“If anyone could avoid it, it was me.”

Pedro Acosta's sprint lasted less than a lap in Barcelona. The Tech3 driver made a good start from sixth place and was fourth entering the second corner, but he made contact with Marc Márquez, then on the outside. The front part of the KTM's fairing was torn off, forcing Acosta to return to his garage to retire.

He believes there was nothing he could do to avoid contact with Márquez. “I was completely on the right, on the inside, and he went inside like a normal lap”explained Acosta, who did not incriminate Márquez but felt that his rival was the only one who could avoid contact.

“OK, he was able to keep more speed but I was there, you know?” he added. “He had more speed, he overtook me and he started to close the line and I hit him, but I was there, I couldn't see that he was on the outside. It was similar to Alex [Márquez] and Pecco in Aragón. In the end, I was in front.”

There is no conflict between the two drivers since Marc Márquez is of exactly the same opinion. “I'm always honest in these situations and the contact was a racing incident, but if anyone could avoid it it was me, he couldn't see me”acknowledged the pilot Gresini. “We spoke and he didn’t see anything, the same thing that happened to Augusto Fernández yesterday.”

“At the first braking, I wasn't sure if I was going inside or outside but [Enea] Bastianini arrived and left me no chance to go inside.”said Márquez.

Márquez was unable to return to the top 5

The incident ended Acosta's sprint but not at all that of Márquez, whose motorcycle “worked perfectly fine” despite the contact. However, it caused the six-time MotoGP champion to lose places, who was only eighth, and had already suffered a shock before the first corner. Márquez overtook Aleix Espargaró on the first lap, then Fabio Quartararo on the second but a lap later, Espargaró regained the advantage and Márquez spent the rest of the race in seventh position.

He could not hide a certain fatalism after a third place above his expectations in qualifying. “After qualifying, it’s clear that I was a little more optimistic but, in the sprint, after these first complicated laps, we returned to our position”estimated Márquez. “We have the pace to be between fifth and tenth place and we were seventh. Frankly, without this first lap, our position would have been sixth, no better. For tomorrow, we have to improve, otherwise the The race will be super long.”

Márquez spoke of a lack of feeling, particularly compared to the spring race, when asked what he lacks on the Ducati: “Feeling comfortable [sur la moto]. Everywhere. I'm fighting, not against the bike but against the circuit.”

“In May, my feelings were not too bad, I felt the limit [de la moto] and those of the track, but this weekend, from the first lap on Friday, I went in the opposite direction”added Marquez. “I’m changing little by little and trying to be more competitive but I’m struggling.”

With Lena Buffa