This is a new racing event which is not going to help the popularity of the race management. This was in turmoil in the affair of the clash between Zarco and Morbidelli during the week which followed the weekend of the events. His decision was not unanimous. Now here is the story of Pol Espargaró's third place in the Styrian Grand Prix. Conquered in front of Mir while returning to the track after riding on the forbidden part…
Some had already mentioned it, and we will end up believing it. Depending on who you are and what you represent, the officials will have a variable approach to the rules. However, both Moto3 whether Moto2, we saw that driving outside the circuit was the immediate sanction. George Martin learned it the hard way by arriving as only a moral winner in the parc ferme of the Moto2 race this Sunday.
In MotoGP, we saw a breathtaking finale including a Pol Espargaro leaving the limits of the circuit and returning in front of the wheel of the Suzuki Joan mir to save third place. But there, no emotion emanated from the race direction. What angers the team manager of the blue Suzuki team Davide Brivio : " I don't understand what the race management is doing, Pol Espargarò exceeded the limits of the track and was not penalized. He is on a KTM, sponsored by Red Bull, in Austria. They will find something » blurted the Italian, thus adding to the increasingly heavy climate in the paddock.
On Sky Sport, Davide Brivio chokes: “ there is a very clear regulation, which stipulates that if a driver goes off the track on the last lap, he is penalized, he is removed from a position. It happened in Moto3, it happened in Moto2. We're in Austria at Red Bull, there's a KTM that exceeded the limit and... I don't know, I'm having a little trouble understanding. Unfairly, we did not get on the podium, because if there are rules, they must be applied ».
« Due to this Covid situation, it is not possible to go to Race Direction in person, you can only communicate by email and obviously I have reported this. I'm waiting for a response from them, but look what happened between Martin and Bezzecchi, or Vietti, last week. Things like this happen and several of them have happened before and usually the decision is made immediately. This delay worries me here and makes me think. I would like to understand why the rule sometimes applies yes and sometimes no ».
“Everyone must respect the rule, that’s all”
« An excuse not to downgrade Pol Espargarò will surely be found, but the rule is clear. Anyone who leaves the track with both wheels is penalized. Mir was penalized on the first start because he went off at the first corner and had to give up a position. He did it, it's a rule and we applied it. I don't like this track limit rule, but it's there. This is why I talk about objectivity or subjectivity, everyone must respect it, that's all. ».
It could be argued that Pol Espargaro didn't have room to be inside the track because Miller was here… " It happened sometimes, they will definitely hide behind the interpretation of the rules and you cannot go ahead with the interpretations. The problem is that when the rule is interpretable, we never stop arguing. If we talk about a rule, it's a rule » insists Davide Brivio.
He finishes : " we have not filed a complaint, we have only made a report to the Racing Directorate so far. We were running a race that we could have won. Then comes the red flag, and that's good. But being made fun of like this, we don't want to accept that ". Atmosphere…
MotoGP Austria 2 J3: classification
