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A few days before the third MotoGP round of the season, the incident caused by Marc Marquez in the Portuguese Grand Prix continues to cause discussion. It was a strike that cost Miguel Oliveira a one-race stop and will also keep Marquez away from the track in Austin, to fully recover from the injury to the first metacarpal.
An episode that caused controversy both for Marc's aggressiveness and for the double long lap penalty inflicted on the Spaniard for the Argentine GP, for which Honda appealed to the Court of Appeal. A situation on which the five-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo also expressed his opinion, speaking on the "El Larguero" program of Cadena Ser to talk about the Marquez case and the new sprint races.
“I loved the sprint races, I'm very supportive, but I think Race Direction must be very attentive to the riders' actions and punish them if they don't respect the rules - Jorge admitted to the Spanish broadcaster - It's a show and I think it is positive. However, the risk is certainly doubled because there are more races and the sprint is a short race, where in the last lap there are 5 or 7 riders who can fight for the podium and victory. The Race Direction must be stricter, to protect the health of the riders".
While asking the Race Direction for an iron fist, Lorenzo believes that Marquez and Honda are destined to win the appeal, since it would be unfair to change the regulation just to sanction Marc.
“Honda should win the appeal, because what is written is written and cannot be changed. A written regulation can only be changed after years and it wouldn't be right for Marquez if they changed it, but neither would it be fair for the riders involved in the incident - explained the Majorcan - The regulation is like this, it was already written, for this reason they should almost certainly win the appeal".
Marquez's teammate in 2019, the five-time world champion knows his former rival and his behaviour on the track well: "Marc has a DNA that allows him to amaze everyone, as he did by taking that unexpected pole position in Portugal, with an inferior bike to the others. It's a DNA that also has a negative side, which leads him to always have a knife between his teeth. He always wants to win, even when he doesn't feel comfortable with the bike, he's not on his favourite circuit or the conditions aren't favourable. This leads to crashes - commented Lorenzo - When he crashes alone, the consequences are only for his physique, while when it involves other riders, the Race Direction must intervene. You can't have everything in life: having an aggressive and risk-taking rider like Marquez, but without anything happening".
A Marc who doesn't take risks would be pure utopia, but for the Majorcan, the Spanish champion is still in time to at least partially correct his attitude: "Marc is 30 years old and it's impossible for him to completely change his mentality, but he can improve something - Jorge affirmed - He has to decide if he wants to continue like this until the end of his career, or if it's the case to change his riding style and take fewer risks. He certainly would win fewer races, but he could crash less and score more points. He's got the worst Honda in a long time, but he's proving he's capable of winning even with an inferior bike."
But if Honda fails to make the hoped-for progress, could the future of the eight-time world champion be far from the golden wing manufacturer?
“He received an offer of 4 years, when it was not the practice and for a large amount of money. Now things have changed, and the Ducati is far superior. When the time comes to renew his contract with Honda, he will have to evaluate whether he wants to have a better bike with which to try to win other world championships, or whether to continue with the economic conditions he has at Honda, for his last 4 or 5 years of career” concluded Lorenzo, who doesn't however exclude the fact that Marc can add new titles to his trophy case, by always staying with the Japanese manufacturer.
