Alex Marquez: “I disagree” with stewards, rules not “the same” for everyone
“This shows that rules don’t apply the same way to everybody"
Alex Marquez has blasted the stewards’ decision to punish him for a tangle with Joan Mir at the Japanese MotoGP.
The Gresini Ducati rider was given a long lap penalty, to be served at the upcoming Australian MotoGP, for contact with Mir in Motegi.
Marquez went into the back of Mir on the first lap, after a chaotic start had sent him plummeting down the order.
Their bikes became entangled and their races ended early, much to Mir’s fury.
“I made a mistake at turn 11 that sent me off line and while trying to get back to my position I had a coming together with Mir, which led to the crash,” Marquez reacted.
“Our bikes tangled together and I apologised to him for what happened.
“Now we need to recover ahead of Australia.
“We’ll have to perform a long-lap penalty, even though I disagree with it: seven days ago, at turn 3 another rider hit me the same way and nothing happened.
“This shows that rules don’t apply the same way to everybody, but it is what it is. We’ll make the most of this lesson.”
Last week at Mandalika, Marquez’s grand prix was ended prematurely in a four-rider pile-up caused by Jack Miller.
Miller accepted responsibility for a mistake which wiped Marquez, Luca Marini and Aleix Espargaro out.
But Miller was spared punishment by the stewards who deemed it a racing incident.
A week later, they have not been so forgiving of Marquez.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
