Marquez k.o.
While he was in fourth place, Marc Marquez had to wave the white flag on the 22nd lap of the 26 scheduled at the Thailand Grand Prix. Television images showed a clear puncture and damage to the rim on his Ducati Desmosedici GP26, after going off track limits and hitting the curb.
What happened?
In the immediate post-race, Michelin clarified that Marquez hit the curb very hard, going off line and bending the rim, which in turn caused the puncture.
Reconstruction substantially confirmed by Piero Taramasso, Michelin’s MotoGP manager, to the Spaniards of Canal+: “The puncture occurred on the curb, that’s what Marc told us. He explained to us that the only mistake he made was going wide and hitting the curb and so the rim deformed. The air came out and the tire deflated. A pity, because at that moment he was the fastest on the track.”
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This issue with the curbs was, however, a problem encountered this weekend by Michelin: “We had this trouble all weekend. We had many wheels that came back deformed, because it’s very hot. The tires are soft and the curbs are very aggressive. For example yesterday there was a loss of pressure for Martin at the front and it was the same thing: he hit a curb, there was deformation and the air came out. That’s why Jorge had a slow puncture and Marc lost grip because the tire lost air”, Taramasso concluded.
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