Honda’s Marc Marquez defends Fabio Quartararo before being sentenced for his revealing race shirt at the Catalunya MotoGP on Sunday (6/6).
Marquez does not deny that Quartararo should prioritize safety over ambition to chase the podium. However, the Baby Alien considered it unfair for Quartararo to be disqualified for his mistake.
“I think it will be a discussion at the Security Commission and it’s unfair if you raise a black flag [disqualifying Quartararo],” Marquez said as quoted by Motorsport.
“But it’s dangerous like if you have something hanging on the bike you have to stop. You have to make it [safe] and if you can’t you have to stop racing.”
Quartararo himself has been sentenced to a three-second penalty after the incident his racing shirt was exposed in the Catalunya MotoGP on lap 22. El Diablo even went so far as to unzip and throw away the breastplate.
Quartararo was later punished for not wearing his racing suit properly and not wearing a chest protector during the race.
“For riding without a properly worn racing suit and without the necessary chest protection, standings leader Fabio Quartararo has been charged with a three-second penalty applicable to the result of the race at MotoGP Catalunya,” read a statement on the official MotoGP website.
This three-second penalty made Quartararo’s position slump again in the Catalunya MotoGP. El Diablo had to be willing to go down from fourth to sixth in the Catalunya MotoGP race.
Previously, Quartararo had already been sentenced to a three-second penalty by the FIM MotoGP Stewards. The penalty was dropped because the 22-year-old driver cut lanes at corners one and two when the race entered lap 23.
Quartararo went wide as he tried to overtake Johann Zarco who finished second. However, he returned to the track with still in front of Jack Miller who was right behind him.
The maneuver was deemed by the FIM MotoGP Stewards in Quartararo’s favor as the French rider stayed ahead of Miller. As a result, Quartararo was punished which made him fail to get on the podium despite finishing third.
Additional penalties in the Catalunya MotoGP clearly cost Quartararo. By finishing sixth, Quartararo is now only 14 points ahead of Johann Zarco who is perched in second place with 101 points in the competition for the 2021 MotoGP world title.
