Harsh Criticism By Aleix Espargaro - 'It Is A Joke, We Need To Take It More serious'
Categories: MotoGP
Aprilia factory rider Aleix Espargaro argues that offences in the MotoGP class should always be punished in the same way. The long-lap penalty at Silverstone will cost Fabio Quartararo less than a second.
Aleix Espargaro watched closely on Friday as Fabio Quartararo practised the long lap penalty in the two free practices.
After an unfortunate mistake by the Frenchman in Assen, he will have to serve the penalty during the race on Sunday. But, the time loss is not as big as some on the grid would have wished for.
Fabio Quartararo lost the front and forced Espargaro into the gravel in Assen – Image provided by Motorsport Images
For Aleix Espargaro Quartararo’s penalty shows how inconsistent penalizing has become in MotoGP. He states in Friday’s press conference:
“It is a joke. We need to be more serious about that. He lost 0.8 seconds. On some tracks you lose 2.5 sec, that’s okay. But 0.8, that’s ridiculous.”
Practice attempt number 1 of the long lap penalty loop for @FabioQ20 👀#BritishGP 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/mpJrshy1Ve
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 5, 2022
The Spaniard continues and makes it clear his criticism is not about Fabio not getting a big enough penalty but about the inconsistency of the penalizing:
“But it’s not up to me to complain about the long lap, otherwise it looks like I’m saying that because my rival has to complete it.”
“For us as riders, we want equal judging on penalties and then, but then they need to be equally harsh for similar offences.”
Espargaro even suggests a suiting long lap penalty distance: “It should always be about three seconds. Three seconds is good for the show. We will discuss this in the Safety Comission.
