MotoGP USGP Friday: Marquez Recovers from High-Speed Crash to Lead
Ducati Lenovo's Marc Marquez experienced a high-speed crash during Friday's MotoGP session at the Red Bull USGP at COTA, hitting soft barriers at nearly 120 mph. Despite being bruised, he quickly regained his pace and finished the afternoon session as the fastest rider. The track surface at COTA, with new bumps, was cited as a factor in his incident and multiple other crashes throughout the day.
Friday at the Red Bull Grand Prix of The United States proved to be a dramatic start, particularly for Ducati Lenovo's Marc Marquez. In the morning MotoGP session, Marquez suffered a significant front-end loss while accelerating over the crest of Turn 10, leading to a crash at approximately 120 mph. He impacted the Roadracing World Action Fund-supplied Alpina soft barriers, but remarkably, despite being bruised and sore, he was back on track and up to speed within a few laps.
His resilience was evident as he topped the charts in the afternoon session, later appearing at the media conference with visible bandages. Marquez attributed his crash, and potentially others, to the changing surface conditions at COTA, specifically mentioning new bumps that have emerged on the track. This highlights the ever-present challenge of adapting to track evolution for even the most seasoned riders.
The afternoon session saw a total of nine crashes, indicating the demanding nature of the circuit. Among those who went down was Trackhouse Racing’s Ai Ogura. Despite his own incident, Ogura demonstrated strong performance, finishing the day as the top Aprilia rider and second overall, trailing Marquez by a mere 0.053 seconds. This close competition sets the stage for an exciting weekend of racing, underscoring the high stakes and intense skill required in MotoGP.