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Marquez apologizes after ‘aggressive’ MotoGP win

Spaniard Marc Marquez closed in on the MotoGP world championship in his rookie season with a sixth race victory of the year in the Aragon Grand Prix on Sunday but was forced to apologize after colliding with teammate Dani Pedrosa.

Marquez apologizes after 'aggressive' MotoGP win
Marquez clipped Pedrosa's rear wheel, causing him to crash out of the race. Photo: JOSE JORDAN / AFP

The 20-year-old passed reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo with 10 laps remaining to move 39 points ahead of his compatriot with just four races left.

Seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi was third as he held off pressure from Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl in a fantastic battle for a place on the podium.

However, it was a disastrous day for Marquez's Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa as he crashed out seconds after he and Marquez touched wheels to all but end his championship hopes.

"I braked as I saw I was touching him (Pedrosa) so I went wide. Maybe I touched a cable of his but I am very disappointed for Dani. It is very bad luck for him because it is very rare that this happens."

Pedrosa was furious after the incident and questioned Marquez’s on-track attitude.

“Marc came too aggressively, then braked and tried to avoid me, but hit my back wheel.”

He added: "There are riders who respect the rules of riding. You’re not alone out there; the track isn’t just for you."

Pedrosa appealed to his colleague to take a lesson from the incident, saying: “I had a bad experience in the past [in Portugal 2006 when he collided with his teammate Hayden] but I learned from it. No-one had to tell me anything.”

“It’s not ‘anything goes’. And if it is, we should all know so that we all would know to go that aggressively.”

Marquez reportedly sought out Pedrosa after hearing of his remarks and offered an apology, which was accepted.

As in many races this season it was Lorenzo who made the fastest start as he leapfrogged Marquez, who had started on pole, to move into the lead.

However, after losing some time as he ran wide in the collision with Pedrosa, Marquez was gaining on Lorenzo all the time and eventually made his move down the inside of the Yamaha rider with 10 laps remaining.

"I made an error as always at the start and that is something I have to improve on for the future races, but I only lost a second so I was able to be aggressive on the tyres and recover.

"It was a very tough race but in the end I'm delighted to get these very important points."

Lorenzo had pulled himself back into championship contention with back-to-back victories in Britain and San Marino heading into the race, but he admitted that after a shaky start Marquez had simply been the better man on the day.

"There are no excuses, Marc was faster than us and he was better," he said.

"I can only congratulate him and look forward to the next race."

With Marquez comfortably clear at the front, the real battle later in the race was for third, fourth and fifth position as Rossi, Bautista and Bradl continually changed position.

However, it was Rossi's experience that won out as the 34-year-old sealed his fourth podium finish of the season.

"It was a good race for me. I had to fight very hard at the end with Bradl and Bautista, but to be on the podium is always a good result."

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Eleven motorcyclists killed on German roads over long weekend

At least 11 motorcyclists died in accidents on Germany’s roads over the Easter break.

Eleven motorcyclists killed on German roads over long weekend
File picture shows the scene of motorbike crash on March 8th in Brieselang, Brandenburg. Photo: DPA

Police said a series of motorbike accidents had happened over the holiday weekend in different locations across Germany, leading to several fatalities. 

It came as new figures showed that more than one in five people killed on Germany's roads are motorcyclists, despite far fewer of them on the road compared with other drivers.

Of the 3,265 people who died on roads nationwide last year, 699 were motorcyclists, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

Spate of deadly crashes over the Easter weekend

In Posthausen, Lower Saxony on Good Friday, a 20-year-old woman motorcyclist died after colliding with a crash barrier.

At Kirchen in Rhineland-Palatinate, a 37-year-old biker was involved in a crash with oncoming traffic  on Saturday night and died at the scene, police said.

Meanwhile, in Essen, North-Rhine Westphalia, a 44-year-old motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene of a crash on Saturday.

At Geislingen, Baden-Württemberg, a 51-year-old lost control of his motorbike while overtaking a vehicle on Easter Sunday, according to police reports. He collided with the crash barrier. A rescue helicopter flew the biker to a clinic where he later died.

Near Rechberghausen, a 69-year-old biker was killed when he overtook a car with a trailer on a country road.

On Good Friday a motorcyclist had died in Schwanau, also Baden-Württemberg, when a 26-year-old who was driving a car collided head-on with a motorcycle while overtaking.

'Many underestimate demanding routes'

Police said speeding and a lack of knowledge of routes were often partly to blame for accidents involving motorbikes. 

“Many underestimate the long journey or the demanding routes,” a police spokesman said.

As reported by regional news site, Stuttgarter Nachrichten, and other German media outlets,the fatalities took place during a sunny Easter weekend across the country – weather which may have encouraged more motorcyclists out onto the roads. 

In Hesse’s Biebergemünd, a 48-year-old motorcyclist was involved in a crash over the weekend. He died at the scene. On Autobahn 3 near Frankfurt am Main, a 66-year-old biker crashed. He was taken to hospital but later died.

On Monday evening, a man died in an accident in the Kassel district between Schauenburg and Habichtswald. While trying to overtake a vehicle, the 61-year-old lost control and crashed into an oncoming car on Autobahn 44, police said.

Near Quedlinburg in Saxony-Anhalt, a biker collided head-on with a car and died at the scene of the accident.

A similar crash occurred near Elbingerode in the Harz Mountains on Saturday. According to the police, a motorcyclist drove into the oncoming lane at a right-hand bend and collided with a car. He died at the scene.

It comes after six people tragically died in motorbike crashes during the first weekend of April in North Rhine-Westphalia.

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