The Motegi MotoGP Sprint ended on the opening lap for Alex Marquez, Pedro Acosta and Fabio Di Giannantonio after a collision at Turn 3. Marquez braked too late for the left-hander and ran into the rear of Acosta’s bike. The contact then swept up Di Giannantonio, Marquez’s future KTM team-mate.

Marquez accepted responsibility for the mistake and apologised to both riders. He will serve a double Long Lap Penalty in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, adding a clear handicap to his race before it has even begun.

Di Giannantonio was taken to the medical centre for an examination and avoided serious injury. The VR46 rider described a heavy blow to the right side of his ribs and said breathing was difficult for a short time afterwards. He saw a rider approaching at high speed, tried to open his line and thought he had escaped the danger, only to be hit unexpectedly. His concise answer when discussing the incident was: “Ask Alex!”

Di Giannantonio’s outlook for Sunday

Despite the early exit, Di Giannantonio believes there is strong potential for the main race. His team still needs more laps on the soft tyre and the warm-up to settle several choices, while tyre consumption is already in good shape. The Italian nevertheless sees Marc Marquez and both factory Aprilia riders as having the stronger pace at this stage.