Alex Marquez bemoans a MotoGP punishment which isn't fair
Alex Marquez finished 10th in Austrian Grand Prix
Gresini MotoGP rider Alex Marquez says unfair long lap penalty loops are not of equal length at every circuit and suggests his Austrian Grand Prix punishment was double.
The second-placed rider in the standings was served a long lap penalty for the Austrian Grand Prix after colliding with Joan Mir during the Czech Grand Prix last month.
The long lap punishment was introduced in 2019 initially as a better means of controlling track limits violations, but is often used for other infractions.
Each circuit has a penalty loop designed to lose a rider a small amount of time, though they take on different layouts and speeds.
The one on the outside of Turn 1 at the Red Bull Ring is one of the longer ones, with Alex Marquez feeling like he had effectively served a double long lap penalty in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Alex Marquez claims long lap penalty rule is not fair
The Gresini rider dropped from the top five to the outside the top 10, with Alex Marquez ultimately 10th at the chequered flag.
“I mean, it’s quite difficult but I took it quite easy,” he said.
“I mean, it’s not super fair that not all of the long laps are the same.
“In many tracks, you lose between 1.7s and 2.3s.
“But here I lost 3.6s. So, it’s like a double long lap.
“So, apart from that, when you complete the long lap in the first laps you are really conditioned because you lose many positions.
“Later on, everything was getting really warm on the bike and it was difficult.
“So, I just took it easy, tried not to make any mistakes just to arrive to the end.
“I was able to maybe attack Raul or somebody more, but it was for one point more.
“So, I preferred to finish the race. I’m looking forward to Hungary, honestly speaking.
“But we came back after the holidays in a really good mood with a really good pace, and this is something really good.”
Though finishing behind Pecco Bagnaia in the race, Alex Marquez’s lead over him in the battle for second in the championship now stands at 55 points.
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