KUALA LUMPUR: MotoGP front-runner Marc Marquez escaped a grid penalty yesterday over a high-speed collision, boosting his chances of extending his championship lead this week in Malaysia.
Officials handed the 20-year-old rookie one penalty point for a contact with Dani Pedrosa, which sent his fellow Spaniard crashing out of last month’s Aragon Grand Prix.
But Marquez avoided the heavier fine of two penalty points, which would have forced him to start at the back of the Malaysian Grand Prix grid on Sunday.
Defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo, who trails Marquez by 39 points in the standings, had earlier urged officials to be tough with the inexperienced Marquez.
Safety is again in focus at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit after two people died in an accident last month, two years after the fatal crash of young Italian star Marco Simoncelli.
Marquez said he had put the Aragon incident behind him and was focused on the title fight with just four races remaining, adding he would not change his riding style.
“I want to concentrate on this weekend,” he told reporters. “It will be interesting to see the track... We will try to keep the same mentality and the same concentration” for the rest of the season.
Yesterday’s penalty point, which brings Marquez’ season total to three, has no bearing on his championship points.
Besides the penalty, his Honda team was stripped of the constructors’ points earned for his victory at Aragon.
In Aragon Marquez, following a braking mistake, touched Pedrosa’s Honda and caused his team-mate to lose traction control and come off.
Marquez then went on to rack up his sixth victory of the year, with Lorenzo second.
Lorenzo has totted up five wins in a season interrupted by collarbone injuries after falls in the Netherlands and Germany.
Lorenzo on Thursday said rewarding rash driving would “create a better show for the spectators” but not ensure riders’ safety.
The Yamaha rider has previously criticised Marquez as an “aggressive rider who puts himself and others at risk”.
Race officials have again promised that the Sepang circuit is safe after a rider hit a marshal late last month during practice for the Malaysian Super Series, killing both.
“The incident... has nothing to do with the safety aspect. It’s a tragic incident,” Sepang chief executive officer Razlan Razali said.
But he said the mood was still “emotional” at the course. A tribute will be paid to the two men tomorrow. AFP
