During the main race at the Spanish GP, Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo collided with RNF Aprilia rider Miguel Oliveira at Turn 2. The incident led to the red flags being shown and Oliveira being taken to the medical centre where he was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder. Quartararo was able to restart the race but was given a long lap penalty for the collision on his way to the grid for the restart. Quartararo was surprised by the penalty and Maio Meregalli, Yamaha boss, went to race direction to have an explanation, but no clear explanation was provided. Quartararo had to serve the long lap penalty a second time as he strayed outside of the designated loop, which he says he didn’t realise he’d done. He was eventually classified 10th.
The MotoGP stewarding has been a hot topic since the opening round of the season following the controversial Marc Marquez/Oliveira collision in the Portuguese GP. In Sunday’s Spanish GP, Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia was ordered by the stewards to drop one position for a hard overtake on KTM’s Jack Miller. Miller made a similarly hard move on Pramac’s Jorge Martin not long after, but escaped punishment. With complaints about inconsistencies in stewarding often being raised, the FIM stewards panel will meet with the riders at the French GP to explain its position on decision-making.
Quartararo explained the incident by stating that he was forced into the collision as he was squeezed in the middle between Marco Bezzecchi and Oliveira. Bezzecchi says he felt contact from Quartararo into Turn 2 but thought the Frenchman didn’t do anything particularly wrong. For Quartararo, the crash was 100% sure and he had no other solution but to do that. When asked about what he would say in the meeting with the FIM stewards panel, Quartararo said he would love to say what he thinks, but they will just have a discussion and see how it is possible to take this kind of decision.
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