MotoGP: Honda and Marc Marquez's penalty appeal referred to Court of Appeal

Repsol Honda’s appeal of the amended double long lap penalty handed to Marc Marquez by the FIM Stewards has been referred to the Court of Appeal.

The six-time premier class champion was initially handed his penalty after clipping Jorge Martin and clattering into Miguel Oliveira on the third lap of the Portimao Grand Prix. Oliveira took the full brunt of Marquez’s RCV213V and has been ruled out of action as a result, whilst Martin sustained a broken toe.

Marquez was sent to see the FIM Stewards, who duly handed him a long lap penalty which specifically said it was to be taken at the Argentina Grand Prix this weekend. However, it was later revealed that Marquez had also injured himself and required surgery to fix a right metacarpal fracture.

The Spaniard was ruled out of this weekend’s race, and due to the wording on the FIM documentation, this meant that he would not have to serve any penalty. It would simply disappear as he wouldn’t be racing.

This caused uproar and confusion within the MotoGP community, and the FIM responded with a further statement which said that Marquez would now have to take his double long lap penalty at the next race he is able to take part in.

As a result, HRC has responded with a statement outlining its decision to appeal:

“In relation to the sanction imposed by the FIM on Marc Marquez for the race incident that occurred at the Portuguese Grand Prix, the Repsol Honda Team considers that the modification of the penalty consisted of a change of criteria on when the penalty should be applied, and that this modification was issued by the FIM two days after the initial sanction was final and definitive, is not in line with the current regulations of the FIM for the MotoGP World Championship.

“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.”

After a hearing on Thursday morning in Argentina, the FIM Stewards elected to refer the matter to the Court of Appeal by FIM Appeal Steward Paul King and FMNR Appeal Steward Armando Marques.

No date has currently been set for the Court of Appeal hearing, but will need to take place prior to round three of the MotoGP season at Marquez’s beloved Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas (April 14-16).