Marc Marquez “going to win appeal”, will “benefit from clumsiness” of rule
His legal case, that the original rule was changed or reworded after it was issued to him, is expected to be favoured by the MotoGP Court of Appeal, Spanish outlet AS report.
Marquez repeatedly asked the FIM Stewards if his original double long lap penalty was only applicable for the Argentina MotoGP, and he was repeatedly told yes, before the Honda rider signed the sanction papers, it is reported.
This is also a key factor in his case to have the looming penalty overturned.
Marquez knew he would miss Argentina regardless of his penalty due to the injury he sustained in his Portimao crash, so would “benefit from the clumsiness” of the FIM Stewards’ rule, it is reported.
Marquez was hit with a double long lap penalty for crashing into Miguel Oliveira in Portimao, to be specifically served in Argentina - but it was issued when he’d already confirmed that he’d be absent because he needed hand surgery.
The rule was reworded so that Marquez must serve a double long lap penalty whenever he is next available to race, but Honda have appealed the FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel’s decision to the MotoGP Court of Appeal.
Their final decision is yet to arrive.
“The general feeling” is that Marquez will be successful with his appeal, the report says.
“He will be able to have a normal race” whenever he next races, which Honda hope will be at the next round at the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas from April 14, because his original penalty “expired” in Argentina.
Marquez finds himself 43 points behind leader Marco Bezzecchi in the MotoGP standings after two rounds. It is unconfirmed whether he will be healthy enough to compete at COTA.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
