Alex Marquez attributed his crash in Friday Practice at the Austrian round to a brake issue. In an interview published by Motorsport.com on September 18, the Gresini rider said something unexpected happened as the front wheel touched down, but he was unhurt. After the red flag, he completed Practice on his spare bike and still secured direct entry to the second qualifying session, Q2.
Morning comparison tests disrupted, then a red flag in the afternoon
Free Practice 1 had already been difficult. The report recorded that a large section of the lower left fairing came loose, sending him off the track. Alex Marquez said the team tried several changes, but the fairing problem became the main disruption and prevented him from completing the planned sequence of back-to-back tests.
The afternoon incident happened after the exit of Turn 1. Alex Marquez explained that it was the first flying lap of that run and the bike briefly wheelied. He believed the brake was sticking slightly, with the problem occurring when the front wheel touched the ground again. This was the rider’s explanation of the incident. He also said such a sudden loss of control was difficult to anticipate and left no time to brace his body, but that he was physically fine.
MotoGP’s September 18 Practice report described a puff of smoke when the front wheel landed, followed by a loss of stability. The red flag came out with 11 minutes 42 seconds remaining. When the session resumed, Alex Marquez returned on his second bike, briefly rose to fifth and ultimately finished eighth. Fifth was his provisional position after the restart; eighth was the final result that determined qualification.
Eighth secures direct entry to Q2
MotoGP’s official format explanation states that the top ten in Friday’s Practice session go straight into Q2, while the remaining riders first contest two transfer places in Q1. Alex Marquez therefore avoided that additional elimination stage and retained his opportunity to fight for the top twelve qualifying positions in Q2. Eighth on Friday does not mean eighth on the Grand Prix grid: the Sprint and Sunday’s race share Saturday’s qualifying results, with penalties potentially changing the actual starting positions.
INKA SPORTS analysis: Qualification secured, but set-up comparisons remain unfinished
The two disruptions cost different things. The morning fairing problem interrupted comparisons between changes, affecting the team’s ability to judge which set-up was more suitable. The afternoon crash reduced the time available to put together a competitive lap. Reaching the top ten on the spare bike solved the immediate problem of direct qualification, but did not automatically restore the missing paired test information from the morning.
Back-to-back testing compares performance before and after a change under conditions that are as similar as possible. A quick lap produced after a red flag depends not just on the bike, but also on rider execution, tyres and track conditions. The final eighth place therefore cannot directly establish that a particular change worked. To assess further set-up progress, more useful evidence would be whether the relevant comparisons are completed and what Alex Marquez reports about braking and handling. Securing Q2 alone also does not establish that the brake issue he described has been diagnosed.
Conclusion
Alex Marquez secured a Q2 place on his spare bike, limiting the crash’s effect on his qualifying route. Eighth place demonstrates that he used the remaining practice opportunity effectively. Assessing his preparations as a whole still requires information on the outstanding set-up comparisons and subsequent checks on the brake issue. The qualifying outcome cannot substitute for either.
