Honda appeals Marc Marquez MotoGP penalty change

Marquez was handed a double long lap penalty by the FIM stewards for triggering a crash that took both him and Oliveira out of the race, while he also clipped Jorge Martin which forced him off track and dropped him down the order.

The original penalty stated it would be served at the Argentina GP, but since then Marquez has needed to undergo surgery to his right metacarpal injured in the crash which ruled him out of this weekend’s race in Argentina.

It meant that due to the wording of the penalty and Marquez’s absence, he would not serve the penalty.

But this changed on Tuesday when the FIM issued a further clarification on the penalty, stating Marquez would serve it at the next round he will contest.

This has led to Honda announcing it will appeal the penalty change as it states it “is not in line with the current regulations” in MotoGP.

“For this reason, the Repsol Honda Team intends to use all the means of recourse offered by the regulations in force to defend its rights and legitimate interests, which it considers violated as a result of the latest resolution adopted, and in particular has duly submitted an Appeal before the FIM Appeal Stewards,” a team statement read.

The crux of the matter focuses on the FIM changing the penalty given to Marquez two days after it was initially decided, rather than the penalty itself, having stated it would need to be served in Argentina on Sunday night, only to change it to Marquez’s next race on Tuesday.

After the initial penalty was handed out, Marquez said he “fully agreed” with it.

He will be one of four riders not taking part in this week’s Argentina GP through injury, with RNF announcing on Monday evening that Oliveira will be absent due to tendon damage after the crash.

A broken shoulder for Ducati’s Enea Bastianini after he was caught up in a collision with VR46’s Luca Marini in the sprint race has sidelined him, while Tech3’s Pol Espargaro is out indefinitely after suffering multiple fractures in a practice crash.