'That can kill you' MotoGP star blasts Martin after dramatic Turn 1 championship crash
Updated: 14:50, 08 Jun
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Andrew McLarneyMotoGP Reporter
Andrew McLarney is a MotoGP reporter for GPBlog. With four years experience as a professional writer across the sports and video game industries, his experience as a K1 Premier League competitor evolved into a fascination with all forms of combat sport and eventually motorsport — with MotoGP becoming his primary focus. On top of that he is also an avid follower of MXGP and AMA Supercross as well as F1 and GT racing.
The Hungarian Grand Prix gave us an opening lap incident which was all-too familiar, and sadly predicatable given the current landscape of the MotoGP championship.
Following a sub-par qualifying performance from both Aprilia riders, Jorge Martin was keen to make up places as he typically does from the start. However, the Balaton Park circuit is notoriously narrow and difficult to pass on, particularly with a packed grid all heading for the first turn. Last year it was Fabio Quartararo who out-braked himself and ran into pack, this time it was Martin.
Martin, who currently sits 2nd in the MotoGP world championship standings behind Bezzecchi, lost control of his bike in turn one and could only watch in horror as his Aprilia RSGP rolled like a bowling ball into the unsuspecting Bezzecchi, Aldeguer, Fernandez and Di Giannantonio.
There's a 150-160kg motorcycle going full throttle... that can kill you.- Di Giannantonio on Martin's Turn 1 mistake in Hungary
To make matters worse, Marc Marquez claimed a full 36-point weekend with both a sprint and Sunday victory, almost halving his points deficit to the top in a single race.
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Rivola explains reason for Jorge Martin's crash
It's safe to say that Aprilia CEO and former sporting director of Ferrari's F1 team, Massimo Rivola, was not best pleased by the incident. Speaking with Sky Sports Italia, Rivola gave the following explanation for the crash:
"My first thought is always for the riders, I'm sorry, Martin's mistake should never happen, especially when safety is at stake and you're so aggressively approaching the first turn.
It was a strange mistake, not one of enthusiasm. He made a bad braking mistake, but he didn't brake too late. He applied more power with the bike leaning slightly, in a part of the track where there's less grip. But it's a mistake a world champion shouldn't make.
Last year he overbraked and it was another reaction. This time it was, I don't want to say a small mistake, but he didn't behave with the front brake as he should have done in that part of the track at corner one. That is quite different from Japan. A smaller mistake but the same. For us, even worse.
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When you are on Sunday, you know very well the track layout, the grip condition. I think that at the first corner, everybody should take it a bit more easy. Then, the fact that we are also unlucky that when we crash, we have another Aprilia or even two in the middle, it looks also stupid. But the point is that when you know that the conditions are bad, you take it more easy."
This follows from a heated debrief after the Catalan Grand Prix in which satellite Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez took down Martin after a red flag restart, prompting Aprilia to step in with a 'team orders' style discussion with their four riders.
Di Giannantonio warns: 'That could kill you' after Hungary crash
VR46's Fabio Di Giannantonio wasn't best-pleased either. The Catalan race-winner, who currently sits third in the overall championship standings, was caught up in the incident and made it known that the crash could have had even worse consequences:
"We were lucky because I've been told that everyone is okay. But there's a 150-160kg motorcycle going full throttle... that can kill you. So honestly, I don't understand how these things still happen.
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It surely could have been avoided. I don't understand how things like this keep happening when we've seen and experienced incredible accidents. Even so, we still have that desire to take such big risks. Sure, you can win, but you can also lose a lot."
Remarkably, despite being collected in the crash, Di Giannantonio once again showed his incredible resilience to remount and end up with a solid points-scoring finish.
Watch the chaotic Turn 1 incident below:
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Friday 12.06.26
Practice 1
11:30 AM
Practice 2
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Saturday 13.06.26
Practice 3
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Sunday 14.06.26
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Friday 12.06.26
Practice 1
Fri 11:30 AM
Practice 2
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Saturday 13.06.26
Practice 3
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Qualification
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Sunday 14.06.26
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