Marc Marquez lost a 16-point lead in the MotoGP World Championship after suffering an engine failure at the British Grand Prix.
The Spaniard had just overtaken Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales for third and was chasing race leaders Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso when his Honda engine spectacularly blew on the Hangar Straight.
With Ducati rider Dovizioso winning the race, Marquez slipped nine points adrift of the Italian in the standings.
“I pulled the clutch immediately because I started to feel that the rear wheel was locking,” he explained.
“At 300km/h, I don’t want a flight!
“On that moment I was not thinking about what happened – the bike turned off, and I was thinking about the championship.
“The small advantage we had before the race – you don’t like to lose that advantage in this way, but it’s part of racing. It can happen.
“The most important thing is we were fighting for the victory.”
Honda are yet to determine the exact cause of the issue which led to the failure, with Marquez revealing the unit was fresh and offered no warning before it expired.
“The engine was working perfect, but suddenly when I arrive at the end of the straight the engine just broke, some mechanical problem inside the engine.
“Now we need to find what happened for the future because it was a fresh engine.
“But I believe that they will understand quick and we will improve for the future.”
Vinales avoided ‘big disaster’ following Marquez
Maverick Vinales says he was lucky to avoid a ‘big disaster’ when Marquez’s Honda failed in front of him on the Hangar Straight.
The Yamaha rider – who eventually finished the race at Silverstone second – was forced to brake much earlier than normal when he was engulffed in a plume of smoke, losing him ground to Dovizioso and Rossi ahead.
Vinales admits he was scared during the inicdent, as he was unsure if his tyres had been covered in fluid from Marquez’s expired motor.
“I just saw the explosion in my face, and honestly I was quite scared because I didn’t know if it was oil or water,” he said.
“So I just braked, maybe, 30 metres earlier than what I was braking and I lose a lot compared to Valentino and Dovi.
“But I was happy that was maybe water, or the oil didn’t touch the wheels, because if not it was a big disaster.”
Comments.
Loading comments…