For the first time since MotoGP sprints were introduced, Fabio Quartararo has finished one of these short races in the top 3. At the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands, the time had come on Saturday. Quartararo had actually finished fourth with his factory Yamaha.
But because KTM rider Brad Binder, who crossed the line in third place behind Marco Bezzecchi (VR46-Ducati) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), was given a three-second penalty, Quartararo is from fourth to fourth as a result of the Assen sprint moved up to third place. Binder also slipped behind Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) with the time penalty.
The reason for Binder’s penalty: In the last of the 13 laps he slightly exceeded the track limits at the exit of the Stekkenwal curve (curve 8). He had previously received a warning for the same reason.
The last violation turned the warning into a long-lap penalty. But because it was the last lap, Binder was no longer able to take the long lap penalty. That’s why three seconds were added to his race time.
Binder’s final track limit violation at the end of “Stekkenwal” was a matter of a few centimeters, you could almost say millimeters, that he drove for a very short moment on the green painted surface next to the curb.
In combination with the warning from before, this tiny transgression was enough for the KTM rider to lose third place.
Binder surprised by punishment
“Apart from the little thing at the end, today was one of my best Saturdays,” says Binder, and comes to the point of the penalty: “Unfortunately, I overlooked on my dashboard that I already had a warning.”
“So I didn’t realize that touching the green would give me a long lap. Apart from that, I didn’t even realize I touched the green at all. But it is what it is. I’ll get better tomorrow watch out,” says the KTM rider.
You have to know: For the sprints introduced at the beginning of the 2023 season, different rules apply to track limit warnings and penalties than they apply to Grands Prix. In the sprint, there is a warning for the first violation and a long-lap penalty for the third violation.
In the Grand Prix, there is only a first warning after the third violation and a long-lap penalty for a further violation. In both cases, if the long lap penalty is due to an offense on the last lap, three seconds will be added to the race time.
Quartararo surprised by penalty against Binder
tFabio Quartararo’s first reaction in parc ferme after the sprint was: “I’m very happy but I’m sorry for Brad. The same thing happened to me at Misano a few years ago.” The Yamaha star – just like Binder himself – didn’t realize at first that this also happened to Binder on Saturday in Assen.
“I had no idea. I got myself a track limit warning. From there I just tried not to get on the green. For [Binder] I’m sorry, but of course it’s better for me,” said Quartararo at the press conference.
“I’m not the one who decides on the track limits. Today the decision went in my favor for once,” said Quartararo.
The track limit violation at Misano previously raised by Quartararo was the 2020 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. At the time it was the Frenchman (then on a Petronas-Yamaha) who lost a third place, to a then KTM- Pilots (Pol Espargaro). On Saturday in Assen it was the other way around in relation to the brands.
Assen is particularly critical when it comes to track limits
A total of nine warnings were issued in the Assen Sprint due to track limit violations. Marco Bezzecchi and Francesco Bagnaia, who finished P1 and P2, were unaffected. But both are fully aware of the problem. And both point out that the TT Circuit Assen is particularly critical when it comes to staying within track limits.
“In turn 8 you try to accelerate as straight as possible onto the following straight,” says “Pecco” Bagnaia, referring to the corner where Binder received the penalty on the last lap. The problem: If you accelerate straight out of this curve, you almost inevitably end up on the green area next to the curb because the curb follows the track. At this point, it bends to the right and then to the left again.
“If we exceed the track limits here, because always in turn 8 or in the last corner,” says Bezzecchi and says: “That’s just the characteristics of this track. We have to adapt to it. I’m often on the training course myself green areas come in. Im [Sprint-]running it wasn’t easy to manage.”
And world champion Bagnaia finally adds: “I’ve only had one long-lap penalty in my entire career because of track limits. That was right here on this track.”