Always him
Even in a season like this one, in which he struggles to achieve great results on track – at least for now – Marc Marquez still manages to be the absolute reference in MotoGP, so much so that he makes the regulations change. Or rather, since it will still take some time to intervene concretely on the regulations, in the meantime the Spanish champion has ‘forced’ the Race Direction on the eve of the Le Mans weekend to modify the traditional ‘information’ provided to teams and riders. Specifically, after the chaos generated by Marquez’s ‘creative’ pit entry in the Jerez Sprint race, it was better clarified exactly what is allowed or not when returning to the pits.
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Changes imposed by the Race Direction
The first point written in these new Race Information is, not by chance, that “the pit entry lane”, that is the pit-lane entry lane, “must be respected“. This first sentence was not in the document released at Jerez and makes all the difference in the world, because previously the only explicit reference was the pit-lane entry line, where the 60km/h speed limit comes into effect.
The document then details better what a rider must do when entering the pit lane: “To avoid cutting corners and dangerous riding at the pit entry, riders must not ride outside the painted curb on the inside of the pit entry and must stay inside the solid white line on the right side of the pit entry until they have passed the 60 km/h speed limit sign“. Until the Spanish GP, only the “solid white line on the inside of the Pit Entry”, “the solid white line inside the pit entry“ was mentioned.
The ‘specification’ for Flag to Flag situations
It was even specified in detail that “during races” – and the example of a Flag to Flag race is cited – “infractions will be penalized. The use of the asphalt inside the pit entry curb on the right side and crossing the white line on the right side after the curb will be subject to an immediate penalty, not counted as track limits or shortcut“.
In short, the clear intention seems to be to make the maneuver Marc Marquez performed at Jerez forbidden and that led him to victory in the Sprint race. A ‘Marquez decree’ in every respect, pending a broader revision (probably looking towards 2027) of the actual regulations.
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