Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018

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Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018
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Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018

Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018

Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018

Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018

5 pictures

Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018
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1/5
Without an umbrella, nothing went at the Argentina Grand Prix.

Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018
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2/5
Cal Crutchlow secured victory after an extremely exciting race.

Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018
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3/5
Johann Zarco fought for victory until shortly before the end, but then had to be content with second place.

Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018
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4/5
Valentino Rossi went down after a collision with Marc Marquez and finished the race without a point.

Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018
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5/5
The joy was still great: Jack Miller secured pole in qualifying and led the race for a long time, but in the end it was only enough for fourth place.

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Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018

Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018
Marquez must be punished

No question about it: Last Sunday’s Argentina GP was one of the most exciting MotoGP races of modern times. But at what price? All are victorious because all came back alive.

Toni Borner

04/09/2018

Punishment after punishment: The Argentine Grand Prix was exciting, but at the same time a farce through and through. The fact that Cal Crutchlow won ahead of Johann Zarco, Alex Rins and Jack Miller and that this quartet showed racing at its finest, faded into the background even before the checkered flag fell.

In the end, it can be said of luck that everyone returned to the box alive on Sunday.

Penalized and non-penalized: Starting grid up to R1

The first punishment was for Jack Miller – for doing everything right. The Australian rolled onto the grid with slicks and took his well-deserved pole position there on Saturday. But everyone else pushed their bikes back into the pits to change tires. Miller stood alone and put the race management under pressure.

The mere fact that the teams pushed back to the pits after the inspection round was a loophole in the regulations – it had never been before. In a similar situation at the Sachsenring, Stefan Bradl’s starting line-up had been converted to dry – but it wasn’t finished. Presumably everyone assumed that you could simply return, rebuild and start the warm-up lap from the pit lane – and then take your starting place again, since you had been there before.


Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018


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Marc Marquez drove to his starting place in the opposite direction of the race.

Normally the rest of the field – and without delay – would have had to start from the pit lane – which of course is an unbelievable risk. Several pilots were already standing at the pit exit when the start delay was communicated and they had to go back to the pit – and were allowed to.

Missed Penalty 1: Jorge Lorenzo. While everyone was aware of the basic rules of motorcycle racing, they applied to one “star” not: Jorge Lorenzo drove in the opposite direction of the race in the pit lane, only switched off the engine when a mechanic had come towards him halfway and pushed him from now on. In the overall chaos this went under and there was no punishment.

FIM World Championship Grand Prix Regulations: §1.21 “Conduct during training and racing”, Section 11: Drivers are prohibited from driving their motorcycle in the opposite direction to the direction of the race, both on the track and in the pit lane. This is only permitted when instructed and accompanied by an official.” This was missing from Lorenzo. Later at another point too.


Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018


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Zarco also deserved a punishment.

The second punishment was now for the Marc VDS team with Franco Morbidelli and Tom Luthi – again for “Doing everything right”. Because the two Honda satellite pilots came back to the pits after the tour so that they could be fitted with slicks in accordance with the rules. Of course, the two rookies would have had to leave the pit lane and line up at the end of the field, but the bikes would have been in the right setup – and everyone else would have had to switch to flag-to-flag rule.

In the meantime it had been decided to let the pilots according to the regulation “at the end of the grid” back into the field. For another tour of the field, we went out of the pit lane to line up at the end of the field. According to qualifying, four rows should remain free behind pole sitter Jack Miller, Pedrosa took sixth place. Another wrong decision – you should have started with row 9, but there were no more markings that you could have placed the entire field.

After the warm-up lap, Marc Marquez went out of the motorcycle shortly before the sharp start. Marquez should have left the piste and should have driven out of the pit lane afterwards. But the six-time world champion pushed his machine up to Jack Miller – and then drove back to his starting position in the opposite direction of the race. Normally he should have received the black flag for this, but here too the officials were overwhelmed and one of them even showed that Marquez should return to his seat – which the official on the grid shouldn’t have done either. Later there was a drive-through penalty for Marquez, which cost the Spaniard 27 seconds.

