Australia MotoGP: Stoner and Rossi criticise Marquez

Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi were both heavily critical of Marc Marquez after the rising Spanish star caused a horrific accident during Moto2 practice at the Phillip Island track in Australia earlier today.

Marquez slammed into the back of Thai rider Ratthapark Wilairot at Turn 3 after the chequered flag had been waved to signal the end of the session.

Marquez was still lapping at close to full speed while Wilairot had slowed with the session completed.

Wilairot was hospitalised in Melbourne for observation but fortunately he didn’t suffer any serious injuries despite the high-speed impact.

Moto2 world championship leader Marquez will now have to start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid after Race Direction penalised his reckless riding with one minute being added to his qualifying time.

And Repsol Honda rider Stoner said: “That was extremely immature of Marc. I mean he went out with 50 seconds to go. Obviously he was pushing to try and get some feeling in the last lap, but number one, people shouldn’t be just cruising on the racing line.

“But two, Marc should not have been pushing that hard after the chequered flag. I think that was extremely immature of Marc.”

Factory Ducati rider Rossi also condemned Marquez and the Italian said: “I was very scared because I saw it live and I think that something bad happen. Marquez went out one minute from the end to try the bike after an earlier crash and he continued to push after the flag.

“I think Marc made a mistake because after the flag you need to be slower and with a lot of bikes on the track it can happen. I don’t know the speed of Wilairot but from TV it looked like he was at a normal speed and not too slow.”