- Marc Marquez receives a long lap penalty for Sunday’s race after colliding with di Giannantonio
- Pedro Acosta drops from third to eighth due to tire pressure penalty
- Bezzecchi and Marini lose two grid positions each in qualifying
What a day at the Circuit of the Americas. While Jorge Martin won the sprint with a last-lap move on Francesco Bagnaia, several penalty decisions by the FIM stewards generated enormous talking points in the paddock. From qualifying in the morning to the retroactive results correction in the evening, a common thread ran through Saturday: rule violations, incidents and consequences.
Marquez and di Giannantonio Collide on the Opening Lap
The most consequential incident of the day occurred on the very first lap of the sprint. Fabio di Giannantonio had started from pole position but was pushed wide in Turn 1 by Pedro Acosta, losing several positions. However, the VR46 Ducati rider struck back immediately, overtaking Marc Marquez in Turn 7 with a committed move.
A few corners later came the fateful moment. Marquez was riding in the slipstream of the three machines ahead on the long back straight and misjudged his braking point by his own admission. “In Turn 12, I misjudged the slipstream of the three bikes ahead of me,” Marquez explained to MotoGP.com. “When I started braking, the rear slid for a moment, then the front locked up.” He tried to avoid the situation, but going wide was impossible. Instead, he attempted to turn inside and then pull away to the outside. At the apex, however, he lost the front over a small bump in the terrain and crashed, taking di Giannantonio down with him.
The race was over for both riders. The FIM stewards ruled that Marquez had caused a crash involving rider number 49. The penalty: a long lap penalty in Sunday’s race. An additional setback for the reigning world champion, who had been targeting his eighth COTA victory.
Marquez Accepts the Penalty, di Giannantonio Stays Cool
Remarkably, Marquez openly accepted the blame. Even before the official penalty was announced, he had already acknowledged that punishment was justified. “I don’t know the penalty yet, but I have to get some kind of penalty because the rules are the rules. Today I made a mistake and ruined another rider’s sprint race,” the Spaniard said. He emphasized that the move was not retaliation for di Giannantonio’s earlier overtake. “I didn’t want to attack because I knew Diggia had a good pace to ride at the front. I simply had no other option. I couldn’t brake the bike well enough in the slipstream of the three bikes, but the plan was not to attack.”
Asked whether he had spoken to di Giannantonio, Marquez replied bluntly: “Yes, he is angry. I understand him, and I can only apologize.”
Di Giannantonio himself remained deliberately matter-of-fact. Rather than dwelling on the incident, he preferred to highlight his successful overtaking move. “I just want to focus on myself. I think I showed a great overtake. It’s not easy to pass there, and even less so against a rider as strong as Marc. I’m proud of my overtake, and that’s it,” the Italian said. On whether a single long lap penalty was fair punishment, he simply replied: “I’m a rider. The stewards are there to do their job, and I fully respect their decision.”
Qualifying Chaos: Bezzecchi and Marini Impede Marquez
Trouble had already been brewing around Marc Marquez earlier in the day. In qualifying, championship leader Marco Bezzecchi and Honda’s Luca Marini were penalized by the stewards for impeding the reigning champion. Both had been riding slowly on the racing line on the back straight, disturbing Marquez in Turn 12 — the exact same spot where the sprint collision with di Giannantonio would later occur. Marquez was seen shaking his head and gesticulating wildly next to Bezzecchi in the braking zone.
The stewards ruled that both riders had been “observed riding slowly on the racing line and impeding another rider, number 93, in Turn 12.” Normally, such a first offense carries a three-place grid penalty. In this case, however, a mitigating factor was applied because another rider was involved in the incident. The penalty was therefore reduced to two places each.
For Bezzecchi, this means losing the front row. Instead of starting from second, he will line up fourth on Sunday. “About Marc, honestly, I have no idea. I didn’t see him,” Bezzecchi said in parc fermé. Marini drops from ninth to eleventh on the grid. Among the beneficiaries is Francesco Bagnaia, who moves up from fourth to third on the front row, behind di Giannantonio and Pedro Acosta.
A further incident between Marquez and Enea Bastianini, as well as a possible case of impeding by Ai Ogura on Bagnaia, were investigated by the stewards but resulted in no further action.
Acosta Loses the Podium Due to Tire Pressure Penalty
As if the penalty list for the day wasn’t long enough already, Pedro Acosta was also hit in the evening. The Red Bull KTM rider had finished the sprint in third but was retroactively handed the standard eight-second time penalty. The reason was falling below the prescribed minimum tire pressure: Acosta had failed to meet the requirement of maintaining pressure above the minimum threshold for at least 30 percent of the laps.
The penalty dropped the Spaniard from third to eighth. Instead of seven championship points, he took home just two. In the overall standings, Acosta now trails new leader Jorge Martin by 13 points, with Martin sitting on 57 points after his sprint victory. Marco Bezzecchi follows in second with 56 points, while Acosta holds 44.
The beneficiary of Acosta’s penalty is ironically his KTM brand colleague Enea Bastianini, who moves up onto the podium. For the Italian, it’s his best result since the Catalan Grand Prix last season. The situation is particularly bitter for Joan Mir, who crashed out of fourth place on the final lap ahead of Bastianini and now misses out twice over.
Acosta Frustrated with KTM’s Deficit
Pedro Acosta made no secret of KTM’s difficult position compared to the competition after the sprint. “We are suffering. You can see that they are faster, no matter which rider,” the Spaniard said, referring to Aprilia and Ducati. He had little hope of repeating the podium on Sunday: “We have to suffer again tomorrow and then hope that we can be more competitive in Europe. It’s just a matter of time until KTM can improve our weak points. We need a good start, and then it will just be about managing the tire.”
Martin Takes Over the Championship Lead
Almost lost in all the penalty turmoil is the sporting story of the sprint itself. Jorge Martin used the advantage of his medium rear tire to overtake Francesco Bagnaia on the final lap and take the victory. The Aprilia rider thus took over the lead in the world championship. Teammate Marco Bezzecchi, who had started from second and was running in second place for a time, crashed out during the race and missed out on vital title fight points.
The stage for Sunday’s Grand Prix is set to be as exciting as ever: Martin leads the championship by one point over Bezzecchi, Marquez must serve his long lap penalty, Bezzecchi and Marini start further back than they qualified, and Acosta searches for answers to the RC16’s deficit.
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