The punishments inflicted in MotoGP is a real subject, which has been exacerbated with the new Grand Prix format. When the panel of FIM stewards, whose independence is so much praised, was set up, everyone initially agreed to evaluate this implementation as good. For what ? Because, to judge the actions on the track and discern between racing facts and initiatives to be sanctioned, there was in the workforce the authority of a former driver who became a legend during his lifetime in the person of Freddie Spencer. With his 27 Grand Prix victories and three world titles, the American could do no wrong. We know the rest... So much so that, in memories, the official playing the contested referee takes precedence over the adored driver. Under the constant fire of criticism while carrying out a sensitive mission that no one would want to do in his place, he rarely expresses himself. However, he did it after the French Grand Prix.
An interview that we owe to speedweek and which is worth its weight in gold since the lack of dialogue is always put forward by the pilots who feel that they are never heard by Freddie spencer and his colleagues. There was a meeting at Le Mans between all the parties which ended in failure, the said pilots not even agreeing themselves on the substance of a debate which would nevertheless have been very useful. That being said, since French Grand Prix, something moved. Pecco Bagnaia reported, opening with collaboration with authority rather than a frontal attack. A thrill at Le Mans that Freddie spencer confirm.
Thus, on the German-speaking site, the American reports that the Grand Prix of France was perhaps the beginning of something, like the birth of a basis on which the coherence of decisions so much demanded could be put in place. We read thus: “ one of the things we're working on is a balance between racing incidents and contact accidents. And the last race was perfect in that regard. The French Grand Prix was what we would like to see ».
As a reminder, in the MotoGP race at Le Mans, there were no penalties after the accident between Luca marini et Alex Marquez, nor for the collision between Pecco Bagnaia et Maverick Vinales. Alex Marquez, however, received a grid penalty for his "overly ambitious driving style" on the first lap when Brad Binder went wide after contact in turn 6.
Freddie Spencer: “ the competition in MotoGP is big and difficult, there are a lot of emotions involved, from the rider's point of view, and I understand that »
Freddie spencer precise : " I've been on the panel since 2019 and, as you can imagine, work is the biggest challenge. We now have over 90 cameras including “closed circuit television” that we can access. We have an office at race control, we can monitor everything, starting with falls. We can see more precisely when shortcuts are taken or where drivers are positioned on the track, where they go off the track or exceed the “track limits”. With the cameras and the staff at my disposal, the goal has always been to improve ourselves in analyzing situations in a short time. For example, if we give a penalty for "changing position", we do so within a reasonable time frame, if possible within a turn or sooner ».
An evaluation of the means and the philosophy which is not the type to convince a team like Yamaha who, recently, after having suffered the wrath of the commissioners, did not hide his doubts about the competence and discernment of the officials. A full-blown attack that Freddie Spencer may include: what you see in this world today and in our sport and what many people need to understand is that the competition is big and difficult. There are a lot of emotions involved, from the driver's point of view, and I understand that. On our side, it's a question of safety and fairnessMore we want drivers to be able to race and we saw it in France ". The president of the FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel therefore takes a date: there is a before and after meeting at Le Mans. See you this weekend at Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix to verify it.
