The Repsol Honda team expects to hear this week regarding the decision of the FIM Court of Appeal on the appeal filed against the fine imposed on Marc Marquez following the Spaniard’s crash during the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Marquez was sanctioned immediately after the race, which took place on 26 March, with a double long lap penalty to be served at the Argentine Grand Prix, which was to be held the following week. A decision that the pilot accepted, according to his own words in the press conference after the visit to the Medical Center of the Portimao circuit.
On the same Sunday night, the rider underwent surgery to repair an injury to the base of his thumb and on Monday morning Honda announced he would not be in action at Termas. This triggered a reaction from the FIM commission, which issued a new note that “rewrote” the penalty, stating that it will have to be served at the next race Marc takes part in, and not in Argentina as initially established.
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Honda has decided to appeal, not for the fine itself, but for the modification of the wording of the fine. A complaint that the FIM commission filed on March 30 with the Swiss-based Court of Appeal, which decided to suspend the fine as a precautionary measure pending a decision from the reviewers.
Honda expect to hear from the Court of Appeal this week, although it is known that the fine is suspended as a precautionary measure, so if Marquez shows up again this weekend at Le Mans, which will be known this Tuesday, and there there will be news on the appeal, Marc will not have to serve the double long lap penalty in France, and will have to wait for the decision of the Court.
In any case, Honda has already warned that it will go to the end in legal matters, in terms of appeals and appeals against the fine. Therefore, every new development, if not favorable to the interests of the team, will be subject to a new appeal. Which would once again lengthen the process.
Marquez, who has been officially entered by Honda for the French Grand Prix, the 1,000th in MotoGP history, will undergo a CAT scan with his trusted medical team in Madrid on Tuesday before deciding whether to attempt a return to Le Mans this end. week or less.
Read also: