Following the numerous false starts in Moto2 and the various penalties punishing them, a subject that we had discussed here, Mike Webb, the permanent Race Director, spoke on the site MotoGP.com to provide some clarification.
As a reminder, for the same fault, Franco Morbidelli and Sandro Cortese received 20 second penalties while Sam Lowes, Alex Rins, Johann Zarco, Marcel Schrotter, Takaaki Nakagami and Robin Mulhauser received a laugh through (passage through the pit lane).
Here is the official explanation.
Mike webb: “We had a technical problem with the camera which recorded the start. Some images were not displayed correctly. However we were able to identify six early departures and these drivers were immediately notified of their sanction and complied with it.
When our system started working normally again, we noticed two additional early departures: Franco Morbidelli and Sandro Cortese, but it took a while. The rule says that the sanction must be communicated to the driver before the end of the fourth lap. When a ride-through is no longer possible, the twenty-second penalty then applies. We are aware that these twenty seconds are not necessarily equivalent to the time lost in a ride-through, following the circuit. We have asked the Grand Prix Commission to look into this.”
source: MotoGP.com
