Quartararo loses appeal, misses start of FP1
Fabio Quartararo has lost his appeal against a 20-minute suspension for the start of tomorrow's opening Free Practice at the Spanish MotoGP.
The French ace was handed the penalty for breaching MotoGP's rules on training with modified production bikes, during a recent outing at Paul Ricard.
While it is not known precisely which part of the regulations Quartararo was judged to have broken, it is thought that the R1 Superbike contained modifications beyond those allowed in the MotoGP rules.
Fabio Quartararo has lost his appeal against a 20-minute suspension for the start of tomorrow's opening Free Practice at the Spanish MotoGP.
The French ace was handed the penalty for breaching MotoGP's rules on training with modified production bikes, during a recent outing at Paul Ricard.
While it is not known precisely which part of the regulations Quartararo was judged to have broken, it is thought that the R1 Superbike contained modifications beyond those allowed in the MotoGP rules.
FIM Statement:
The appeal is lodged against the decision of the FIM MotoGP Stewards of July 15th 2020, notified to the team, of rider Mr. Fabio Quartararo on July 15th 2020 at 11h55, according to which, the rider Mr. Fabio Quartararo was found to be training at Paul Ricard circuit with a motorcycle specification that did not comply with Art. 1.15.1 of the FIM World Championship Grand Prix regulations.
The facts
A hearing was held with MotoGP Stewards to obtain the following information:
• The MotoGP Stewards Notice of Decision
• They explained the basis of their decision was video evidence combined with confirmation from the rider and his manager that Mr. Quartararo used the said motorcycle.
A hearing was held with the Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team representative and rider to obtain the following information:
• The rider and team representative explained that this was a mistake from their side and was not intentional to gain a specific benefit. They both confirmed the facts presented and requested a change of penalty.
The Panel's considerations
The Appeal Stewards had a hearing with the MotoGP Stewards and subsequently with rider and a representative from team.
The Appeal Stewards see no reason to deviate from the decision as specified by the MotoGP Stewards Panel. The Appeal Stewards confirm the decision.
The judgement
Upon these grounds, the FIM Appeal Stewards decide:
• to confirm the decision pronounced by the FIM MotoGP Stewards
• to reject the appeal lodged
Since Quartararo posted pictures on his own social media, there is no suggestion that he deliberately infringed the rules or tried to cover anything up.
While unwelcome, it is unlikely that the 20-minute penalty will be too much of a setback for Quartararo, who was second fastest for Petronas Yamaha during Wednesday's official test at the Jerez circuit.
Each of the opening three Free Practice sessions are 45-minutes long, after which the top ten riders receive direct access to Qualifying 2.
Moto3's Sergio Gadea received the same penalty for a similar offence to Quartararo but did not appeal.
• Wheels
• Brake calipers, master cylinders, lines and discs (carbon discs are not permitted)
• Front and rear suspension
• Removal of existing parts (eg. mirrors, lights, etc.)
• Tyres (commercially available tyres as approved by the Technical Director, NB. current specification of championship tyres are not permitted)
• Footrests, handlebars and control levers
• Exhaust
• Replica Bodywork in a different material is permitted, but the design must be identical to the original (except for blanking areas for removed lights, etc.)
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.
