The Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez which will take place from July 17 to 19 will begin with a summons of two drivers before the officials. Even if they were not mentioned in the FIM press release, it is certain that they will be Sergio Garcia and Fabio Quartararo. It is a shame that the same rumor did not identify the person or team that led to this request for explanation. Because it was on a report, and in particular regarding the preparation of the Frenchman's Yamaha R1 for track training, that we got to this point. A situation that provokes many comments…
There is not quite a feeling of unease, but there is at least a fear that this convocation of pilots to Jerez for denounced facts of training on the track pushes the MotoGP towards the customs in force in Formula 1. This last paddock is crumbling under complaints and other disputes that the teams regularly throw in their faces. The first Grand Prix of the category in Austria did not fail in what seems to be a tradition.
The motorcycle Grands Prix had until now been fairly spared from this deleterious atmosphere. There was indeed the affair of the revolt of certain manufacturers against the deflector placed on the swinging arm of the Ducati, which mobilized a court, but since then the tension seemed to have eased. And then the mobilization of the paddock in the face of Coronavirus with an business backup plan showed a certain solidarity between the protagonists.
But here we are now with this story which puts fabio quartararo in the first line. A situation which is distressing until Charles Pernat on GPone: " if we start doing like in Formula 1, we will ruin ourselves. These are things worthy of this championship (F1). Quartararo had also posted photos of the bike on social media, so he had no bad faith. Someone's been spying on him, it's obvious. It's stupidity to think that things like this can help ».
Formula 1's low morals win MotoGP
Depending on the site's approach Motomatters, two errors would have been made in the organization of this test at Paul Ricard: it was made available to fabio quartararo a motorcycle that has not been previously presented and approved by the technical director Danny Aldridge. And this Yamaha R1 was not what one could define as a completely stock machine.
The British site recalls that there was a precedent. It was in 2016, with a Aleix Espargaró presenting on social networks a Suzuki GSX-R 1000 that he had prepared with carbon brakes, Öhlins suspensions, MotoGP wheels, to tour in Barcelona. Danny Aldridge had seen the images and informed the pilot that he could not ride with such a machine. Which he didn't do.
Because fabio quartararo was completely in good faith, proof of which is that he widely distributed the images of this R1, and since no one in the right mind can affirm that he gained any advantage from this operation on the Paul Ricard, we cannot does not expect the Frenchman to be sanctioned. A point of order should suffice. That being said, this case will have shown that between the MotoGP and Formula 1, the difference has diminished…
