Alex Marquez crash at the Austrian Grand Prix practice required a red flag to stop the session.
Practice Session Interrupted
While exiting Turn 1 on the Spielberg circuit, Marquez’s upright Gresini Ducati lost control after a brief wheelie. The bike tumbled heavily to the ground, injuring none of the rider or on‑board crew. The stoppage aborted the remaining 12 minutes of the session, postponing all further lap attempts.
Brake Failure Investigation
During the restart Marquez returned to the track on a spare bike, recording a top‑ten lap time. He explained that a stuck brake was the underlying cause. “The brakes are always on the limit here, and they can lock a little,” he said. “When the front wheel came back down this time, everything had to be perfect, and an unexpected lock caused the crash.”
Fairing Complication
Earlier that morning, Marquez had veered off the circuit after a section of his lower fairing detached on the left side of the bike. “I tried several modifications, but that issue with the fairing was the main problem,” he remarked. He noted that it prevented him from performing back‑to‑back technical comparisons during Friday’s testing.
Marquez’s Response
Despite the mishaps, the Spanish rider said the weekend outcome was what mattered. “It’s not how the weekend starts, it’s how the weekend finishes,” he said. “We’ll focus on turning this around.”
With the restart already complete, Marquez’s remarks underline a strategic shift to capitalise on the remainder of the event, rather than dwell on the earlier setbacks.
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