Marquez apologised to Bastianini for strange MotoGP Dutch GP qualifying crash

The Italian wasn’t angry about the incident in Q1, which took place well off the racing line, where Bastianini was trying to stay out of the way after aborting his lap due to a mistake.

Marquez was on a similar line and failed to spot the cruising Ducati in time to avoid ploughing into the back of it.

Bastianini revealed that the Spaniard had sought him out to apologise following the accident, which resulted in Marquez falling. Bastianini managed to remain in the saddle, but could only qualify 18th.

"At Turn 1, I nearly lost the front – it was a good save!" he explained.

"Then at Turn 4 I saw the other riders coming from behind and I made space [for them]. I was on the outside, and Marc was with me.

"It can happen, MotoGP is like this. After qualifying he came to my motorhome to say sorry."

Marquez, who walked away from the crash, qualified 17th and ended the sprint race in the same position.

The factory Honda man has admitted to taking a safety-first approach in Holland after his wretched weekend last time out in Germany, during which he picked up multiple injuries in accidents. This explained his going against the grain by taking a soft front tyre for the sprint, an option he admitted wasn’t as quick but one which gave him maximum feedback.

Explaining the crash with Bastianini, he said: "It’s just like on the road. The person hitting from behind is the one who made the mistake.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

"I’ve had that situation a thousand times. But this time, when I was looking behind me to make sure I wouldn't disturb the other riders, Enea [backed off] and I didn’t see.”

Meanwhile Bastianini, who is on the comeback trail following a lengthy lay-off due to injuries sustained at the season’s opening round in Portugal, was upbeat following an eighth-place finish in the sprint despite admitting to feeling "destroyed" and suffering with shoulder pain.

“After the disaster of qualifying, the race was not so bad," he said.

"I overtook quite a few people and my pace was quite good. It wasn’t far to the leading group, and I’m happy about that. And we understand a few things now.

"Tomorrow the objective is the same: to recover some positions. But the long-distance races can be a problem to me – I was destroyed even after today’s race, with some shoulder pain. But I still have to try to improve on today!"

The Assen weekend is Bastianini’s third race back, following his return to action at Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix after missing the first five races of the season.

His factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia leads the championship with 169 points after finishing second in the sprint to VR46 rider Marco Bezzecchi.