Alex Rins was “so angry” at 2025 MotoGP champion Marc Marquez for “destroying” his Indonesian Grand Prix sprint race, though his view softened after reviewing their clash.
In a chaotic start to Saturday’s half-distance race at Mandalika, factory Ducati rider Marquez forced Rins off the track as they battled for fifth position.
The incident dropped Rins down to 18th place, only ahead of LCR rookie Somkiat Chantra, and wrecked all his hopes of a points finish after he put together his best qualifying performance in two years to secure fourth place on the grid.
The 29-year-old could only recover to 13th place, three places behind the Pramac Yamaha of Miguel Oliveira, on a day he had looked like the strongest rider on the M1.
Rins didn’t hide the fact that he was initially frustrated with Marquez, but said watching a replay made him understand the circumstances.
“After the race, I was so angry with Marc because he destroyed my race,” he said. “But then looking at the images, he got maybe a little wind to stop the bike with [Luca] Marini in front of him.
“One time, it can happen to me, one time it can happen to him. This is racing. Tomorrow we have another opportunity.”
Marquez was hit with a long-lap penalty for irresponsible riding, his first such sanction of the 2025 MotoGP season.
After serving the penalty on the third lap, he dropped to 13th place – ahead of Rins – before recovering to finish inside the points in seventh.
However, Rins wouldn’t be drawn when asked if the penalty handed to Marquez was fair, saying: “When I saw him doing the long lap, there were just two riders in front of me.
“It’s not my decision. It is the decision for race direction. I cannot give my opinion if it’s good or not.”
Both Rins and Marquez were following the Honda of Marini under braking for Turn 2 when Marquez ran wide, sat up and left Rins out of room.
The 32-year-old revealed he apologised to Rins for the incident, but insists there was nothing he could have done differently in their clash.
“[For] that mistake on first lap, I already said sorry to Alex,” Marquez said. “But I couldn’t control that first lap [and] the first hard brake point.
“I jumped in on the dirty place a bit, started to slide the rear, plus the slipstream of the front riders [complicated the situation]. Me and Rins, both of us went a bit wide. But I was inside and I couldn’t stop because if I jumped Rins, Marini was there. So I touched him and he went on the run-off area.
“When you do that, you need to receive a penalty. I saw long lap [on my dash], I respected it [the decision], I did it [served the penalty] and just after that, I relaxed even more.
“Then I started a good comeback, and on the last part of the sprint. During my weekend, the last laps were my best three-four laps.”
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