Alex Marquez makes “unacceptable” gear-shifting mistake twice in wretched Japanese GP

Alex Marquez says he crashed out of the Japanese Grand Prix after accidentally upshifting his Ducati while turning into a corner, describing the mistake as “unacceptable”.

The Gresini rider failed to score a single point across the weekend at Motegi, in what was his worst showing since the season opener in Thailand.

The Spaniard’s troubles began in Saturday’s sprint when he misjudged his braking at Turn 3, taking out both Pedro Acosta and Fabio di Giannantonio and earning himself a double long lap penalty for the grand prix.

After taking the penalty loop for a second time, Marquez was still running strongly in eighth place, but his race prematurely ended when he hit the ground on lap 19.

This was the second crash of the day for the 30-year-old - and third of the weekend - having also suffered a fall in the extended warm-up session on the hard tyre.

Speaking afterwards, Marquez explained that both of his crashes on Sunday were caused by shifting in the wrong direction, leaving him two gears higher than he needed to be for Turn 11.

“Today, I made the same mistake in two sessions, the warm-up and the race,” he admitted.

“I didn’t put the foot where I needed to put it, at an angle. Instead of shifting down, I shifted up. Twice.

“When you put the foot there and you are with a lot of banking, the bike is pushing and you crash because the bike is making a push [because it is in the wrong gear].”

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Marquez admitted he was “angry” with himself, saying it was “unacceptable” to make such an error at this level in motorsport.

"While trying to shift into second gear, I accidentally shifted into fourth twice, pressing my foot down - which is big because I'm a size 44 - and this happens sometimes,” he told DAZN.

“But I think it's an unacceptable mistake for a rider to make. So, I'm angry at myself.

“You can’t make these mistakes, especially not twice in one day. And if you make that mistake when you’re leaning over a bit, the front end of the bike locks up. So I’m pretty angry.”

The younger Marquez had topped the main practice session on Friday, laying the foundation for what appeared to be a promising weekend.

Asked whether he was disappointed not to have capitalised on his pace at Motegi, with his brother Marc Marquez winning on the factory Ducati, he said: “Whenever you make a mistake, it doesn't matter which position you are in, it's always disappointing.

“It's like it is. It's true that at least we have the positive things that the speed was there, but these are mistakes that I can't make - [and I] even [made those] twice in one day.”

Marquez also called for MotoGP to standardise long loop sections, feeling he was penalised more at Motegi than he would have at some other tracks.

“What they’re doing with the Long Laps doesn’t make much sense,” he said. “In Brno, for example, you lose very little time. If you compare the one there with the one here, the Motegi Long Lap is like doing four of the Brno ones, given how much time you lose here.

“It’s something they need to standardise. Long Lap Penalties like the one in Brno, which are on the track itself, are much better because there are no potholes, bumps, or drainage grates. It’s something we need to discuss, and we’ll see if they listen to us.”

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