Punishments and non-punishments: races

Missed penalty 2: After the start had finally started, it came to the first, momentous bump on the first lap. In the wet section, Johann Zarco braked himself, forcing Dani Pedrosa to the outside, so that the Spaniard had to go out onto the wet strip and was thrown high into the air by highsider. Pedrosa hit his right wrist and wants to be examined carefully in Barcelona. Zarco fought for victory in the end and finished second.

Zarco was once again noticed as a hot spur – and a little later served as a model for the Marquez campaigns. Sure: The conditions were really difficult in this corner of the curve and it takes a lot to assess the other drivers correctly. In the first round, such a mistake may still be forgiven – with a lot of benevolence – but it really has to be said clearly that even this approach was not forgivable. If forgivable, then only under the aspect that Zarco is only just racing his second MotoGP season and mistakes are there to be made. There is only one good thing for the French in terms of the overall structure: It was his only such action this weekend – Marquez tore several of them.


Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018


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Pedrosa injured his wrist in the fall.

On the sixth lap, Marquez received his drive-through penalty. The Spaniard said later that he did not understand this because an official had indicated to him to take his starting place again, but had accepted it. A follow-up analysis of the video material shows, however, that the officials pointed in the direction of the pit lane and by no means in the direction of the Marquez starting place.

Marquez finally came back on the slopes ahead of Alvaro Bautista – and thus in 19th place at the time. It was now three laps before he caught up with Aprilia driver Aleix Espargaro – and finally jostled him off the runway. Espargaro did not fall, but there was no room for a maneuver at this point.

The punishment? Giving a seat back – but by the time this was announced, the Honda driver had already conceded three more drivers. So he let the two of them through again, but didn’t really lose much.

From then on he fought his way forward and finally Marquez, who had already been punished twice, ran up against Valentino Rossi, who was sixth, five laps before the end. And again he used his opponent as a rambock, but Rossi fell. There was then an added drive-through penalty of three seconds, with which Marquez lost fifth place and was classified as 18th.

Overdressed

Uncompromising, tough racing – yes! Definitive. But that in Argentina wasn’t just a touch too much of a good thing. Almost the entire paddock rightly demands a real punishment. Locks must definitely be used here. To put a Marc Marquez at the end of the field in the next race would be a punishment for the entire field – and again a safety risk.

Marquez not only harmed himself on Sunday, but also harmed motorcycle racing as a whole. In addition, he was anything but a role model. Valentino Rossi also says: “He ruined our sport today. He has absolutely no respect for anyone else. He’s never had that before!”


Commentary MotoGP Argentina 2018


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The victory went to Cal Crutchlow in the end.

Although Rossi is one of the injured in this race, the Italian should still be very calm. Rossi has already done similar crazy actions – exactly the same situation happened in Jerez in 2011. Rossi crashed at Turn 1 in the rain after a completely over-motivated maneuver in Casey Stoner and tore the Australian out of bounds.

In Argentina, after the race, Marquez trudged towards Rossi’s pit and wanted to apologize. The Italian refused to give him this handshake. Rossi said to try to apologize: “That was a joke! That was just PR. At first he doesn’t even have the balls to get into my box on his own. He always comes with his manager, with Honda, in front of all the cameras – because that’s important to him, he’s not interested in you at all” , so Rossi 2018. Almost the same words Casey Stoner had for Rossi in 2011. All of this does not change the situation that Marquez has more than overshot the target in Argentina.

Conclusion on the GP of Argentina

Whether there will be a race suspension for Marquez is currently completely open. But the fact is that this is urgently needed. Professional prohibition clause and Honda employment or not. After this Argentina Grand Prix, everyone is definitely the winner, because there were no obituaries to prepare on Sunday evening. There have been too many of them lately, that’s why we should act now and set an example – before it’s too late again. 

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