Marco Bezzecchi
Dani Pedrosa was lost for words after he watched Marc Marquez suffer a violent highside during the Sprint race at the French Grand Prix.
With two laps to go, Marquez highsided at turn 13, destroying his Desmosedici GP26. The Spaniard was left limping away from the crash, with it later confirmed that he had suffered a fracture to his right foot.
How many more crashes can Marc Marquez take after his violent highside in the Le Mans Sprint? 🫣
Subsequently, the Ducati rider will miss the French Grand Prix and the Catalan Grand Prix next weekend. Marquez will undergo more surgery on his right shoulder, saying that it is still causing him issues.
The dramatic footage of the accident left multiple people stunned. Among them was his former Honda teammate, Pedrosa, who was at a loss to explain the crash.
Dani Pedrosa ‘speechless’ after seeing Marc Marquez’s Sprint crash at Le Mans
Assessing the accident, Pedrosa said on DAZN, via quotes from GPOne: “From the footage, I got the feeling that Marc went a centimetre too wide on entry, with a lot of braking at that point.
“That’s where the loss of grip came from: The loss of traction, when going over the curb or the white line, is what caused him to fall.
“The latest fall left us speechless. It was quite spectacular. The first thing we saw was that he got back up and was walking less and less and with increasing difficulty. That’s a bad sign.”
Pedrosa also pointed out that the Ducati rider was not racing at his usual pace even before he crashed out in the closing stages.
“Once the race got underway, he couldn’t respond to any of the rivals who were passing him. He stayed behind Mir for a long time without being able to play any of the cards we’re used to seeing him play.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend
Is Marc Marquez’s MotoGP title defence over after Le Mans crash?
With Marquez now set to miss the next two races, many believe that his title chances in 2026 are now over. He is sitting 51 points behind championship leader Marco Bezzecchi ahead of the French GP.
Neil Hodgson thinks Marquez is ‘done’ in the title fight this season. With the Aprilias continuing to show they have incredible pace, it is looking more unlikely for the Spaniard to regain the advantage.
Is Marc Marquez’s title defence over after his injury from the Le Mans Sprint?
There are even doubts as to whether he will fully recover from his latest accident. Hodgson said ‘enough is enough’ for Marquez as his body has taken yet another horrible injury.
Marquez reckons his recovery will be short, but the impact of the crash on his riding ability is to be seen. It is now an even bigger mountain for the Spaniard to climb to defend his MotoGP crown.
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