Repsol Honda challenges Marquez penalty, Court of Appeal to decide

Marc Marquez’s pending double long lap penalty case has been referred to the Court of Appeal by the FIM Stewards Panel after a challenge to the ruling was submitted by HRC Repsol Honda.

Marquez was punished with the double long lap penalty as a consequence of his mistake on lap three of the Portuguese MotoGP that led to a substantial collision with RNF Aprilia’s Miguel Oliveira.

Despite bearing the brunt of the impact when Marquez’s Repsol Honda RC213V slammed into his back as he rounded the right-hander, Oliveira nevertheless escaped serious injury beyond bruising around his hip.

However, Marquez - who said on Sunday that he accepts and respects the FIM Stewards’ penalty - suffered a broken metacarpal in his hand and has since undergone surgery, forcing him out of this weekend’s Argentinian MotoGP.

It is for this reason though that Repsol Honda has sought to have Marquez’s penalty quashed based on the exact wording of the ruling, which states Marquez must serve a “Double Long Lap Penalty for the Gran Premio Michelin De La Republica Argentina MotoGP- Race.”

While the FIM moved to change the ruling to read that a ‘Double Long Lap Penalty to be applied at the next MotoGP Race in which the rider will be able to participate’ on 28/3/2023, HRC Repsol Honda has moved to contest the amendment.

As a result, the case will go to the Court of Appeal, which will decide whether to uphold the original ruling only - which can only be applied in this race, thus effectively cancelling the punishment - or whether it will accept the amendment and rule that Marquez’s penalty still stands and must be served when he next competes.