A dramatic weekend ensured the 2023 season started with a bang, and these are all the hottest topics from the weekend
It was certainly a dramatic return for the MotoGP™ World Championship. There is still plenty of fallout from the weekend which saw the debut of the Tissot Sprint on Saturday, while Sunday’s race left us with plenty of talking points.
One of the major talking points from the weekend was the crash that saw Marc Marquez lose control of his RC213V and inadvertently take out home hero Miguel Oliveira just a few laps into Sunday’s race. Marquez has since apologised to the Portuguese rider, but that hasn’t stopped him from picking up an injury, a sanction and being in the ire of some of his rivals.
M. Marquez wipes out Oliveira in massive crash
Marquez: “I couldn’t avoid going to the right side. I was able to avoid [Jorge] Martin but couldn’t avoid Miguel. I was very worried for him because the contact was big.
“I want to say sorry to him, to his team, to the Portuguese fans. I have been penalised for that mistake with a double long lap penalty, that I completely, completely agree.
“I was not even close and not thinking to overtake. But I had a massive lock, when I released the brakes, the bike kept leaning and I went inside. This created Miguel’s crash.”
MUST-WATCH: Oliveira vents frustrations after Marquez clash
Oliveira: He braked too late, maybe too optimistic about making the pass. He had to avoid Martin because he wasn’t going to stop enough. And then he couldn’t avoid me, for sure.
“His apology is accepted. But, at the same time, when we have a…