Marc Marquez’s double long lap penalty overturned on appeal

His presence this weekend at the Grand Prix de France has not yet been confirmed, because Marc Marquez is still recovering from a first metacarpal fracture with the right hand. But the Spaniard now knows that his return to the MotoGP circuits can take place normally, with no penalty to observe.

The Honda driver had however been sanctioned with a double lap after his accident in Portugal, during the first race of the season. His fall had notably taken away Miguel Oliveira and it had led the commissioners of the FIM (International Motorcycling Federation) to pronounce a sanction applicable to the Argentine Grand Prix, a week later, as indicated in the minutes.

FIM considers Marquez sanctioned for missing Argentine GP

Except that Marquez did not participate in this event, precisely because of his injury. Faced with his withdrawal, the FIM judges modified the report, transforming the application of the penalty to the next Grand Prix contested by the driver. A decision that Honda and the eight-time world champion challenged by appealing.

This Tuesday evening, the FIM Court of Appeal delivered its verdict and decided to“cancel the application of the sanction”, judging that “the principle of immutability of the sanction has been violated”. In summary, even if Marquez made a mistake during his accident, she considers that Marquez was sanctioned by not being able to participate in the GP of Argentina because of his injury. And especially that a decision cannot be modified a posteriori.