Marc Marquez’s sprint from gravel trap to pit box (which included a ride on a photographer’s scooter in between the leg work), and his subsequent narrow escape from another crash on his final run, were even more heroic than was obvious.

It was all accomplished with a small stone in his eye, which he blamed for not being able to improve his time.

“On my second flying lap I was pushing hard when I lost the front,” he said. “I was angry with myself because I knew I could improve a lot – I had a margin.”

He’d rushed back to the pit “so fast that only when I jumped on the bike did I realise I had something in my eye, and then I lost a bit my concentration. I did a few mistakes and wasn’t very precise, so I didn’t make a perfect lap, even if the adrenaline was there.”

By Michael Scott