MotoGP: Bezzecchi Tops FP2 after two Red Flags in Germany

June 16, 2023Ray Milton
MotoGP

The morning support class sessions in Germany were plagued with rain as practice session kickoff of the MotoGP weekend. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing) tops FP2 with a fastest time of 1m20.271 seconds. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) who came off of a great finish at the Italian Grand Prix ran second fastest with Alex Espargaro running 3rd fastest. Espargaro has reported attending this weekends race activities with micro fractures in his foot. An injury he suffered in Mugello at the last round. Despite two red flags Bezzecchi was able to find the pace in the reduced session time to lead to pack into Saturday.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) cant seem to avoid on track incident. In FP2 Marquez and Johan Zarco collided as Zarco was exiting the pitlane. As reported by Motosport.com, Marquez stated, “I mean, this is a question you need to ask to him because you know that if I’m a guy that does a mistake, I say it’s my mistake. But this time I’m angry because if somebody could have avoided that situation, it was Johann.”

“The guy that is coming out of the pitlane is the guy who needs to watch behind. And if somebody is coming, especially in the last minutes you need to stop in the pit exit. There’s no meaning to stay out of the line. As we see in that corner in the past, even this morning with Aleix Espargaro, with [Fabio] Quartararo, it’s so easy to crash, it’s so easy to lock the front and more when you are pushing in the end of the practice.”

Bezzecchi’s Team Manager Offered his Thoughts

As reported by GPOne.com Gino Borsoi, Pramac team manager, commented harshly on the incident: “Fortunately Zarco is OK, apart from some pain in his lower back. Unfortunately he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and these are accidents that can happen. What I didn’t like, and what I would have expected from a champion like Marquez, was to see him running to the pits to get the bike rather than checking on Johann’s condition. I am saddened by that kind of behaviour, even now that we are really close to each other in the pits he didn’t come to apologize, I didn’t expect that.”

Marquez Continued with his Thoughts on the Incident

“We were super lucky that we both escaped from that crash, but I already heard somebody say ‘ah, Marc is dangerous’. If somebody could have avoided that situation, it was Johann. I was pushing for a hot lap, sorry guys, I crashed.”

“We have had a difficult Friday, even if it started in a good way, but we reached our limit quite soon and we need to keep working on the setup and the bike. Unfortunately, I crashed and Zarco was leaving pitlane. It was very lucky that we both escaped, I went to see Johann after to make sure he was okay. I crashed like many riders in Turn 1, I was pushing for a hot lap, and if there was anyone who could avoid the situation it was Zarco. If it’s my mistake, I always accept it. A complicated day here, tomorrow we keep trying to improve the feeling.”

Full German Grand Prix FP2 Results are Below