Bezzecchi deserved a penalty for Marquez’s latest incident

Abraham Smith

Marc Marquez was involved in another collision, this time with VR46 Ducati racer Marco Bezzecchi, during Saturday morning practice for the German MotoGP Grand Prix.

But unlike his dramatic incident with Johann Zarco on Friday, Marquez wasn’t to blame this time – and Bezzecchi got off lightly with a warning when a starting penalty should have been appropriate.

Marquez met Bezzecchi as the Italian eased off the accelerator and looked over his shoulder with the Honda close behind.

The FP3 incident happened just before the final corner of the Sachsenring as Bezzecchi was preparing to pit and slowed significantly to stay behind him, not anticipating the presence of Marquez. Thus, the six-time world champion was lucky enough to stay on his bike after slipping to the left side of the Ducati.

OPINION: BEZZECCHI DESERVES A PENALTY

Bezzecchi received a behavioral warning for the move from the FIM MotoGP stewards.

But that’s not consistent with previous sanctions imposed by stewards, such as Franco Morbidelli’s two long lap penalties in 2022 for comparable driving in practice.

And it downplays the potential seriousness of the accident, which could easily have happened if Marquez hadn’t taken evasive action at the time.

The danger of going slow on the ideal line is something even club racers are drummed into. That’s why it’s exasperating to see MotoGP riders who are said to be at the top of the game making mistakes that even newcomers wouldn’t make – and to see the stewards seemingly taking ‘warnings’ instead of harsh penalties with faint heartedness are equally irritating.

Had the contact resulted in a crash – something that could very well have happened – it’s hard to imagine that Bezzecchi would have gotten away with just a warning, but punishing consequences rather than actions alone will not solve any of the problems facing the Series entails reckless driving.

Chief Steward Freddie Spencer recently promised us a new system of office, but while drivers go unpunished for serious rule violations, it’s difficult to take his words seriously.

VR46 DEFENDS BEZZECCHI

Bezzecchi’s team boss, Pablo Nieto, thought the behavioral warning was too strict.

“Our plan was to do two laps and then go in,” Nieto told MotoGP pit reporter Jack Appleyard.

“He was in the group, it’s normal that he has to look backwards to find the pit lane entrance to see if there are a few riders behind him because the entrance to that pit lane isn’t that easy either, because it’s right behind the last corner.” .

“I don’t think he did anything wrong, the only thing is that Marc was very close behind him and I think it was unfortunate for Marco and Marc.

“I think the warning might be too much.”

The incident adds to Marquez’s wild weekend

For Marquez, this weekend is causing even more controversy at the Sachsenring after he crashed at Turn 1 in Friday’s FP2, which saw his reeling bike collide with Zarco’s Pramac Ducati as the Frenchman exited the pit lane.

This controversy later escalated when Marquez blamed Zarco instead of taking responsibility himself.

Then on Saturday morning Marquez crashed again in Q1 and subsequently ran back across the live circuit as he rushed to get his spare wheel.

Bezzecchi wasn’t the only driver to cause irritation among his fellow competitors on Saturday. Fellow VR46 Academy graduate Morbidelli drew the wrath of Jack Miller after the Australian was fortunate to avoid contact with Morbidelli’s Yamaha when crossing the ideal line – something he has a history of in the past.

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