2023-05-09 18:27:05
Marc Márquez will not have to comply with the double Long Lap Penalty that the Catalan rider has been carrying since the opening round in Portugal. The MotoGP Court of Appeal has communicated this Tuesday, after 6:00 p.m., its decision to accept the appeal presented by the Repsol Honda Team in relation to the penalty that was pending on Marc since last March.
The mess between Márquez and the FIM began as a result of the fall suffered by the #93 during the Portuguese Grand Prix, an incident that also affected Miguel Oliveira and Jorge Martín and which resulted in a double Long Lap Penalty against the Catalan, forced to comply with this penalty at the Argentine Grand Prix as stated in the official document issued by the FIM Commissioners Panel.
After making public the absence of Marc in Termas de Río Hondo due to a fracture in the thumb of his right hand, the organization led by Freddie Spencer hastened to issue a new press release advising that #93 had to comply with his sanction no longer in Argentina, but “at the next round of the championship in which I participate”, an unacceptable change of conditions for the Repsol Honda Team, which quickly set its legal team in motion when it understood that this change of position “it violated the principle of legal certainty because it modifies the original sanction”.
The structure led by Alberto Puig prepared an appeal that was presented to the FIM Appeal Panel two days later; on March 29, given the legal complexity of the case, this body decided to transfer the matter to the MotoGP Court of Appeal, based in Switzerlanda body made up of various judges -and not by representatives chosen by the FIM- that has analyzed all the documentation provided by the Repsol Honda Team.
At first, this body announced on April 13 the precautionary suspension of the sanction pending the issuance of a final verdict, without setting a specific date. And it was today, May 9, when the MotoGP Court of Appeal has finally made a final decision: accept the appeal filed by HRC and withdraw the sanction that was still pending on the eight-time motorcycling world champion.
“The Tribunal decided to annul the application of the sanction imposed on Marc Márquez, which was issued by the FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel in relation to the original sanction,” reads the statement sent today by the International Motorcycling Federation. “The Court considered that the double Long Lap penalty imposed on Marc Márquez by the FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel during the MotoGP race in Portugal held on March 26, 2023 has been fulfilled by the non-participation of the pilot in the MotoGP race of Argentina in 2023. Therefore, Marc Márquez can compete in the next race in which he can participate, without any other sanction, “says the official text.
In this way, in the event that Marc can finally compete in France this coming weekend, the #93 will not have to carry out the controversial double Long Lap Penalty which was yet to be resolved. The Honda rider underwent a new CT scan on his right hand today to see the state of the fracture in his thumb, the same one that was operated on at the end of March and that has kept him out combat in Argentina, Austin and Jerez.
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The Repsol Honda Team has not yet communicated which riders will compete this coming weekend at Le Mans; the Japanese team is waiting to know the decision of Marc’s medical environment before confirming the return of #93 to the championship, where he would re-enlist classified in 19th position overall with 7 pointstwo more than his teammate Joan Mir, who is 20th with 5 points scored in the first four Grands Prix of the year.
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