MotoGP, Italy, Morbidelli vs Chantra: When knocking out a rival is less serious than making a 10cm mistake on the starting grid

The Italian Grand Prix was the scene of intense battles, but also of incidents that rekindled the controversy surrounding MotoGP penalties. At the heart of the debate: Franco Morbidelli – whose maneuver once again ruined an opponent's race – and the apparent leniency of the stewards.

Le Italian Grand Prix has, as often, kept its promises: speed, spectacle, delirious tifosi... and a race management that was absent. This time, it is Maverick Vinales who tasted the asphalt, mowed down by Franco Morbidelli. But rest assured, everything's fine: the Italian has been given a monumental... long lap penalty. There you go. Three seconds lost. You can literally knock down an opponent in the middle of a race and walk away with minimal damage. Welcome to MotoGP 2025, where sporting justice is optional.

You might think it's a bad joke. But no. Morbidely, properly surpassed by Casa Particular in Viñales, attempted a response as desperate as it was poorly executed: haphazard braking, front wheel hitting, and Casa Particular in Viñales sent into the gravel. An action that would be punished more severely even in a regional race.

And yet, the sentence has been passed. A loop, a turn off course – provided you don't miss. What Morbidely obviously did. Result? Double long lap penalty. Drama? Not at all: he finished sixth, as if nothing had happened. Same position he would undoubtedly have had without converting Casa Particular in Viñales in projectile.

Et Casa Particular in Viñales in all this? The Catalan kept his calm, gritted his teeth and accepted the offender's apologies, while his friend Aleix Espargaró, he said on Twitter: “ Maverick's incredible run is something no one will ever be able to recreate.. » An uppercut for the commissioners, signed Aleix.

With the Morbidelli case in Italy, mowing down a direct opponent may prove to be a good strategy.

But the show VR46 didn't stop there. Fabio DiGiannantonio, teammate of Morbidely, managed to trigger a pile-up at the start of the sprint, involving Brad Binder et Johann zarco. Zero penalties. Nothing. Nada. As if we had activated a GTA mode on the starting grid.

And that doesn't happen in MotoGP. In Moto3, David Munoz played bowling with Adrian Fernandez et Luca Lunetta. Result? Same price: total immunity. Meanwhile, Somkiat Chantra – guilty of having positioned himself incorrectly on the grid – takes two long laps. Because obviously, a static positioning error is much more serious than an attack in the middle of a bend.

The race direction, led by Simon Crafar and others, seems to have chosen his side: that of laxity. Penalties have become a joke, victims are piling up, and pilots are starting to wonder if they wouldn't be better off taking a lawyer with them in their flight suit.

One thing is sure: Morbidely can sleep soundly. In MotoGP Today, we can overthrow, eliminate, disintegrate... as long as we don't forget to do our little extended tour afterwards. Justice has been done, it seems.

Race classification MotoGP Mugello

Championship standings after the Italian Grand Prix: