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The Luca Marini who appears in front of the journalists after the Le Mans Sprint Race doesn't seem to be a satisfied rider with the fourth place obtained after a nice duel with Marc Marquez. There is anger and disappointment, because what happened today was exactly the same as what yesterday seemed to have been averted after the meeting in the Safety Commission between the riders and the Steward Panel, i.e. episodes of the race not punished as in other GPs.
In particular, Marini had a lot to say about the non-application of the drop one position penalty, which Brad Binder should have picked up after the contact in the early laps that sent Luca wide, perhaps losing him a chance of getting a podium finish instead of a fourth place today. Luca didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
"I'm really angry about the Stewards' decisions today - commented Marini - Yesterday we talked about everything and they told us that Pecco had to drop one position to Miller at Jerez because it was right. And so why today they didn't apply the same reasoning and penalize Binder who pushed me off the track or Marquez who collided with Pecco? Once again there is no consistency and it is strange. It is very strange, at the end of the Safety Commission I asked specifically "if a rider touches another rider and gains a position, does he have to drop the position?” And they said yes. Today there were two such cases and they didn't apply this rule and this makes me angry. If Binder had to drop a position, maybe I would have found myself in the right position to finish second today. When Marc and Pecco had their contact in the chicane, Binder passed them both. We asked for more consistency and they had guaranteed it. But today it didn't go like this. For me it's not about Binder or any other rider, nor about the contact."
Do you think the scenarios are the same?
"But Binder's manoeuvre today was even worse than Pecco's at Jerez on Miller, because I really ended up over the white line, off the track. Yet no penalties. It's just a question of taking the same line for each decision. Then we can also change things, no problem. But if we talk and they tell us certain things, then I expect the same rules to apply for everyone. Today the outcome was conditional for me and I'm angry because they didn't maintain their word given yesterday. At least they could come and explain it to me. They should tell me that they like Binder or that they can't penalize KTM, I will accept that. But I want an explanation. I don't want to stay again without knowing how to behave on the track. It's about me, but about everyone, we need to know what we can do."
Perhaps more meetings with the Steward Panel will be needed.
"Morbidelli also said that yesterday was the first meeting and that maybe there will be others. I hope so. But when we talk about something and everything is clearer than it was in Jerez, I expect them to use the same system everywhere, but it didn't happen. Yesterday I didn't expect that all the problems had been solved, but at least I thought that some things had been clarified".
So what do you expect now?
"Another meeting! Just to understand why today they didn't penalize Binder. It's not about him, I repeat. We want to understand how things are, the contact is not the problem. You want a sport like Supercross, where the riders touch each other all the time? Ok, after that there will be more injuries, more crashes. Then everyone can decide whether to race or not, but there we go boxing. But we need a linearity that doesn't exist right now."
Aren't you afraid that we are becoming too fiscal when there have always been contacts in this sport?
"There has also always been a lot of overtaking without contact. I would say that there are more. Nothing is being distorted, it's just a matter of overtaking correctly. Only that there are more and more riders who, out of laziness or malice, don't commit not to touch you. They come at you to bother you, so you don't attack them at the next corner, and because not touching you may be more difficult than touching you. You brake late, the bikes don't stop when you're in the slipstream. Do like Binder, lift up late, put the bike sideways, then lean on your opponent as you do on the PlayStation and he takes the corner calmly. He always did, but three years ago the rules were different. It was us riders who asked for more penalties, but then it's not good that they give penalties to some and not to others".
Tomorrow how do you see yourself in the GP?
"Today I had problems with the temperature of the rear, I had to put a lot of force on it and I felt the temperature rise. It didn't take much to make it less reliable, to have less grip. I'll have to work on it. Unfortunately we don't have time to change things on the bike, because tomorrow morning we'll find temperatures that are completely different from those of the race, but maybe we can sort out something on the electronics, especially to help me under braking."
Nice duel with Marquez...
"I enjoyed the duel with Marquez, as I would have enjoyed with anyone. I was faster in the final stages, strong in turn 1 and in 3. Marquez and Pecco were stronger than me in sector two, I just tried to stay ahead in that sector and that's it. We had a few duels in the past and honestly it seems to me that he is 100% fine, the bike seems to be set up for his needs. It's different when you follow Marc than when you follow Rins, you see that he has everything more in hand. It would have been the same to win a duel with Pecco or anyone else, for me the rivals are all the same".
