Lorenzo: Aragon incident avoidable, Marquez irresponsible

Jorge Lorenzo has said his view of Marc Marquez’s move at the first corner of the Grand Prix of Aragon remains unchanged, even after considering the incident that led to his crashing for days after his emotions had subsided.

The Majorcan could be seen hobbling around the paddock at the Chang International Circuit with the aid of crutches on Thursday. The impact on his right foot dislocated his big toe and broke his second. They were injuries that, he claimed, put his participation this weekend in some doubt.

Acknowledging he will probably have to withstand considerable pain in the foot through the weekend, Lorenzo also went on to share his thoughts on Marquez’s out-braking move at turn one. The incident was “avoidable,” according to the Ducati man, and Marquez “irresponsible” and “imprudent” for attempting such a move so early in the race.

“For sure, whatever I say now will create polemics,” said Lorenzo, reflecting on the incident. “And I believe we have to speak about Thailand now, and not about what happened two weeks ago. But you asked me the question, and I cannot be a hypocrite.

“What I think after the race, maybe in hot conditions, I think exactly the same in the cold. I think that my crash was avoidable, and I only didn't finish the race and I'm here not at 100% because of the action of Marc, that in my opinion was irresponsible and imprudent. I think he knows that.

“Obviously he didn't want me to crash, but I think he braked too late, [much] too late, and in a bad position, because he was completely on the inside. It was incompatible with making the corner, in the way he entered the corner.

“And this created my crash. I tried to stop the bike as much as possible to stop going outside the track, I used too much rear brake, and I crashed. This is the past, this happened, now we have to look at the future, and in a difficult situation which I have now, try to get the maximum result, if I am able to race on Sunday.”

The 31-year old has been an active presence on his social media account in the week between Aragon and Buriram, with one of his posts revealing his 2019 team-mate had called him the day after the race to check on his injury.

“Yes, he called me on Monday afternoon,” he confirmed. “He asked me about my physical condition, so this is a thing that I appreciate, because probably not all the riders will do that. So this is good. The only thing that I hope, is that if it's possible, I hope that less riders can suffer from these types of actions, like I'm suffering now myself.”

Does this weekend’s inaugural motorcycle grand prix in Thailand therefore represent a chance for revenge?

“Revenge…” Lorenzo pondered. “No. Everyone has his way of riding. As I told you, I hope in the future, every time fewer and fewer riders will pay for this type of actions.

“But I don't think I'm going to change my way, because I'm 31 years old, I don't want to get injured, and I am very conscious about the risk. Just pass this race in the best position possible if I am able to race [and] prepare well Japan.

“I think that in Japan, I will have chances to win. Second place is very difficult already, so let's try to get good results to try to finish as high up as possible at the end of the championship.”

On whether he feels capable of competing in a full race weekend, Lorenzo sounded optimistic. “Hopefully [I can],” he said. “Hopefully I will jump on the bike tomorrow, and have enough power and as few problems as possible to be able to race.

“The feeling is not very good when I'm walking, and I expect that for sure, when I put my feet onto the pegs of the bike, I will have pain. But only tomorrow will I know exactly my feelings.

“In the clinic [Clinica Mobile], I tried the boot, I tried the boot which Alpinestars gave me, which they brought here. It's a little bit bigger. I don't think I'm going to use it, because the new one is very stiff.

“Maybe the smaller one is better, but it's used. And now I'm going to go to the box to see what happens on the bike, to sit on it. But all the small details, that we can improve the situation, will be a help tomorrow.”

Marquez was reluctant to comment further on the incident in the pre-event press conference, saying only that he and Lorenzo had a difference of opinion over what happened.