Marco Bezzecchi
Michael Laverty feels Marc Marquez showed why fans “love and hate” him with his crash with Fabio Di Giannantonio in the Sprint at the 2026 United States Grand Prix.
Marquez ended the Sprint for himself and Di Giannantonio on Lap 1 at COTA on Saturday, as the Ducati star sought to overtake the VR46 ace aboard the same Desmosedici GP26 as him at Turn 12. Both riders initially re-joined following the crash, but neither would seek a result.
Di Giannantonio took pole for the United States GP earlier this Saturday, but he lost the lead of the Sprint at Turn 1 when he tried to defend from Pedro Acosta of KTM. The Italian’s deep line even opened the door for Ducati rival Francesco Bagnaia to swoop through for the lead.
Bagnaia’s decision to use the soft rear Michelin tyre for the Sprint Race at the United States GP ultimately came back to haunt him, as he lost the lead to Aprilia ace Jorge Martin on the final lap. Martin won the Sprint at COTA on Saturday after he selected the medium rear tyre.
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Marquez sensed the chance to strike while Di Giannantonio was vulnerable, as well. But the latter refused to yield as they arrived for Turn 8, so he successfully pulled off a late dive that Laverty feels riled Marquez enough to see the red mist descend when they reached Turn 12.
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Turn 12 at COTA is one of Marquez’s strongest corners, yet the Ducati ace got his braking all wrong and ran himself plus Di Giannantonio out wide. Di Giannantonio hoped to be able to slot in behind Marquez for P4 but the Spaniard tucked the front tyre and they both crashed.
Race control placed Marquez under a post-race investigation for the incident, which Laverty thinks shows why MotoGP fans either love or hate the seven-time premier class champion. The 33-year-old’s “mistake” even adds yet another layer to his rivalry with the Italian racer.
Laverty said on TNT Sports 2 (28/03, 20:51): “It’s what the fans love and hate about Marc. He’s instinctive. He went for it. He wanted to pay back immediately the move from Digi, because that probably upset him into Turn 8 on Lap 1.
“But he just came from too far back. He was too greedy on Lap 1. He needed to be a bit more patient, and you got a feel for Digi in that circumstance. Yes, Marc made the mistake, so he crashed. That’s his own penalty. Poor old Digi, the innocent victim on the outside.
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“But it’s racing. They’ll both bounce back tomorrow. It’s one of them. There’ll be a lot of talk about it, but those two don’t like each other. Digi and Marc, that’s a story that’s going to continue to brew.”
The Sprint at the United States GP marked the third race in succession where Marquez and Di Giannantonio have now done battle already in the 2026 MotoGP season. Only last week, Marquez beat Di Giannantonio to win the Goiania Sprint after punishing a late-race mistake.
Roles then reversed in the main race, as Di Giannantonio beat Marquez to win the Brazilian Grand Prix after the Ducati star ran deep due to the track surface breaking up. Marquez did not like losing to Di Giannantonio in Brazil, and he did not want to lose to him again at COTA.
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