Columnist Jorge Lorenzo tilts the scales of sporting justice a little more towards Honda and Marc Marquez, who appealed the change in the wording of the sanction of the two long penalty laps that the FIM commissioners decided to imposed on the driver responsible for the pile-up at the Portuguese Grand Prix. An accident which caused damage since Jorge Martin was hit, but not sunk, while Miguel Oliveira suffered the brunt of the impact on his body from a sinking Honda. The one who caused the scandal, Marc Marquez, was also injured, both men having been forced to skip the Argentine Grand Prix...
Un Argentine Grand Prix expressly cited in the wording of the first decision of the FIM stewards. These were then put in the spotlight as soon as the announcement of the package Marc Marquez at Termas de Rio Hondo has become official. The idea that the counters are thus reset to zero for the next expedition to Austin created a strong emotion in the paddock, enraged by the feeling that the official Honda got away with it.
To put out the fire, the same commissioners then made another decision, this time conditioning the execution of the punishment on the ability of the condemned to fulfill it, and not on the simple calendar revealing the next Grand Prix. A fundamentally changed situation which has pushed Honda to appeal for formal defects. The idea generally held before Austin is that the brand and its driver will celebrate a common victory. But on the green carpet.
Jorge Lorenzo: “ it is not possible for a penalty to suddenly change from one day to the next »
And for good reason. The sources generally identified as “close to the matter” agree on the fact that Honda and Marc Marquez have evidence to show that they had asked the stewards for further clarification to be certain that the two long penalty laps should only have been served at Termas... For its part, Jorge Lorenzo commented : " what is written, is written and cannot be changed ».
Por Fuera, on crash.net insists on the fact that Honda will succeed in his appeal. “ This isn't a fair change for Marquez, they should almost certainly win » he said, adding: “ it is no longer a question of sanctioning or not the behavior of Marc Marquez in Portimao. I have already expressed my thoughts on this and I have already said that he made a mistake and that he unfortunately had this attitude too often on the track. A Severe Penalty Is Suitable, But Not This Way ».
On the outcome which will undoubtedly further shake the credibility of officials, the five-time winner specifies: “ I don't know if that's fair or not, because Marquez fully deserved this penalty, but there was an obvious anomaly in the choices made by the FIM. So I really believe that Marc Marquez will win the appeal, because it is not possible for a penalty to suddenly change from one day to the next ". Yes Freddie Spencer takes a jacket, he can prepare to have a suit tailored.
