- Marquez bypassed pit lane entry at Jerez, escaping penalty via regulation loophole.
- Race Direction revised the rules at Le Mans, but they aren’t quite airtight.
- MotoGP’s news clarification is stronger, but enforcement effect remains unclear.
It was bound to happen soon after Marc Marquez cut the pit lane entry on his way to sprint victory in Jerez. He crossed the final corner and entered beyond the outer white line, bypassing the designated entry road entirely.
While some hailed it as genius, others cried foul. Regardless, it got the entire MotoGP universe abuzz and contemplating. And now, the FIM has stepped in and essentially declared, “Party’s over, Marc.”
Before the French GP at Le Mans, race direction revised regulations regarding pit lane entry to avoid further murky shenanigans. Yet, weirdly, they still do not completely plug the gap.
The Race Direction document states, “We remind you that the pit entry lane must be respected. To avoid cutting corners and dangerous riding on pit entry, riders must not ride outside the painted kerb on the inside of pit entry, and must stay inside the solid white line on the right-hand side of the pit entry, until they have passed the 60 km/h speed limit sign.
“During races (eg., MotoGP Flag-to-Flag race), infractions will be penalised. Using the asphalt inside the pit entry kerb on the right-hand side, and crossing the white line on the right-hand side after the kerb will be subject to an immediate penalty, not counted as a track limit or shortcut.”
Good news, bad news
Curiously, this still mirrors the situation at Jerez by not specifying approaching from the outside. The circuit bulletin distributed to teams only focuses on the right-hand side of the pit entry. It says nothing about entering from beyond the outer line, which is exactly what Marquez exploited.
MotoGP’s own news section is considerably clearer in closing that door. It says, “In all track sessions, including races, the only permitted pit lane entry is by using the designated entry point and route, defined by the broken white line, following the pit lane entry road and crossing the designated pit lane entry timing point.”
An immediate penalty would be triggered if “the broken white line is not crossed or the full pit lane entry road is not used.” Whether this editorial clarification carries the same enforcement weight as the formal Race Direction bulletin is precisely the ambiguity that remains unresolved.
It remains to be seen whether the current official guideline eliminates every possible loophole. With rain highly likely for Sunday’s grand prix, another tantalising scenario could await fans.
What is certain is that he is once again the primary catalyst for MotoGP to revise its regulations. That says everything about the chaos and colour Marquez brings to this championship.
