“I HAD A FEAR AT GRESINI” Alex Marquez couldn’t hold back his emotions when revealing the reason for his infamous accident at the Australian GP 🥲
When the whistle blew on the Phillip Island track, Àlex Márquez made a strong start: a good start, leading from the first few metres – but after just a few laps, things began to slip out of control. “I chose the medium front tyre,” he said afterwards. “After two or three laps, I knew I had made a mistake.” Gresini added that the bike’s setup on race day was not to his liking, and that he had to “fight to survive” rather than attack.
Mistakes in technical choice – particularly the front tyre – cost Márquez. “We had too much back-to-front pressure, and when there were bumps, the bike was thrown around a lot,” he explained. What seemed like a hope for a top finish turned into a bruising race in Gresini’s “fight to get out of the rut”. This left Márquez not only worried about the result but also facing the “fear” that he was losing control – a feeling he did not often share.
Although it was not a catastrophic accident like many other big crashes of the season, the initial loss, the technical strategy was off and the feeling of “not being safe” on the bike pushed Márquez into a state of psychological instability. “Physically I was fine, but mentally I was a bit off – from GP winner to crash,” he said. Add in the fact that the bike was not performing as expected and rivals like Marco Bezzecchi and Raúl Fernández were a step ahead, and the already fragile balance between Márquez and Gresini became even more fragile.
It’s worth noting that Gresini and Márquez himself have said that “it looked worse from the outside than it was” about the Qualifying 2 crash. The point is that while it wasn’t a serious injury, it was a significant blow to confidence and mental state. When a rider is looking for consistency and a big leap this season – especially when Márquez is aiming for second place in the overall standings – such a drop can exacerbate his “fear”: fear of losing speed, fear of losing competitiveness, fear of being left behind.
With that in mind, Gresini and Àlex Márquez are planning to “come back” strong in Australia and the following races. Márquez still sees an opportunity: “We have the pace for the GP even if the sprint is difficult,” he said. Combined with Bezzecchi’s two Long Lap penalties at this GP – which opened up space for Márquez to take points – it’s clear he and his team are looking to turn things around.
It’s not just about a slip or a bad tyre choice, it’s about pressure, about the competitive mentality and the feeling of “wanting more” but being held back by yourself and your technical circumstances. Márquez says he “got it wrong” and is now learning from it. When you’re a top rider like him, races aren’t just about speed, they’re about how you pick yourself up after each fall – and perhaps this time, the fear he’s referring to is the fear of being beaten – not by a rival, but by himself.
Finally, it’s clear that the season is still long and for Gresini, finding that fighting spirit, getting his technique right and getting his morale up is crucial. For the audience, we will follow to see how strongly Àlex Márquez will bounce back after this “fear at Gresini”, to prove that mistakes are just a stepping stone and not a barrier.
