While both riders were left behind by the overpowering dominance of the Aprilias in the early laps, Di Giannantonio managed to secure a memorable podium ahead of Marquez.

However, it wasn't the racing performance that stole the headlines for most of the weekend, but rather the track itself. After the track suffered heavy flooding and a massive sinkhole, the surface remained unpredictable and led to several bizarre incidents throughout the weekend.

Turn 4 in particular was a problem for many riders, causing many crashes across all categories due to a bump at the apex, and it is here that Marquez believes his podium chances were lost:

"In the race today, it was possible to be on the podium, but I made a mistake on that corner where the asphalt was going out," said the reigning world champion.

"In the end, it was an acceptable condition to continue. It's true that if you touch that point, that was [on] the racing line, and it was super slippery.

"In that lap, I touched that point a little bit, I lost the front and then I went to the kerb. So I decided on the kerb not to lean a lot, and I knew that Diggia was close and he would overtake me. But it was better to be in fourth place than crash."

It was a bruising race in the Moto3 class at the Ayrton Senna Autodrome in Goiania, Brazil, with numerous riders crashing out dramatically.

The first race of the day took place on a dry circuit, with Joel Esteban starting on pole for the first time in his career.

Unfortunately, he suffered from a huge highside and was out of the race on lap 7. Thankfully, he was back on his feet immediately and, with the help of some trackside marshals, walked off the circuit.

Check out a video of the dramatic incident here.