Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) at the exit from the pit lane in Mugello on Friday – not only his physical condition raised questions on Friday, but also his behaviour on the track, shortly before the end of the second free practice session. Since his return to Portugal, the Spaniard has come under more and more negative criticism because he is obviously strolling on the track like a Moto3 driver before the end of training and waiting for faster drivers.

Why Miller and Quartararo were terribly annoyed in FP2

Not for the first time in MotoGP, towards the end of a free practice session on Friday afternoon, there was a lot of unnecessary trouble due to drivers visibly strolling on the track, which is actually forbidden according to the regulations. The reason for this is obvious to everyone, because other pilots shoot at well over 200 mph and this can lead to terrible accidents. Grand Prix drivers have already died, for example the death of Peter Huber on July 31, 1983 in a collision with Norman Brown at Stowe Corner in Silverstone. The Englishman literally crept in the middle of the track when the Swiss saw him too late and a collision occurred in which both 500 cc drivers lost their lives.

Norman Brown (Suzuki RG500) a year before his fatal accident at Silverstone – the Englishman was only 23 years old and one has the bitter feeling that too little has been learned from the fatal accident that led to his death.

The unequal application of a clear set of rules

In Moto3 there have been several penalties for strolling on the track this season since Losail, which led to the grotesque situation at the second GP of the year that a third of the drivers had to start from the pit lane. In the premier class, however, the FIM stewards hardly ever take action. This was also the case in Portimão with Marc Marquez, who, completely openly and for everyone to see, was waiting first for Joan Mir to follow him and later tried the same thing with his Suzuki teammate Alex Rins. Behind the scenes, many in the paddock say that the Catalans can do almost anything and that the FIM only ever touches them with kid gloves. There is definitely multiple evidence that the stewards apply different standards, especially to the Repsol Honda driver.

Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) According to the records, he was also one of the “living obstacles” on the route – at just over 40 years of age, in our opinion, he is still far too young to die, but the FIM is definitely also complicit in the misconduct of various drivers, because they are strict with such offences in MotoGP clearly looking the other way instead of punishing rigorously as in Moto3.

The deadly danger lurks around every corner
The problem with this, in cases like Friday’s Mugello, is that the younger riders are imitating the 6-time MotoGP World Champion, and worse, it is deadly for everyone. If you do not understand what is meant by this and how much it hinders drivers on their fast lap, please have a look at the last 3 laps of FP2 at the Italian GP. You can clearly see how Fabio Quartararo was terribly annoyed because various drivers blocked the ideal line at slow speed, and he was hardly able to get through. Marquez was also one of several who acted so irresponsibly. Jack Miller used the word clowns in his first annoyance afterwards, and it doesn’t fit as badly as we think. But it should be used above all for the guardians of the regulations, who in other cases punish every centimetre of the track limit that is exceeded. However, in contrast to the extremely dangerous strolling along the route, this is absolutely harmless. If something should happen, the FIM stewards would not have blood on their hands for the first time, as history shows.

Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha), together with his teammate and Jack Miller, was one of the main victims of irresponsible behaviour and the lack of application of clear regulations. We could already understand his anger by watching live.

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