because you cannot crash leading three and a half seconds in front,” he said.
“This is a mistake. But it's true we compare on data, I was very similar to the previous lap [at Turn 12].
“But when you are riding in a very constant pace, when you are feeling very strong, it can happen.
“Sometime I say I was over my limit, but today I was inside my limit. I was riding in a very good pace, I was riding very smooth, trying to save the front tyre.
“But we are human, mistakes are there, it's important to learn about it and be stronger in Jerez.”
Marquez admits the crash was “hard to understand”, but remained positive having only lost nine points to new championship leader Andrea Dovizioso.
“I said sorry to the team, because was my mistake, but in another side it's not the same to have a mistake leading the race than [crashing while] fighting for the fifth position,” Marquez, who slips to fourth in the standings, conceded.
“So the level is there. The positive thing is we are only nine points behind the leader, but today it's true we did a mistake.”
He added: “It's something that can sometimes happen. This is racing. [I'm] Disappointed, it was hard to understand.
“But it's like this. We need to focus on the next race in Jerez and understand it, learn about it.
“But we are only nine points behind the first guy which is Dovizioso. So, inside the worst case [scenario], I'm happy because I'm there in the championship.”
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