David Munoz “not ultra dirty” judgement is delivered

David Munoz was not “dirty” in his last-lap manoeuvre at the Moto3 French Grand Prix, he has been reassured.

The sometimes controversial Munoz had waited the entire race to pounce on Joel Kelso, who led from the start until the final lap.

But when Munoz tried to edge past, both riders ran wide, enabling Jose Antonio Rueda to nip in and win the race.

Munoz finished second but was demoted a place, back behind Kelso, for the final-lap incident.

However, despite this being the latest in a long line of controversies for Munoz, his move against Kelso has been defended.

“I think the door was open,” TNT Sports’ Sylvain Guintoli analysed.

“Munoz did go for it, as you would, on a last-corner last-lap manoeuvre.

“He came in hard, the contact happened. The penalty is justified because they both ran wide.

“Would he have made the corner if Kelso wasn’t there? Probably not. So that’s the right call.

“For me, Kelso lost that race. He did everything perfectly. But the last move - you’ve got to cover. On the last lap, you’ve got to be in the middle of the track, nobody can overtake on the inside, nobody can pass on the inside.

“Do, basically, a road block. That’s how you win that race.

“It’s unfortunate for Kelso because I had a good feeling for him. I felt it could be his race. He did everything perfectly until that moment.”

Michael Laverty added: “You can see why they chose to demote Munoz.

“There is an argument to say he may have stayed on the track, if he hadn’t made contact. But because he took both of them off the track, they went over the green paint, and he created that contacted. So you have to demote him a position to have continuity in the rules.

“But the door was open. Munoz was not ultra dirty.

“At the last corner, you’ve got to go for it. Joel’s tactic was to go as fast as possible around the racing line but it didn’t work out.”