RNF Aprilia Team Principal Razlan Razali has called for increased engagement between MotoGP stewards, teams, and riders as the saga over Marc Marquez’s Double Long Lap Penalty continues.
The Repsol Honda rider wiped out Miguel Oliveira after a reckless move in the opening round of the championship at Portimao in Portugal, ruling the RNF rider out of this weekend’s action in Argentina.
Marquez was due to serve his penalty at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit until the Honda rider was also forced to miss the second round through injury.
As a result, the stewards carried over Marquez’s penalty to the next race the Spaniard is due to compete in.
However, Honda appealed the decision, arguing that it goes against the regulations, and the FIM Appeal Stewards have now referred the case to the MotoGP Court of Appeal.
Razali said: “We were angry. It was another punch in the face – a disappointment and a frustration. Look to the replay, it’s a big hit.
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“This kind of reckless racing needs to be dealt with more. We reached out to the FIM, not the stewards. I felt that, with all that has happened, there would be more proactiveness from stewards to sit down with all the stakeholders to go through what’s going on.
“In a day of modern MotoGP when the bikes are faster, aerodynamics – everybody is getting faster. We all know MotoGP riders are crazy! In a good way.
“The stewardship of the championship needs to be discussed further and refined. We need transparency. Speak to everybody, don’t have secretive meetings.”
Razali said he had no gripes with Honda exploiting what he termed a ‘loophole’ to aid Marquez’s cause, but urged greater co-operation to eliminate the prospect of a similar situation arising again.
“The actions of the stewards on Sunday speaks for itself, hence we are in this situation. If only it [the rule] was worded differently,” he told the official MotoGP Podcast.
“We have a lot of data and incidents in the past that we can all learn from. For Honda and Marc, it’s all about a loophole in the wording. Of course, they have every right to challenge it. After that, what’s going to happen next?
“I think we need to sit down and engage. The stewards need to sit down with the riders, teams, and stakeholders, not sweep it under the carpet.”
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