Marquez penalised for tyre pressure infringement in Assen MotoGP race
Marc Marquez has been hit with a penalty for a tyre pressure rule infraction in the MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix, dropping him to 10th.
Under the current rules, riders must race for 30% of a sprint and 60% of a grand prix within the minimum tyre pressures – which for the front is 1.8 bar (26.1psi).
Marquez fell foul of this limit in Sunday’s Assen race and has been hit with an 18-second time penalty, dropping him from fourth to 10th behind Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo.
The Gresini Ducati rider spent the entirety of the 26-lap Assen grand prix battling for the final podium place, which ultimately went to factory Ducati counterpart Enea Bastianini.
Marquez moved up to third on lap two after overtaking Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales at Turn 5 and ran in that position until an odd moment on the eighth tour.
Exiting Turn 8, Marquez looked behind him and appeared to point to the inside of Turn 9 in a message to VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio for where to overtake.
Marquez didn’t drop away from Di Giannantonio, leading to speculation that his front tyre pressure was lower than the rules permitted and he needed dirty air ahead to bring the temperature back up.
The new race top 10 is now:
Francesco BagnaiaJorge MartinEnea BastianiniFabio Di GiannantonioMaverick VinalesBrad BinderAlex MarquezRaul FernandezFranco MorbidelliMarc Marquez
More to follow
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images