Marc Marquez dismisses "karma" narrative after Marco…

Marc Marquez has defended Marco Bezzecchi from online hate after the Aprilia rider suffered a fracture to his collarbone during the German Grand Prix qualifying.

Bezzecchi was forced to withdraw from Sachsenring midway through the weekend following a nasty highside on Saturday afternoon, dealing another blow to his title hopes in MotoGP this year.

The injury followed just weeks after the Italian was suspended from the Czech Grand Prix for slapping a marshal following the Brno sprint. Bezzecchi also collided with Marquez at last October’s Indonesian GP while trying to recover from a slow start, leaving the Spaniard with a shoulder injury that continues to affect him.

In response to comments about Bezzecchi’s shoulder fracture being payback for his previous actions, the reigning world champion urged MotoGP fans not to pile criticism on his rival.

Instead, he stressed that the focus should be on improving rider safety in MotoGP.

“I read the word karma since 2015, and I won six world championships after that,” he said.

“So if this is karma, welcome. Karma doesn't exist and all the riders, we are taking a lot of risks out there.

“We wish the best for Marco. I already posted [on social media] in Indonesia, ‘do not push against Marco because these things happen in the races’. And today, one thing happened that we can resolve for the future.

“Because one more time, Bezzecchi, Fermin [Aldeguer] in Assen and me in Indonesia, we got injured when going in the gravel for the step [between asphalt and gravel].

“I hope for a good recovery for Bez, but I hope that for the future, we can fix these things.”

Why Bezzecchi crashed at the Sachsenring

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing crashed bike (Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images)

Bezzecchi crashed at Turn 7 just four minutes into Q2 after setting the third-fastest time behind Ducati duo Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio.

The 27-year-old was thrown violently into the gravel trap, with medical checks later confirming a fractured collarbone. The Italian had already been struggling with the effects of a heavy crash at the Dutch Grand Prix two weeks earlier.

Gresini’s Alex Marquez believes Bezzecchi’s physical limitations contributed to his fall at the Sachsenring, citing his own incident in Assen practice as proof of his theory. The Spaniard himself has not made a full recovery after breaking his own collarbone and vertebra in Barcelona in May.

“I'm really sad for him,” the younger Marquez said about Bezzecchi. “I want to wish him a speedy recovery.

“It's a crash from a rider who has the speed. I also had that crash in Assen. When you are not 100% physically and you are riding, the mentality or the head is there, the speed is there, but physically, it's not going with you.

“So at that point, sometimes you make mistakes that you don't expect. It's a similar crash that we saw in the past with Marc and with a few injured riders.

“I wish him a speedy recovery. He has all the summer break to recover and to come back stronger in Silverstone.”