A completely grotesque picture before the start of the second Moto3 race of the season in Qatar – on the left are 7 drivers who had to tackle the race from the pit lane and one of them promptly won the Grand Prix anyway. It goes without saying that such punishments are not enough of a deterrent.

Marc Marquez’s strange behavior irritates many observers

We still remember the season opener with the double race in Qatar. In qualifying for Moto3, it was not the first time that there were completely grotesque scenes. As is so often the case in the junior class, shortly before the time ran out in qualifying, everyone dodged as much as they could. Every driver knew that this was absolutely forbidden because it was also dangerous. But, as has been observed far too often in the past, many of the youths and young men did not seem to care. The consequence of their actions contrary to the regulations followed immediately after the Q2. There was a veritable flood of penalties and a third of the field started out of the pit lane for the second Grand Prix of the year on Sunday. The problem for the FIM and the sport afterwards was that even one of them won the race afterwards. As the most successful MotoGP rider of the second decade of our century, Marc Marquez should actually be a role model for the youngsters. But his behavior on qualifying day in Portugal irritated many observers.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) – the 6-time world champion should serve as a role model for the youngsters, but there are many indications that he of all people is doing exactly the opposite. As a Catalan, he can obviously afford to commit offenses in the Spanish-dominated MotoGP circus, for which many other riders were immediately punished severely. At least that’s how many fans and observers of the scene see it.

Marc Marquez alienates the sports world with multiple unsporting behavior
It was clear early on that the Spaniard would return at some point. However, the game of hide-and-seek while his colleagues and opponents were in Qatar looked very strange in retrospect. Today it seems clear that he made an early and very targeted decision and prepared for the comeback in Portimão. The assertion made by Losail shortly before the double race that he would have to wait for his doctors to give him the okay now seems like a cleverly designed diversionary maneuver. In truth, however, he had apparently prepared with Honda early on in Portugal so that he would do as well as possible on his return compared to the competition. The fact that he stuck in the press conference on Thursday evening was absolutely legitimate. But apparently he had been meticulously prepared on the nearly 200,000 euro MotoGP replica from Honda. And he immediately finished in the top 3 in FP1. In the afternoon he was sixth on Friday and on Saturday he easily made it into Q2. Somehow this was almost to be expected with him. What happened there, however, alienated fans, competition and the sports world.

The reigning world champion Joan Mir in front of his Suzuki Ecstar team-mate Alex Rins – in qualifying they were followed one after the other by “Marc the Stalker”. Marquez was never punished by the race management for this, which neither the drivers concerned nor numerous fans could understand.

Actor, simulator or racing driver – the line between them seemed very narrow
In the first qualifying, the 2019 world champion annoyed his successor when he not only hindered him, but visibly and deliberately wanted to disrupt the concept. Joan Mir was clearly one of the toughest rivals for a place in Q2 and the Repsol Honda driver had no hesitation in deliberately behaving in a very unsportsmanlike manner. Given that the drivers in the smaller classes are immediately punished for such behavior, many observers could hardly believe their eyes. While Rins took the matter with humor in the interview afterwards, Mir understandably expressed himself rather critically about the behavior of the villain. The absolute hammer then followed in Q2 when Marquez acted like a theater player. With contortions of his right “problem arm” in the box and strange movements, he looked like a simulant who asks for pity as much as possible. But then he played the stalker again at Rins and almost made it to the front row despite alleged handicaps.

Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo) – the “Aussie” is one of the last originals in the premier class and because of his honesty and straightforwardness in his statements, just like Alex Rins and the two French, one of the MotoGP’s most popular interview partners.

The strange comments made by a racing driver before the race

One of our readers recently summed it up very aptly what the requirements for passing the MotoGP Medical Check-Up are. He described the criteria of the racing doctors for assessing the fitness of drivers for the race quite aptly. In principle, it is enough if a rider can sit on his bike and still has a heartbeat. At this moment he hardly needs to fear that he will not get permission to start from the “Medical Commission” of MotoGP. This explanation even helped us to understand that there are medical professionals who mount a driver on a motorcycle that goes over 300 km / h who, like Marquez, had an operation on his broken upper arm on the second Jerez weekend in 2020 four days before qualifying. The result is known and after this pointless attempt to participate in the race, the Catalan gave up prematurely and was sentenced to a nine-month break. Statements from him could be heard and read on Saturday that he was skeptical about making the whole distance in the race. And what do the racing doctors do against this background? Nothing, just like the race management, which has let the Spaniard get away with almost every offense so far, no matter how bad it is. Quite a few voices describe this as damage to racing, which is committed with it.

Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) – the pole setter for the Portuguese Grand Prix. Like his compatriot Johann Zarco, the young Frenchman is extremely popular and is also very popular with the fans because he never plays questionable games with his opponents. In addition, he has been one of the absolutely fastest drivers in MotoGP since his 2019 rookie season.

The schedule for the weekend for the Portuguese Grand Prix

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