Marc Márquez has been declared guilty in the fall with Miguel Oliveira. This has been ruled by the direction of the race after analyzing all the shots of the hard accident in which the Spanish and the Portuguese have been knocked out in the Portuguese Grand Prix of MotoGP.
It all happened in the third round, when Márquez persecuted Jorge Martín in the fight for podium positions. Upon reaching turn 3, the slowest on the Algarve Autodrome, the man from Ilerdé extended his braking to try to pass the man from Madrid, but he over-braked and collided directly with Oliveira, who was rolling just ahead, causing a spectacular fall.
Despite the fact that Oliveira left the circuit on a stretcher, the first tests did not show any penalty. However, Márquez had to have his arm put in a cast as a preventive measure against a possible fracture in the right hand.
But the abandonment and this possible injury have not been the only consequences that the accident is going to have for the Spanish pilot. After analyzing the action, the sports commissioners have declared him guilty and have imposed a double long lap as a sanction that you will have to comply with in the Argentine Grand Prixnext appointment on the calendar.
What is a ‘long lap’?
This penalty consists of taking an alternative route established by the organization in a specific curve of each circuit. The penalized pilot has to travel many more meters than on the usual route. By fulfilling it,and lose between two and four seconds, depending on each track. Besides, must be fulfilled in the first laps of the racewhen the distances between the pilots are still very small, so it is a very expensive sanction in terms of positions.
Márquez will have to fulfill it twice in the early laps of the Argentine Grand Prix, so expect him to drop to the back of the pack at the start of the race. Therefore, the fall suffered today by Márquez has not only ruined the Portuguese Grand Prix, but also leaves him with practically no chance of fighting for the top positions in Termas de Río Hondo.
