Marco Bezzecchi
Randy Mamola praised Marc Marquez’s attitude after receiving a penalty on the final lap of the Sprint Race.
At the Thailand Grand Prix, there was controversy after the first Sprint Race of the 2026 season, after Marc Marquez was penalised for a move on Pedro Acosta.
On the penultimate lap of the Sprint Race, Marquez launched an overtake on Pedro Acosta, which caused contact and sent Acosta wide and off the track at the final corner
Marquez was handed a penalty by race direction on the final lap of the race, and was forced to drop a place and give the lead back to Acosta at the final corner a lap after the incident.
What are your thoughts on Marc Marquez getting a penalty for this move on Pedro Acosta?
Randy Mamola praises Marc Marquez’s penalty response
After the Sprint Race, Marquez accepted the penalty and did not openly go against the decision that was made by Simon Crafar and the other race directors.
On the Racing Back podcast, Randy Mamola discussed the decision that was made at the Chang International Circuit, as he backed the penalty decision due to the contact that was made.
He went on to praise Marquez for his ‘loyalty’ to the race directors, but also warned that riders may ‘not try to pass somebody’ out of fear of a penalty in the future.
Mamola said, “In the past, anything like that was not a penalty, and it did not seem like it was that rough. In saying that, there were probably five or six different overtakes in that corner where Pedro did it to Marc, and they never touched.
“So, obviously, when it got down to the last two laps, these guys touched; they didn’t run into each other or anything like that, but these guys touched. I think Marc was loyal to the championship, and he listened to Simon Crafar, and whoever else is in the penalty box, they fixed it, and he was ok with it. You have a bad taste of things when the penalty goes against you.
“But what I don’t want to see is a rider of the level of Marc not trying to pass somebody, and if they have that touch and go off, they have to accept that. I think it is very important that the riders should have face-to-face meetings about this because racing is so difficult at the moment with the level of the bikes and machines; it is important that they all talk.”
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?
Mixed responses to the Marc Marquez penalty
Although Marquez accepted the penalty and did not publicly question the decision that the race director made regarding his move on Acosta, some did.
After the race, Acosta himself admitted that he ‘did not feel like a winner’ after claiming his first MotoGP Sprint Race win due to Marquez’s penalty.
The Ducati team manager, Davide Tardozzi, publicly questioned the decision made by Crafar and race direction, as he believed that Marquez and Acosta did not make contact during the overtake.
TNT Sports commentator and 2003 World Superbike champion, Neil Hodgson, disagreed with his former team boss as he backed the decision that was made by the FIM stewards.
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