Pedro Acosta 'switched off the pit limiter, paid the fine!’
“I think he switched off the pit limiter! He did it in Australia and here."
Johann Zarco couldn’t help but smile as he recalled a thwarted attempt to get a qualifying tow behind MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta at Sepang.
The Frenchman had aimed to follow the GASGAS rider out of the pits.
But the 20-year-old also had his sights set on catching a tow ahead and disappeared suspiciously fast down pit lane.
“After my first tyre, I didn't know how to go much faster and I wanted to follow someone,” Zarco said.
“But I could not catch Pedro because he went very fast in the pit lane.
“I think he switched off the pit limiter! He did it two times. He did it in Australia and here.
“He knows that the penalty is 1,500 euros. So he knows that when he wants to catch someone, it will be 1,500 euros!
“That's the MotoGP style - when we get more money!” Zarco joked.
Fortunately for Zarco, he remained top of the Q1 session, with Acosta just missing out on a Q2 transfer place in third.
That kind of 'pay-to-tow’ tactic is possible since the MotoGP rules state a rider will only be fined for a first offence of breaking the 60km/h pit lane speed limit, providing they are not riding at ‘excessively high speed’.
However, ‘Repeat offences at the same event will incur a higher fine each time, and any rider committing 3 offences at a single event may also be subject to further penalties.
‘Excessively high speed, in the judgement of the FIM MotoGP Stewards, and multiple repeat offences during the season may incur higher fines and may also be subject to further penalties.’
Simon Crafar, also listening to Zarco and future Chairman of the FIM MotoGP Stewards, hinted that the punishment (fine) for non-excessive speeding in pit lane is set to change next year - while making clear “that’s nothing to do with me!”
But until then, and with qualifying so vital, the 1,500 euro fine is a price that riders and teams are willing to pay.
Tech3 rider Acosta heads to next weekend’s Barcelona finale with a three-point lead over factory KTM's Brad Binder in the battle for fifth in the world championship.
Zarco - now riding for LCR Honda - was sixth in his rookie MotoGP campaign, also with Tech3, but on Yamaha machinery in 2017.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
