Marquez escapes Oliveira Portugal MotoGP clash with minor penalty

The Honda rider started both the sprint race and the main grand prix from pole after surprisingly topping qualifying.

Marquez converted this to a third-place finish in the sprint and was a factor in the podium battle early on.

An aggressive start saw Marquez force both himself and Pramac’s Jorge Martin slightly wide at the third corner on the opening lap as he tried to reclaim the lead having lost out off the line.

Then on the third tour, Marquez misjudged his braking for Turn 3 and made contact with Martin, before slamming into the side of RNF Aprilia’s Oliveira.

The incident took both Marquez and Oliveira out on the spot, while Martin was dropped to 16th before eventually crashing out having recovered to 10th late on.

Marquez will fly to Barcelona for checks on a suspected fracture on his right hand, while Oliveira suffered some bruising – though appears to have escaped without serious injury.

The stewards summoned Marquez after the race and have handed him a double long lap penalty to be served in next weekend’s Argentina GP should he be declared fit to ride.

If not, that penalty will carry over to the Americas GP.

Speaking after the incident, Oliveira said: “Today was a shame. Obviously, to end my home GP after two laps is not what I was expecting for sure.

“Anyway, I think we can be very proud of the progression we had, coming from a difficult day on Friday, qualifying like we did yesterday, having the podium in hand in the sprint race.

“The start we made today, leading, coming second, I think today was a clear opportunity to score a podium. From the crash I’m still very bruised on my right side.”