Gresini Racing’s Austrian MotoGP was disrupted early when Alex Marquez and Fermin Aldeguer made contact in the opening corners. Aldeguer continued to finish eighth, while Marquez lost more positions in the incident and later crashed while running outside the top ten.

How the incident developed

Aldeguer told Crash.net that he was trying to gain positions on the opening lap. In his account, Fabio Di Giannantonio attempted to pass Fabio Quartararo and the bikes moved slightly wide. Aldeguer reached Quartararo at considerable speed, straightened his motorcycle slightly and then touched Marquez. He regarded the contact as minor and said his teammate had lost more positions as a consequence.

Marquez offered a broadly similar reading of the incident. He said several riders were ahead, that Aldeguer had passed him and that the contact left him nearly on the gravel. He did not describe it as a major event, but called it “a shame” because it involved two teammates. He also acknowledged that riders naturally try to recover positions during the opening lap.

Their Gresini partnership is nearing its end

The two riders are now entering their final MotoGP races together at Gresini. Next season, Alex Marquez will move to KTM’s factory team. Fermin Aldeguer will remain with Ducati but switch to the VR46 Racing Team. Aldeguer’s eighth place was below the second position he achieved at the same circuit the previous year, while Marquez’s race eventually ended with the crash.