It will be called the Long Lap Penalty and, almost certainly, it will already debut in the opening of the Grand Prix in Qatar. Yesterday, the MotoGP riders were asked to try a new type of penalty, which consists in taking a longer course at a certain point of the track. (At Losail, the experiment was carried out at turn 6, which can clearly be seen in the photo above.)
"I listened to the indications the riders gave me, and the majority agreed to this solution," said Loris Capirossi, member of race management. "Next week, we'll also have the other riders try it in the Moto2 and Moto3 tests and then decide."
The new penalty method will almost certainly be approved.
"We realized that the penalty of forcing a rider to give up a position is not right because of the time that's wasted by those who are following close behind," continued Loris . "This solution seems more correct to us. Logically, this is just a test. This alternative course for the Grand Prix will be traced with a double line to better define it."
The Long Lap Penalty will, therefore, be the innovation for 2019, and the specific spaces in each circuit have already been identified.
"We only have some problems on three of the tracks. If we don't have the necessary safety conditions for creating this course, we'll use the old method," concluded Capirossi.