While the FIA stewards announced on Tuesday that Marc Marquez would have to serve his penalty after the Portuguese Grand Prix in his next race, Team Honda announced its decision to appeal.
Honda and Marc Marquez want to assert their rights. This Sunday, in the second round of the Portuguese Grand Prix, the Spanish driver bayoneted Miguel Oliveira’s Aprilia and watched his race end prematurely. A few hours after the race in Portimao, the commissioners of the International Motorcycle Federation (FIM) sanctioned the six-time MotoGP world champion with a double “long lap” to be served from the Argentine Grand Prix, which is organized on weekends. Termas de Rio Hondo.
However, after announcing the deal for Marc Marquez for the second meeting of the season, the race stewards announced on Tuesday that the penalty affecting the Spanish driver would be postponed. “Due to Marc Márquez’s injury and non-participation in the Argentine Grand Prix, and in order to comply with the objective behind the decision made by the FIM MotoGP Stewards Committee, the double long stroke penalty will be taken by the rider in the next MotoGP motorcycle race in which he or she can participate. Change No. Fits Team Honda’s taste.
Statement by the Repsol Honda Team regarding the FIM sanction adjustmenthttps://t.co/ZG1Wh5tEVD pic.twitter.com/hJI9Xp1gZ3
– Repsol Honda Team (HRC_MotoGP) March 29, 2023
Honda does not accept penalty modification
In fact, through a press release published on Wednesday, the Japanese line-up announced its decision to appeal this decision of the commissioners. “The Repsol Honda Team considers that the penalty amendment was a change in the criteria regarding when a penalty should be applied and that this amendment was issued by the FIM two days after making the initial penalty final and final, and not confirmed with the applicable rules of the Motorcycle World Championship,” It is emphasized in this press release.
In the face of this, Team Honda asserts that it “intends to use all remedies provided by the applicable regulations to defend its legitimate rights and interests, which it considers to be infringed following the last approved decision, and in particular has duly lodged an appeal with the FIM Appeal Stewards”. While the stewards considered amending the penalty imposed on Marc Marquez as a simple illustration, the Honda team leaders did not seem to agree and this case could set a precedent in the future, but it also prompts the FIM to revise its rules in order to prevent such a situation from happening again.
