MotoGP World Champion Fabio Quartararo heads into this weekend’s British Grand Prix with a handicap. The Yamaha rider has to complete the long lap penalty once within the first three laps at Silverstone. Quartararo received this penalty five weeks ago for the accident with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) in Assen.
Immediately after the Dutch TT, the waves went up. Quartararo commented on social media that “you can’t even start an overtaking maneuver because the race stewards then think you’re too ambitious.”
Yamaha race director Lin Jarvis also spoke up in his broadcast and criticized the race stewards. Yamaha even wanted to go before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). However, a long lap penalty cannot be appealed.
It was also a big topic of conversation when the MotoGP community met again at Silverstone after the long summer break. For the majority, the situation at Assen was a normal racing accident for which there should have been no penalty.
The Barcelona start accident, when Takaaki Nakagami fell, taking Alex Rins (Suzuki) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) with him, should have been penalized. The drivers are dissatisfied with this inconsistency and call for more clarity.
Aleix Espargaro says: “I agree with Fabio that he can’t understand the penalty. We’ve seen very different examples this year that were much more aggressive and weren’t punished. If there had been penalties for that, and for Fabio too, then he would have understood.”
“All drivers want to understand in the safety committee where the limit is,” confirms the Spaniard. “I mean it has to be the same for everyone. You can’t punish one and not another. That makes it difficult to understand.”
Rins and Bagnaia don’t understand either
And what say Rins and Bagnaia? Both were cleared by Nakagami in Barcelona and eliminated, while Aleix Espargaro continued in Assen. Rins also sustained a wrist injury in the fall.
“There are two types of accidents,” says Rins. “One is when you try to overtake. The front wheel collapses and you fall. The other example is Barcelona. The question is why there was no penalty there. I don’t agree with Fabio’s penalty.”
Bagnaia sees it very similarly: “In Qatar I did almost the same thing with Martin. It was very similar to Fabio and Aleix. But I didn’t get a penalty. In Barcelona we saw a very serious accident. That was irresponsible behavior. “
“‘Taka’ didn’t get a penalty. It’s difficult to understand. I don’t agree with Fabio’s penalty either.” So the top riders are of one mind and stand behind Quartararo, who didn’t change his mind during the summer vacation either.
“No, I didn’t. I don’t want to say anything about the accident before that because it was massive,” he says. “As far as I understand, they wanted to enforce the rules a little more aggressively after Barcelona. But I think you have to find a balance between irresponsible behavior and a racing accident.”
“I fell. Aleix could have gotten a better result but I don’t see it as a punishment. You have to find a better balance between punishment and no penalty. It’s important to keep our sport from becoming boring.”
But will the drivers behave differently in the duel in the future because they could also face a penalty if the action fails like Quartararo did? “I think we will continue to drive aggressively,” says Aleix Espargaro.
“When Fabio said that he would never overtake again, that was wrong. He will overtake a lot. We demand from the race stewards that the same actions are penalized.” The Security Commission will continue to discuss this on Friday.
Quartararo doesn’t want to stress about the penalty
And how does last year’s winner Quartararo plan his Silverstone race with the penalty in mind? “Of course it will be a different race and a different challenge. But I feel motivated and I’m ready. I’ll approach Friday and Saturday like a normal weekend.”
“It’s not the last race of the season and it’s not the last fight either. I can’t be fooled into saying that I have to take the long lap penalty as fast as possible to absolutely win the race.”
“At the beginning of my holiday I was getting ready that I had to ride the long lap penalty as quickly as possible. But I can fall when I do that. I’d rather lose a tenth or two of a second than put the bike on the ground.”
That’s why the motto of the reigning world champion is: “We’ll work as best we can on Friday and Saturday. Then we’ll see our position for the race.” Before the twelfth of 20 races of the season, Quartararo has a 21-point lead over Aleix Espargaro.