Marco Bezzecchi
Thomas Luthi thinks Marc Marquez’s penalty in the Buriram Sprint Race at the 2026 Thailand Grand Prix was “justified”, as he got desperate trying to beat Pedro Acosta.
Marquez and Acosta kicked off the 2026 MotoGP season with a brilliant duel for the first win of the year in Buriram last Saturday. But the outcome of the Sprint left a slightly sour taste in Acosta’s mouth, despite the KTM rider taking the first win of any kind in his MotoGP career.
Acosta claimed “I don’t feel like a winner” after the Buriram Sprint, as he inherited the lead through the final corner on the last lap after Ducati rider Marquez was ordered to drop one position. The stewards, led by Simon Crafar, punished Marquez’s move on the previous lap.
Crafar and his team of stewards did not like that Marquez lifted Acosta out wide with a late lunge into the final corner to take the lead of the Sprint Race at the Thailand GP. Acosta had moved in front of Marquez earlier in the lap when the latter had a moment through Turn 5.
Davide Tardozzi disagrees with Marc Marquez’s penalty in the Sprint at the Thailand GP
Would Pedro Acosta have made the same move for the lead?
Marc Marquez got ‘desperate’ trying to pass Pedro Acosta for the lead of the 2026 Buriram Sprint
Marquez struggled with stopping his Ducati GP26 throughout the Buriram Sprint, but he did enough during most of the race to hit back whenever KTM rival Acosta sought to snatch the lead. Yet his move on the penultimate lap was penalised, having dived from far too far back.
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A flurry of MotoGP fans disagreed with Marquez’s penalty in the Buriram Sprint, and Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi questioned the decision as he did not think his rider had made contact with Acosta. But long-time Moto2 rider Luthi feels Marquez’s move rightly earned a penalty.
“The penalty is fine, in my opinion,” Luthi told Motorsport-Magazin. “It wasn’t an extremely harsh penalty, not a long-lap penalty. Marc simply had to give the position back.”
He added: “The manoeuvre happened in the penultimate lap, in the last corner, when Marc dived on Pedro’s inside. But the action actually started in Turn 5.
“Marc said after the Sprint that he had tried to control the pace at the front. But then in Turn 5, he had a rear wheel slide. He was able to recover, but Pedro got past him.
“He desperately wanted to get back to the front as quickly as possible. However, overtaking is very difficult on a MotoGP bike in the upcoming sections because there are many corners in quick succession without straights. Then came Turn 12, but Marc was too far ahead.
“He simply opened the brakes, entered the corner with excess speed, and could not hold his line. This pushed Pedro off the track. Therefore, I think the penalty is justified.”
Marc Marquez only had himself to blame for his Sprint penalty at the Thailand Grand Prix
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Despite Tardozzi’s suggestions immediately after the Sprint Race at the 2026 Thailand GP on Saturday, Marquez did make contact with Acosta that forced the KTM rider to lift his bike to avoid falling. Acosta’s reactions meant he only fell to P2, before Marquez got his penalty.
Both Spaniards had been bold with their overtakes throughout the battle for the lead in the Buriram Sprint, especially on the brakes into the final corner. But Marquez only had himself to blame for the penalty, as he came from too far behind Acosta to complete a clean pass.
Had Acosta spotted Marquez coming sooner, the incident could have ended differently. The KTM star might have chosen to stay clear to cut back out of the final corner and strike back at Turn 1, or he might have tried to lay his bike on top of Marquez to force him to back out.
But regardless of how Acosta may or may not have reacted had he seen Marquez sooner, it was not his incident to avoid as the Ducati rider was the aggressor. And as the move meant Acosta lost out to Marquez and nearly to Raul Fernandez, the stewards felt they had to act.
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