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Marc Marquez has revealed that he needed hospital treatment following his high-speed crash in British Grand Prix practice.
The Honda MotoGP rider got debris in his eyes while falling at over 170mph during this morning’s free practice one session at Silverstone’s Maggotts corner.
Marquez was lucky to walk away relatively unscathed from the high-speed crash, having got caught out by a cold tyre while exiting the pits towards the end of the session on an already-cold track.
A monster 274 kph slip off! 🤯@marcmarquez93 was thankfully uninjured after this red flag crash in #MotoGP FP1! 😮#BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/anZQQBMoLN
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 27, 2021
His team-mate Pol Espargaro said that while it was not quite a rookie mistake, the fall was caused by an error from the eight-time world champion.
“I saw his crash and 100% it was a cold tyre exiting from the pit box,” said Espargaro.
“I saw him and I imagined he would be a little slow because he was exiting from the pit box. It was a cold tyre crash, but this is what happens.
“It’s not really a rider’s mistake – it’s something that can happen to anyone.”
While Marquez initially looked to have somehow walked away without a scratch from the fall and went on to end the second session of the day in fifth, he admitted afterwards that he had needed hospital treatment following the crash.
Still upbeat from what looked like a strong day for the Honda rider, he also conceded that it took a big effort from him to complete FP2 given the difficulties caused by his earlier fall.
“So today I felt really good from the beginning,” he said. “I already said yesterday that this weekend I felt like I had good energy and today I went out and felt very good on the bike.
“It’s true that unfortunately at the end of FP1 we had a big crash and in FP2, after that crash, I had some sand in my eye.
“This meant that I was crying a lot during FP2 and it was difficult to concentrate or to perform in the best way.
“Even with this, we still did a good FP2, and I just started to feel worse with the eye.
“The vision was OK, but there was some sand inside so I went to the hospital and they cleaned everything and said that tomorrow it should be OK.
“Tonight I need to take a rest and be with the eye closed, but I’m happy because we’ve started well and let’s see if we can keep this level until Sunday.”
The admission of struggling to concentrate in the second session once again raises questions about MotoGP’s medical protocols, given that Marquez was passed fit to return to the track only hours after the fall.
He is the second rider in three weeks to still require medical treatment after being declared fit to ride.
Lorenzo Savadori was cleared to ride again only minutes after the fiery crash that brought out the red flags at the Styrian Grand Prix but then needed surgery to fix a broken ankle and had to miss the following race.
