The Japanese Grand Prix was full of emotions for Marc Marquez, but it could have been even more eventful for the Spaniard. After losing pole position on Saturday for driving in the green zone during his fastest lap, Marquez narrowly escaped punishment on Sunday for the same type of offence… but narrowly escaped punishment.
In the last lap of the race in Motegi, Marc Marquez went onto the green, which normally results in a penalty and the loss of a position. However, he crossed the finish line in third place and was able to keep his podium. The stewards justified their decision with a technical detail: the gap then observed between Marquez and his pursuer Enea Bastianini.
According to the rules, the penalty of loss of position for touching the green in the last round applies only if the driver in question is less than half a second behind the next one. Gold, Marquez crossed the finish line with a lead of 536 thousandths of second on bastianini, thus escaping punishment… for 36 thousandths!
Marc Marquez gets away with it by 36 thousandths
This detail allowed Marquez to maintain his third place, thus avoiding a situation which would have cut crucial points for him and Gresini Racing team.
This chance came after an already difficult Saturday, where Marquez had his best qualifying time disallowed for a similar offence, costing him pole position in favour of Peter Acosta. Cancellation of the tour intervened late, leaving Marquez without enough time to attempt another fast lap and relegating him to the third row.
Ultimately, these 36 thousandths made all the difference and allowed Marquez to avoid double punishment in one weekendThis technical detail not only saved his podium, but also slowed down the ambitions of bastianini in the race for third place in the general classification. For Marc Marquez, it's a small miracle that shows that every thousandth counts in this sport.
MotoGP, Japan J3: ranking
