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Terrifying crash leaves MotoGP bike engulfed in flames

The younger brother of MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has walked away from a sickening crash at the very end of a Moto2 practice session in Japan on Friday.

Alex Marquez, the 22-year-old sibling of the four-time champion, clipped a wet kerb and flipped over the handlebars.

Marquez landed heavily and rolled to the right of the track as his bike came to a stop just off the tarmac on the left.

The Kalex rider hobbled over towards his ruined bike but collapsed on nearby grass after discovering it was on fire.

The incident occurred on his very last lap of the practice session at the Motegi circuit.

Remarkably, Marquez reportedly came away from the crash with nothing more cuts and bruises.

He was assessed by MotoGP doctors and cleared to continue racing.

Alex Marquez’s bike became engulfed in flames after a sickening crash in practice. Pic: Fox Sports
Alex Marquez’s bike became engulfed in flames after a sickening crash in practice. Pic: Fox Sports

MotoGP title race warms up

Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso fanned his flickering MotoGP title hopes by clocking the fastest time in free practice Friday ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Italian set a quickest lap time of one minute, 45.358 seconds in the morning session at Motegi, edging out Cal Crutchlow (Honda), Johann Zarco (Yamaha) and Honda’s Marc Marquez, who can secure a third straight title this weekend.

Honda’s Dani Pedrosa topped the timesheets in a damp afternoon session with a 1:48.136 as riders and mechanics kept one eye on the darkening skies.

“We knew the bike would be quick here,” said Dovizioso, who needs victory on Sunday to have any realistic chance of delaying Marquez’s coronation.

“But we can still improve in certain areas. There’s too much talk about how the race could go. We will be competitive — but so will Marc.”

Runaway championship leader Marquez, who effectively has his first match point in Japan this week, and Dovizioso opted to stay in the garage for the second session.

Marquez, who leads Dovizioso by 77 points with just a maximum 100 points available from the final four races this season, can join Australian legend Mick Doohan on five premier-class world titles depending on where his Italian rival finishes.