The Japanese Grand Prix was full of emotions for Marc Marquez, but it could have been even more eventful for the Spanish driver. After losing pole position on Saturday for driving on the green zone during his fastest lap, Marquez came close to a new penalty on Sunday for the same type of infraction… but narrowly escaped the sanction.
On the last lap of the race in Motegi, Marc
Marquez has passed onto the green, which normally results in a penalty and loss of position. However, he crossed the finish line in third place and was able to maintain his podium. The sports commissioners justified their decision with a technical detail: the gap then noted between Marquez and his pursuer Enea Bastianini.
According to the regulations, the penalty of loss of position for hitting the green in the last round applies only if the driver in question is less than half a second from the next. Or, Marquez crossed the finish line with a lead of 536 thousandths second on
Bastianinithus escaping the sanction… for 36 thousandths!
Marc Marquez gets away with 36 thousandths
This detail allowed Marquez to maintain his third place, thus avoiding a situation which would have cut crucial points for him and Gresini Racing.
This chance came after an already difficult Saturday, where
Marquez had his best qualifying time revoked for a similar infraction, costing him pole position in favor of Pedro Acosta. Cancellation of the tour came lateleaving Marquez without the time needed to attempt another fast lap and relegating him to the third row.
Ultimately, these 36 thousandths made all the difference and allowed Marquez
to avoid a double penalty in a single weekend. This technical detail not only saved his podium, but also slowed down the ambitions of Bastianini in the race for third place in the general classification. For Marc
Marquezit’s a small miracle which shows that every thousandth counts in this sport.
MotoGP, Japan J3: classification
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