Gresini's Marc Marquez explained a failure to trigger the ride-height system at the beginning of the Austrian Grand Prix. The veteran six-time champion lacked the usual explosiveness from his third-place starting position at Spielberg, allowing a pack of riders to overtake him on the way to the first corner. To cap off the nightmare start, he was clipped by Franco Morbidelli’s Ducati while braking, which pushed him off track and left him sitting in 13th.
Gresini MotoGP rider Marc Marquez has explained why he failed to engage the ride-height mechanism at the start of the Austrian Grand Prix. The six-time MotoGP world champion was slow to break away from third on the grid in the race at Spielberg, allowing him to be gobbled up by several riders on the run to the first corner. To make matters worse, he was hit by Franco Morbidelli’s Pramac Ducati while braking, sending him wide on the asphalt run-off and dropping him to 13th place.
The obvious cause of the botched start was a failure of the hole shot device. According to Marquez, the chain of events began with a broken tyre valve on the grid, necessitating a frantic trip by the Gresini team to the Michelin garage to change the rim.
While the rider himself wasn't delayed, the tyre lost a critical amount of heat during the process, leaving Marquez preoccupied during the warm-up lap as he tried to regain the necessary temperature for grip.
Recounting the moments before the lights went out, Marquez said: 'Luck just wasn't on our side today; everything that could go wrong did. It all started with a technical issue half an hour before the green light. Just as the mechanics were fitting the tyre, they noticed a broken valve. They had to rush to Michelin to swap the tyre onto a new rim, and in the process, the rubber lost its heat.'
The team considered a full tyre change if time ran out, but they managed to finish the rim swap just in time. Marquez admitted that he chose to race with the under-heated tyre, but the warning from his team to focus on the warm-up lap became a distraction. 'I was so focused on getting the tyre temperature up that I neglected the starting device and didn't engage it correctly,' he explained.
He further detailed the mechanical failure, noting that while the front device worked during the first braking phase on the final straight, it disengaged during the second. This loss of stability meant he lacked the necessary speed to launch effectively. Marquez noted that while such devices may be banned by 2027, manufacturers are already innovating—citing Pol Espargaro's KTM test bike as an example of the new tech coming our way.
Ultimately, Marquez took ownership of the error, stating that the ride-height device is a standard tool used by everyone. He concluded that his personal mistake shouldn't lead to a ban on the technology, as other riders have faced similar mishaps in the past.