Márquez dodges penalty as Marini and Bezzecchi face grid drops in Austin
The final minutes of MotoGP qualifying in Austin were filled with furious gestures. First, Marc Márquez complained about the slow-moving VR46 Academy teammates Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi, then Enea Bastianini took issue with Márquez, and finally, Francesco Bagnaia protested against a sluggish Ai Ogura.
The MotoGP stewards, led by Simon Crafar, immediately launched investigations into all three incidents. Just after 2 p.m. local time in Austin, the verdicts were handed down: Bezzecchi and Marini were penalized for blocking Marc Márquez.
According to the stewards, both riders violated Article 1.21.2 of the Sporting Regulations by driving slowly on the racing line. Each was given a two-position grid penalty for Sunday's race in Austin—Bezzecchi will now start from fourth, while Marini drops to eleventh.
In both cases, mitigating circumstances were taken into account, as Marini and Bezzecchi had themselves been impeded by other riders. Bezzecchi was slowed by Marini, who in turn had been held up by Ogura. Without these mitigating factors, both would have been penalized an additional grid spot.
Ogura faced no sanctions, while Marc Márquez escaped with just a warning. The Ducati star had also been riding slowly in qualifying, though off the racing line. However, Márquez failed to signal his line choice as required, which still disrupted Bastianini. Since Márquez had been in the correct part of the track, the stewards issued only a warning—but any repeat offense will result in a penalty.
