Marc Marquez is pushing for changes to the gravel traps at TT Circuit Assen following several frightening crashes during the MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix.
While the Netherlands delivered one of the most action-packed rounds of the 2026 MotoGP season, the weekend was also beset by several high-profile incidents.
Most notably, Fermin Aldeguer was ruled out of racing for the rest of the summer after breaking his vertebra in practice and Marco Bezzecchi was transported to hospital on Sunday following a high-speed get-off on lap 2.
In both cases, the riders were sent rolling through the gravel, hitting the ground several times before finally coming to a rest.
Marquez, who himself suffered a small crash at Turn 16 in FP1, approached the Assen weekend cautiously, aware that any mistake could result in another lengthy spell on the sidelines.
After Sunday’s race, the factory Ducati rider reiterated his concerns about safety at the circuit, arguing that more needs to be done to stop riders from being launched into the air at high speed.
“Assen is a very nice circuit,” he said. “I already said last year and I will keep saying this year because they need to do something about the run-off areas because every rider that’s going on the gravel with high speed is flying.
“So, I don’t know what we need to do, but on Friday we saw Fermin get injured. It was a normal crash but when going on the gravel, he hit [the ground].
“Today, Bezzecchi started to roll when going on the gravel, so they need to understand what they need to do.”
Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team, Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Bezzecchi lost the front end of his Aprilia at Turn 15 while chasing Marquez for third place. Carrying too much speed into the fast left-hander, the Italian rolled through the gravel before coming to a stop just before the barriers at the pitlane entrance.
The erstwhile championship leader was taken to the hospital for further evaluation, but was eventually discharged by the doctors after scans confirmed he hadn’t suffered any injuries.
Honda’s Luca Marini said that the consequences of his incident could have been worse, as he called for the organisers to extend the run-off area at Turn 15.
“I think he was really lucky not to hit the wall,” said Marini. “He was super lucky and I hope he’s good and I hope he has a speedy recovery for Sachsenring.
“But for sure, we will have a talk on that run-off area because we can improve it. With the bikes now, the corner speed is unbelievable. And if you crash there, maybe there is not enough space because even you saw that he was rolling into the gravel.
“The problem is that you put gravel, but you start to roll a lot. So, maybe just to have more space, also with a little bit of grass, like we saw the incident of [Jorge] Martin in Turn 12 [in practice]. Without gravel, with the dry grass, it was perfect.
“[Martin] didn’t jump, he didn’t roll like Aldeguer did. Aldeguer crashed very slowly but he started to jump in the gravel. Because at the end, when you crash here, you are never slow. You’re always arriving at the gravel super fast.
“So, we will have a talk with the safety commission and try to improve it, because the wall also was not in a good position.
“But also in Turn 7, we saw that it’s not in a good position. It’s a little bit of something that we can improve.”
Tech3’s Maverick Vinales said he was surprised his countryman Aldeguer suffered an injury after a relatively slow tumble at Turn 11.
“I’ve seen [Bezzecchi’s crash] on the replay, and kind of like Aldeguer, when they hit the gravel, they fly so high.
“From the Bezzecchi crash, it’s hard to understand, but it can be the possibility that he’s going really quick when he enters the gravel. But Aldeguer was not fast on the gravel. It was a normal; little high side, but normal crash.”
Bezzecchi’s team-mate and new championship leader Martin believes he himself escaped potential injuries after his own incident at Turn 12 during practice: “Luckily, there was a lot of run-off area and after all the asphalt, we had some green and not gravel.
“I think if there was some gravel, I would have started making some backflips, and it was not good.”
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
Take our survey
– The Autosport.com Team
Read the full article here