Pons 40 HP Tuenti team lodges appeal against repeal of Marquez penalty

The 40 HP Tuenti Pons team, participating in the Moto2™ championship, has always accepted and respected the authority and decisions of Race Direction and the Safety Commission, which regulate the safety of the races in the MotoGP™ championship, based on their judgment, knowledge and experience, to ensure compliance with the FIM Sporting Regulations.

The team, however, wishes to express its views on the events at the end of the race at the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya. It does so to defend its pilot Pol Espargaró in an effort to win the Moto2™ world title. Espargaró is directly affected by the incident with Marc Marquez and the ruling of the FIM Stewards.

The incident, which happened with three laps to go, in which Espargaró crashed after a collisiong with Márquez, resulted in Race Direction giving a 60 second penalty to Márquez for returning to the ideal line without ensuring there was no other rider behind. The collision caused Espargaró to fall, which could have resulted in serious injury.

The team was concerned by the fact that he didn’t see Espargaró, did not acknowledge the crash, and even more so, because he ignored the statutory obligation to check if the track is clear before pulling back onto the ideal line – especially in a sport that involves risk, and requires the integrity of its participants.

Hours later the FIM Stewards reversed the penalty handed down by Race Direction, sighting it had accepted the appeal lodged by Márquez’s team. This ruling, contrary to Race Direction and the Safety Commission, we believe goes against the standards and regulations on security issues to be met in MotoGP™.

With Espargaró title callenge being harmed by this ruling, as it awards 16 points to Márquez, the Pons 40 HP Tuenti team is obliged to submit an appeal to the FIM CDI.

Source: motogp.com