Sprint crash pivotal for MotoGP Catalan GP win

Alex Marquez says the mistake he made while leading Saturday’s MotoGP sprint acted as a lesson and helped him score victory in the Catalan Grand Prix.

The Gresini rider threw away a likely win in the half-distance race in Barcelona after crashing at the notoriously difficult Turn 10 with four laps to go.

However, the Spaniard put that setback behind him to win the grand prix on Sunday, holding off his elder brother Marc Marquez by 1.7s in a straight duel.

The 28-year-old admitted that he still feels hurt by the error – which he had put down to “feeling unbeatable” – but explained that it helped him stay focused and deliver a faultless race on Sunday.

“That mistake is still painful in my head, but [the win] was the best way to forget that,” he said.

“Also, I need to say that mistake helped me to win today because I was already braking so late in that corner and I made that mistake.

“I did a perfect race today. Luckily, I didn’t make any mistakes, just always on the line, always in good shape. So happy for today.”

He added: “It’s true that we made a mistake and it cost us a lot of points. But it was the best advice not to make this mistake today. 

“I was really concentrating on the line. I think I made no mistakes today. I did all the laps on the line. Just trying to manage the tyres in the best way.”

Marquez managed to stay between the white lines despite facing intense pressure from his older brother throughout the race.

The factory Ducati rider even took the lead under braking at Turn 1, but Alex Marquez jumped back ahead at the same corner on lap 4.

The two followed each other closely until about five laps from the finish, when the Gresini star picked up his pace and pulled out an advantage of over a second.

“I would say it’s not easy to see Marc behind you, his name on the [pit board],” he said.

“Many times I said to guys who put the name, ‘just forget it’. It’s really difficult because he is a rider that you know will never give up. He will be on the limit, closing the front and the rear but he will try. You are never relaxed when you have Marc behind.”

He added: “Seven laps to the end, I said, ‘if you have something more, just try to show it, you need it now because Marc is close to me’. 

“So I tried the best in my moment, I was able to make a 1m40.2s lap again. So, so happy. Jerez was really special but this one with Marc on track even more.”