Alex Marquez walked away from Sunday’s MotoGP race at Le Mans with zero points after crashing into the gravel twice.
Despite a minor first crash at Turn 3, Marquez was able to pick the bike up and continue, but a crash in the final sector a few laps later put him out of proceedings.
The Spaniard entered the race weekend as the championship leader, but following the weekend’s events, he now trails his older brother Marc Marquez by 22 points.
Marquez discussed his crashes in great detail, taking responsibility for his mistakes and stating that the reasons why his second crash “upset” him.
“It went the way it went, and I can’t be happy after falling twice and not bringing home a single point,” he said post-race to GPOne.
“Up to that point, I had done everything rather perfectly, although the best strategy was [Johann] Zarco’s, which was too risky for my championship situation, though.
“I did the right things at the right time, and I was there, simply controlling my lead over [Pedro] Acosta.
“I overtook [Marco] Bezzecchi and tried to relax, maybe a little too much. I entered the third corner slower, with less brake, leaned more, and lost the rear with the throttle closed.
“However, it was the second fall that upset me. The handlebar was bent, I lost the wings, and I shouldn’t have made that mistake, because ten points can make a difference for me.”
Alex Marquez vows to come back ‘stronger’ after Le Mans mistakes
Despite summarising his weekend as “positive,” the Gresini rider has vowed that his mistakes will make him a “stronger” competitor.
The 29-year-old’s glass-half-full outlook has helped him keep sight of the bigger picture for the remaining weekends.
“Every race is a lesson for me, whether it goes well or badly,” he began.
“Some are tougher and some are better. This one was certainly not good and hard to digest, but I’m happy because on a track where I had never been able to be competitive in the past, I was fast both on the dry and on the wet.
“The outcome of the weekend is positive. I have to continue like this. This lesson will allow me to be stronger.”
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