Marc Marquez fractures finger but "ribs bothering me the most”

Eleven-time Sachsenring winner Marc Marquez had an eventful Friday at the German MotoGP.

The Gresini Ducati rider suffered technical issues, two falls and a trip to the Medical Centre but still appeared on top of the timesheets before finally being pushed out of the top ten and into Qualifying 1.

After a slow lowside (pictured) on his way to second behind Jorge Martin in the morning session, Marquez was launched from his GP23 at the fearsome Turn 11 early in the afternoon.

One of numerous victims of the front washing out through the handful of right turns in the cool conditions, the rear of Marquez’s bike then dug in and kicked him into a 190km/h highside.

A subsequent delay due to red flags for Fabio di Giannantonio’s Turn 1 fall meant Marquez was ready to return when the session restarted, and promptly put his Desmosedici on top of the timesheets.

But he then pitted and headed for the Medical Centre to have his ribs checked from the earlier impact.

Marquez didn’t return, but his earlier lap time looked enough to secure direct Qualifying 2 access… until he was pushed to 13th in the final minutes.

It was later revealed that Marquez has been diagnosed with a fracture to his left index finger as well as a 'big bruise in his ribcage'. 

“The feeling with the bike was good, but it’s obvious that the afternoon crash has had a great impact on this first day here at the Sachsenring,” Marquez said.

“I’m not worried about the fracture in my finger, but the bruise to the rib cage is surely the one bothering me the most and that also prevented me from continuing the session."

The eight-time world champion was declared fit to ride tomorrow, but the Spaniard suggested it's not guaranteed:  “Now it is time to rest and tomorrow morning we’ll see what my physical condition is.”

Marco Bezzecchi and Enea Bastianini were the others to suffer heavy accidents at the Turn 11 Ralf Waldmann (Waterfall) corner on Friday.

A total of ten riders fell during the afternoon hour, all of them at right-handers. 

Some attributed the accidents to the extra grip from the 2024 Michelin rear tyre pushing the front in the cold and windy conditions.

Meanwhile, brother and team-mate Alex Marquez enjoyed a competitive first day on track since signing a new Gresini contract.

“It was a positive day, even though the wind and the conditions didn’t help," Alex said. "We tried different set-ups and found some interesting solutions. 

"We didn’t lose the feeling despite the many adjustments we made, we improved compared to Assen and tomorrow we can battle for a spot on the front two rows. 

"There’s still work to do regarding the race pace, but we’re in a good direction.”

Temperatures are expected to rise substantially on Saturday when there is also a risk of thunderstorms.