Marquez 'OK' after 'really big crash'

MotoGP legend was catapulted into air during warm-up to Indonesian GP following incident at turn seven

JAKARTA:

Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez called it "one of the biggest" crashes he'd ever had after being catapulted into the air during the warm-up to Sunday's rain-hit Indonesian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard's Honda cartwheeled end-over-end as it disintegrated and he appeared to land heavily on his left arm and smack his helmet on the ground at about 180kph (112mph).

The shaken 29-year-old somehow got to his feet and gingerly walked away before being taken to a nearby Lombok hospital for medical checks.

He was ruled out of the race on the new Mandalika circuit and said in a statement released by his Repsol Honda Team: "What can I say? It has not been our weekend, we have struggled and had problems from the start.

"It was a really big crash in warm-up this morning, maybe one of the biggest I have had.

"I went to the local hospital and while there were no serious problems, it was decided that I should not race. It's of course a shame, but the best decision."

Marquez, who was thought to have suffered a concussion from the spectacular incident at turn seven, had already endured a bruising weekend with two crashes during qualifying on Saturday.

He had been due to start the race from 14th on the grid after being promoted one spot due to a three-place grid penalty for Yamaha's Franco Morbidelli.

The race was delayed for 75 minutes by heavy rain and eventually won by Portugal's KTM rider Miguel Oliveira.

It was reduced from 27 laps to 20 over tyre safety fears caused by the extreme heat at the circuit.

Writing on Twitter to his 2.6 million followers, Marquez said that he was "OK".

"For precaution, and to not take any more risks, we decided to not race at the Indonesian GP," he added.

"I want to thank all the MotoGP medical team and the Mataram Hospital for the treatment received.

"Thank you for all your support messages."

MotoGP was returning to Indonesia for the first time since 1997 and the new venue on the resort island of Lombok was partially resurfaced following problems during February's testing.

Supplier Michelin brought an old tyre casing last raced in 2018 in an effort to combat the conditions.

But Honda and Suzuki riders in particular had complained about a lack of rear grip on the tyre, with Marquez appearing to suffer more than most.