Spain’s Marc Marquez (Honda) will have to take a two long lap penalty following a collision with Portugal’s Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) in his next race in the MotoGP World Championship.
The clarification was released today following news of the absence of the Spanish driver from the second race of the season, the Argentine Grand Prix, due to a broken right thumb following an on-track crash with the Portuguese driver. Sunday’s main MotoGP race at the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Initially, the message from the sports commissioners indicated that the penalty must be carried out at the Argentine Grand Prix, the race that follows the Portuguese Grand Prix.
However, given the absence of the Spanish rider from this round due to injury, a commission from the International Motorcyclist Federation (FIM), made up of Andrés Molinos, Freddie Spencer and Tamara Matko, arrived to clarify their initial position.
“Given the injury and the absence of Marc Marquez at the Argentine Grand Prix, and in order to fulfill the intention behind the decision made by the FIM MotoGP Steering Committee, the penalty of two long laps should be applied at the next stage, where it [o piloto] may participate,” the statement said.
The third round of the World Speed Championship will be the American Grand Prix, which will be held in Austin, Texas (USA), from 14 to 16 April.