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Jokes aside, MM may be in a spot of trouble.... from motogp.com:
Following the incident which involved the pair of Repsol Honda Team riders on the sixth lap of Sunday’s race at MotorLand Aragón, Race Direction has confirmed that it had summoned both competitors as well as representatives of the team in order to technically analyse the moment, with a hearing set to take place at Sepang next Thursday, 10 October.
Javier Alonso, Managing Director of the Events Area at Dorna Sports as well as a member of Race Direction, has explained both the reasons for organising the hearing and for delaying any decision until MotoGP™ arrives at the Sepang International Circuit next week.
“This was a very peculiar incident with a very technical element to it,” Alonso begins explaining to motogp.com. “In fact, when we first saw it live we did not think anything had happened, as such; although it appeared as though Marc Marquez had touched Dani Pedrosa, we did not believe that there was any connection between the contact and the subsequent crash for Pedrosa.
“After the race, we knew that there had been a technical problem and that a cut cable had been the most likely cause of Pedrosa’s traction control failure which in-turn caused his retirement. That is when we decided to launch an investigation. However, we need to gather an amount of technical data and for this reason we chose to delay the hearing until Malaysia."
Without a doubt, the biggest talking point now is whether or not championship leader Marquez may be cautioned or penalised for his part in the incident with Pedrosa, who after the race complained of his teammate being ‘on the limit’.
“Everything remains open, ranging from sanction to no sanction,” Alonso continues. “What needs to be understood is whether this could have been avoided – both the incident between the two riders and the accident itself – because those are the two important aspects. Once we understand all of this, if we are required to take a decision we will take the most suitable one.”
However, is Race Direction able to define specific boundaries when it comes to such incidents? This debate, raised on previous occasions and brought up again following events of Sunday, cannot be solved easily.
“That is very complicated,” Javier Alonso continues. “If anybody believes they have an idea over how to regulate such incidents and to be able to define what can and cannot be done, and they are prepared to put it in writing, we are open to suggestions. Over all of the years in which my colleagues and I personally have been involved with Race Direction, we have never come across two identical incidents. Each and every incident is different to the next.
“Having witnessed the case of Marc and Dani, if a rider actually attempted to cut a cable on the rear of another bike by using an elbow or a clutch level, one would probably fail to do so a thousand times. Unfortunately, on this occasion that is precisely what happened. Intending to reach a mutual agreement over what is allowed and what is not in these situations is very complicated, if not impossible.”
Quizzed over whether the unusual happening could lead of the possibility of changes in the MotoGP™ regulations (as was the case with practice starts at the ends of practice sessions, following an incident in the Moto2™ class earlier this season), Alonso concludes:
“Yes, it could lead to changes - I would not deny that. As we all know, we care very much for the safety of the riders and in this case it is very clear that an incident has taken place, but at the same time something has not worked as it should have because it is not normal to have a crash like that.”
Following the incident which involved the pair of Repsol Honda Team riders on the sixth lap of Sunday’s race at MotorLand Aragón, Race Direction has confirmed that it had summoned both competitors as well as representatives of the team in order to technically analyse the moment, with a hearing set to take place at Sepang next Thursday, 10 October.
Javier Alonso, Managing Director of the Events Area at Dorna Sports as well as a member of Race Direction, has explained both the reasons for organising the hearing and for delaying any decision until MotoGP™ arrives at the Sepang International Circuit next week.
“This was a very peculiar incident with a very technical element to it,” Alonso begins explaining to motogp.com. “In fact, when we first saw it live we did not think anything had happened, as such; although it appeared as though Marc Marquez had touched Dani Pedrosa, we did not believe that there was any connection between the contact and the subsequent crash for Pedrosa.
“After the race, we knew that there had been a technical problem and that a cut cable had been the most likely cause of Pedrosa’s traction control failure which in-turn caused his retirement. That is when we decided to launch an investigation. However, we need to gather an amount of technical data and for this reason we chose to delay the hearing until Malaysia."
Without a doubt, the biggest talking point now is whether or not championship leader Marquez may be cautioned or penalised for his part in the incident with Pedrosa, who after the race complained of his teammate being ‘on the limit’.
“Everything remains open, ranging from sanction to no sanction,” Alonso continues. “What needs to be understood is whether this could have been avoided – both the incident between the two riders and the accident itself – because those are the two important aspects. Once we understand all of this, if we are required to take a decision we will take the most suitable one.”
However, is Race Direction able to define specific boundaries when it comes to such incidents? This debate, raised on previous occasions and brought up again following events of Sunday, cannot be solved easily.
“That is very complicated,” Javier Alonso continues. “If anybody believes they have an idea over how to regulate such incidents and to be able to define what can and cannot be done, and they are prepared to put it in writing, we are open to suggestions. Over all of the years in which my colleagues and I personally have been involved with Race Direction, we have never come across two identical incidents. Each and every incident is different to the next.
“Having witnessed the case of Marc and Dani, if a rider actually attempted to cut a cable on the rear of another bike by using an elbow or a clutch level, one would probably fail to do so a thousand times. Unfortunately, on this occasion that is precisely what happened. Intending to reach a mutual agreement over what is allowed and what is not in these situations is very complicated, if not impossible.”
Quizzed over whether the unusual happening could lead of the possibility of changes in the MotoGP™ regulations (as was the case with practice starts at the ends of practice sessions, following an incident in the Moto2™ class earlier this season), Alonso concludes:
“Yes, it could lead to changes - I would not deny that. As we all know, we care very much for the safety of the riders and in this case it is very clear that an incident has taken place, but at the same time something has not worked as it should have because it is not normal to have a crash like that.”
