Let's talk MotoGP: The most absurd decision of the last 15 years

On this season MotoGP, the race management made more than one questionable decision. But in Valence, it was the pomp on the Garonne. Twice, clearly defined acts have not been punished commensurate with the damage, which only accentuates the vagueness maintained by the sports commissioners, already widely criticized in 2023. By fans, observers, and above all , the pilots. Let's return for a moment to these two scandals fortunately masked by the stakes of this championship final.

 

Brad Binder cups Álex Márquez, and we reward him

 

In living memory, and even if it may fail me, I could not remember such an absurd decision at this level of competition. It was incomprehensible. During the Grand Prix on Sunday, Brad Binder made a mistake when he was in second position. He fell back in the rankings, and began a comeback as he is accustomed to doing.

And, also as he usually does, he realized blockpass on blockpass. It's not like we're not used to these maneuvers from this pilot, but so be it. Then, he approached Álex Márquez for the gain of sixth position. As with 90% of his attacks in 2023, he deliberately moved it out of the way, almost knocked it off the track, and passed. You don't need to be a sports commissioner to see that the maneuver is abusive, that it harms Alex Márquez's race, and that it is entirely the fault of Brad Binder. Important point ; in this specific case, Brad Binder takes a great advantage, unlike Jaume Masia during the Qatar Moto3 Grand Prix when he pushed Ayumu Sasaki.

 

 

You don't have to be a sports commissioner to realize that something is wrong. Obviously, he must return the position to his opposite number. Except that there it is; the race direction takes a long time to decide, a criticism which was made all season long, notably by Franco Morbidelli, and which cost, for example, Luca Marini's Sprint in Austria. Jorge Martín, who should have been penalized quickly for the incident caused at the start, had nothing until the next day, and went to hit Luca Marini in the short format.

Meanwhile, Fabio Di Giannantonio, on another planet, overtook his teammate Álex Márquez in disaster. That meant two places lost for little brother Márquez. Finally, an official presents a sign to the KTM rider; he must make a place, in this case in “Diggia”. I still don't understand why you should never give it back to the person you touched, but that's how it usually happens. The fluorescent yellow sign is presented to him on the line.

 

 

So, before the first two corners, in which Brad Binder overtakes a struggling Maverick Viñales, and returns the position to the Aprilia factory rider instantly. I can't believe it, no one is fooled. Reassure us, he will have to give way to Di Giannantonio, already far behind? Well no. The Mi'kmaq passes peacefully, penalty served. This doesn't make any sense. None. And the commentators are not mistaken. They too remain stunned by such a decision.

Brad Binder gained a position for free, without doing anything except overtaking a failing Viñales to give him back his place. Álex Márquez lost two.

 

 

The excess that we want to make us forget

 

At the start of the race, we saw this famous graphic appear on the right side of the screen, with the sound effect signaling a fall. Everyone looks at the leaderboard on the left to see who is suddenly losing places, as usual. From there, we understand that Marco Bezzecchi is no longer on the track. All right. After all, he hasn't been in Olympic form since returning from injury.

We are never shown the image. It's not the first time this has happened after all, the realization is what it is. Just, a little banner appears: the incident between Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Márquez will be studied by the commissioners. The finale ends, the “Martinator” fails in its task, and Pecco Bagnaia wins the Grand Prix. Finally, they deign to show us the image of an incident that we had already forgotten!

 

 

Stupor. We see Marc Márquez making a move on Marco Bezzecchi, pure and simple. Moto3 riders take two long laps for less than that. The Italian was mad with rage that same evening.

 

Conclusion

 

All young people watch MotoGP. What must be understood is that we cannot blame Moto3 riders for imitating their greats if they are never penalized for this type of action. The Valencian Community Grand Prix illustrates the phenomenon well, because Brad Binder and Marc Márquez are often taken to the firmament for maneuvers of this kind, and also, very little penalized in relation to their actions. Under the pretext of a “strong game”, they allow themselves dangerous and reprehensible maneuvers. DORNA and the race management pole must do better in 2024, because this year was quite disastrous on this point.

What did you think of these incidents? Tell us in the comments!

 

 

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport