Pedrosa crash shows why 2016 title not guaranteed

Marquez leads the MotoGP standings by 52 points with four races to go and has a chance - however slight - of wrapping up the crown as early as this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.

But with teammate Pedrosa suffering a heavy crash in FP2, which resulted in a broken collarbone and has likely ruled him out for several races, Marquez is mindful of the impact a similar crash for himself could have on his title hopes.

"Always we are riding on the limit," Marquez said.

"And when I speak about the championship, when I say 'this is very long' and all that - in motorbikes and in MotoGP especially, the limit is there. And you can have some crash, and you can be injured."

Marquez went on to wish Pedrosa a speedy recovery, having expressed disappointment that his teammate picked up an injury just as he was rediscovering form.

"Just disappointed for Dani's crash, because it was his out-lap, it was a strange crash.

"We hope for a great recovery for him, because he's an important guy inside the team and also because looks like the normal Dani was coming back."

Marquez had his own crash in FP2 just moments before Pedrosa's, taking to the asphalt at a very low speed in the Turn 10 hairpin.

The Spaniard, who managed to pick up the bike immediately and carry on without significant damage, subsequently blamed the incident on his decision to push with the hard front.

"Last [few] races, looks like every Friday I crash similar. Of course, I don't want to crash - but some races, I say 'I don't try the hard tyre because I don't want to crash' and then on Sunday I say 'hmm, maybe it was the correct option'.

"So I prefer to try on Friday, check what is the limit, a little bit. Of course, I don't want to crash - but hard front tyre is always extreme, the limit is closer, but maybe you can find some positive things.

"It was a very small crash, it was good because I picked up the bike and I continued and the same run I improved the laptime."

Lorenzo quickest, but Marquez closer than expected

In assessing his form on Friday, where he finished second in FP1 and fourth in FP2, Marquez said that he was closer to the front than he had expected heading into the weekend.

The Spaniard ended the day 0.152s off pacesetter Jorge Lorenzo.

"I expected to be there but more far from the top guys," Marquez said.

"Looks like we are there, we are closer, we are very close, especially on the rhythm,

"At the moment, I think Lorenzo is the fastest guy, then it's a point there with me, [Maverick] Vinales, also Valentino [Rossi], [Andrea] Dovizioso, that we have more or less the same pace."

Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont