Even the Abu Dhabi Auto Racing League
Marc Marquez was handed a tyre pressure penalty after the Dutch MotoGP team's TT performance, dropping him from fourth to tenth.
Stewards said the Gresini Ducati rider was using “a tyre pressure lower than the standard recommended by official supplier” Michelin and imposed a 16-second penalty on him.
But Marquez said he was only 0.01 bar below the limit for one lap of the race – the one immediately following his collision with Ducati rider Enea Bastianini in Turn 1 – and blamed that incident on the penalty. He believes this means the rule will need to be amended in the future.
The penalty promoted Pramac rider Franco Morbidelli to ninth, while Marquez entered the results ahead of KTM rider Jack Miller, who came in eleventh.
Marquez said that while it was “a shame” to receive the penalty, “the rules are the rules.”
Marquez's theory
Marquez caused a surprise at the beginning of the race when he appeared to allow the VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio to pass him and take third place.
He later confirmed that this was an attempt to lower his tire pressure.
“The only thing we were discussing with the stewards was that this was the reason for the delay of the penalty, because as you saw in the race, I started well but suddenly I saw at the front that there was something strange and the tyre pressure was very low,” Marquez explained.
“Then I passed Diggia just to control the forward pressure, and then I was there behind him the whole race.”
But he said the incident with Bastianini ruined that plan.
“I had good control, I was on the inside, but what I didn't expect was the contact from Ina at the first corner when he pushed me out,” he continued.
“And when I came out of that lap I was one second slower and I didn't push well in turns three and five because I didn't know what the tire was going to be like coming off the grid. I fell again, and it took two laps to get back and those two laps took me out of that minimum.” [pressure]”.”
Marquez said Sunday's mixed conditions, which alternated between clouds and sunshine, made “everything difficult”, but he had controlled his tire pressures well before the collision with Bastianini – something he “couldn't control” which “caused me to go off the track and come back and it was… “The pressure is very low again.”
He also felt that Bastianini should have been forced to give up his position due to the contact, as Marquez was forced off the track.
“I expected – honestly – to drop by one place [penalty] “I think it was a mistake for Enya, because if I passed a rider in contact and that rider went off the track, I would expect him to drop one place; it's not a big penalty, but one place and he's back,” Marquez said.
“But he didn’t get a penalty, and I got a penalty for overheating the tyres. But the rules on the other hand, I agree with them.
“The only fact that took a while for the stewards – and we were talking and I was in the direction of the race, because they had the data – was that they saw that my tyre temperature had dropped after the collision with Enya.”
Asked if he thought the referees should take the contact into account when deciding on a penalty, Marquez replied: “It could be, and that's what they're telling me is that it could be a consideration for the future.” But for now, the rules are the rules. And maybe that could change in the future.
“I think that's true, especially if someone hits you and you go off the track. With these bikes, if you're 1.5 seconds or two slower a lap, the pressure drops by 0.05.
“I had to ask because I was out to collide with another rider. They said, ‘No, the rules.’ And I said, ‘I agree with you.’ That’s how the rules are now.”
strange race
Maverick Vinales was directly behind Marquez and Di Giannantonio when the Gresini rider slowed down to change positions, which Vinales immediately realized was the reason.
Asked about the incident after the race, Vinales said: “I understood very quickly, it was the front tyre pressure. They wanted to be behind instead of trying to increase it.
“I could see they were trying to follow the whole time. None of them wanted to go to the front. I was fine so I wanted to go to the front.”
Di Giannantonio said he “guessed” what Marquez was trying to achieve and admitted it was strange to be waved around in those conditions mid-race.
Lap 19 saw another strange moment, as Di Giannantonio and Marquez appeared to slow down at Turn 9, with Vinales moving into third and Marquez fourth.
Past penalties
The front tire pressure limit was lowered this season after violations became too frequent towards the end of the 2023 season, following the introduction of the rule mid-season.
However, the penalties have been increased significantly compared to 2023 – although MotoGP has at least avoided the original plan to make the offence equivalent to disqualification.
The most famous incident this year involved Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo, who missed out on the podium after receiving a penalty in Jerez.
But he is not the only one who was penalized, as Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia), Di Giannantonio, Jack Miller (KTM) and Alex Rins (Yamaha) broke these rules.
