‘The inconsistency with which penalties are applied by stewards damages the fairness of MotoGP’

“We are disappointed to see the inequality with which penalties are applied by the FIM MotoGP stewards panel,” the Yamaha statement reads. “The inconsistency with which penalties are applied by the FIM MotoGP stewards panel during the 2022 season damages the fairness of MotoGP and the faith in the stewards’ jurisdiction. There have been at least three more serious race incidents in the MotoGP class (resulting in riders retiring from the race and/or causing injuries) that were left unpunished.”

Yamaha racing’s managing director and MotoGP team principal Lin Jarvis went further, complaining that there is no way of appealing the stewards’ decision.

“We wanted to appeal the decision of the stewards on Sunday at the Assen track, but this type of penalty is not open to discussion or appeal,” he said. “We then wanted to raise the issue, as a matter of principle, with CAS (Court of Arbitration of Sport), but equally such a matter is not open to appeal. It is precisely for these reasons that correct, balanced, and consistent decisions should be taken by the stewards in the first place and executed within the correct, reasonable time frame.”

So let’s consider the four incidents raised by Yamaha in chronological order.

 

1. Pecco Bagnaia / Jorge Martin crash

Qatar, March 6

At the season-opening Qatar GP on March 6, factory Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia was fighting back from a disastrous start. On lap 12 of 22 he tried to out-brake Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin, lost the front, crashed and took Martin with him.

Stewards’ decision: racing incident, no penalty.

 

2. Jack Miller / Joan Mir crash

Portimao, April 24

At round five in Portugal on April 24, factory Ducati rider Jack Miller was battling with Joan Mir for third place in the closing stages. As they attacked Turn 1 Miller out-braked Mir, crashed and took out Mir.

Stewards’ decision: racing incident, no penalty.

 

3. Takaaki Nakagami / Pecco Bagnaia / Alex Rins crash

Barcelona, June 5

At the ninth race of 2022 at Barcelona, LCR Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami lost the front braking into the very first corner and crashed, taking Bagnaia and Suzuki’s Alex Rins with him. Rins broke a wrist in the pile-up.

Stewards’ decision: racing incident, no penalty.

 

4. Fabio Quartararo / Aleix Espargaró crash

Assen, June 26

At Assen championship leader Quartararo attempted to take second place from title-rival Espargaró at Turn 5 on lap five. Quartararo got into the corner too hot, hit the Aprilia, lost the front and crashed, putting Espargaró into the gravel. The Spaniard didn’t crash and made a heroic comeback from 15th to fourth.

Stewards’ decision: irresponsible riding, causing danger to other competitors… For the above reasons the FIM MotoGP stewards panel has imposed a long-lap penalty for the British Grand Prix.

 

It is difficult to understand how Bagnaia, Miller and Nakagami weren’t causing danger to other riders when they fell. And if Quartararo’s Assen lunge was irresponsible riding, then so were all the others.

Either all four accidents were racing incidents or none of them were.

Of the four, Quartararo’s was the smallest accident: braking from a low speed into a first-gear hairpin. All the other crashes happened at much higher speeds, which should always be taken into account by the stewards – taking out a rival at 50mph is a less severe crime than taking out a rival at 100mph-plus.

I often question stewards’ decisions in my mind and usually bow to their superior knowledge, because they see camera angles that we don’t. But on these four occasions we all got to see exactly what happened and I literally cannot understand why Quartararo deserved punishment if the others didn’t.

Assuming Silverstone’s long-lap penalty area remains at The Loop (the left-handed Turn 14 hairpin), Quartararo will lose several seconds in the British GP on August 7, which may or may not be crucial to the number of points he scores that day and therefore to the outcome of the 2022 MotoGP world championship.

Quartararo left Assen with a 21-point championship advantage over Espargaró, down from 34 points after Sachsenring.

Inevitably, the Assen decision has lit up social media, with some fans suggesting it was a cynical ploy to spice up the championship, like the infamous decision by Formula 1’s race director Michael Masi in last year’s season-ending Abu Dhabi F1 race, which almost certainly changed the outcome of the championship.

I don’t think the MotoGP stewards acted cynically at Assen. I just think they were incorrect – blatantly, incomprehensibly incorrect.

Masi’s Abu Dhabi decision was later reviewed by the FIA (car racing’s version of the FIM). The review concluded that Masi had made a human error but acted in good faith. He was then replaced as race director.

I wonder if the FIM will review the Assen incident in the same way.