Reigning MotoGP Marc Marquez says he was lucky to walk away uninjured from a massive highside in today’s opening MotoGP free practice at the Sachsenring which he says was caused by an accidental gearshift.

The Repsol Honda man was just settling in to turn two when his foot touched the gearlever while the throttle was open and it spat him hard and high over the highside (click here for pictures).

"The day went very well, because even though I crashed I was fortunate not to get injured, but the impact was hard. The crash was a little strange, but when we looked at the telemetry later on we understood why it happened. It's a long left turn in second gear on the throttle the whole time, and I accidentally touched the gear shift lever with the toe of my boot,” said Marquez.

“This engaged another gear and as I was leant so far over - and had the gas open - the rear wheel slid out and I was thrown off. The afternoon session was really good and I felt comfortable on the bike again. l was able to put in a good lap, but most importantly I kept up a strong pace.”