Software Glitch Sparks Controversy: Marquez’s MotoGP Japan Pole Lap Delay Explained

Software error cited as cause for postponement in nullifying Marc Marquez's pole position lap

Reason provided for the postponement in annulling Marc Marquez's pole lap at Japan MotoGP

The postponement in annulling Marc Marquez's pole position lap at the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix was attributed to a software malfunction.

During the final moments of the Q2 session on Saturday morning at Motegi, the Gresini racer recorded a time of 1 minute 42.868 seconds to initially claim provisional pole position. However, this lap time was invalidated because the rider went beyond the track boundaries.

Nevertheless, his lap time was removed from the board only after the chequered flag was waved. This left him without the opportunity to attempt another lap, resulting in him being placed ninth on the starting grid.

The Gresini team was extremely upset in their garage, while Marquez responded to a MotoGP social media post regarding his track limits infraction by saying, “I accept the penalty, but the timing of the notification is what it is.”

The first report from the stewards on Saturday's incidents didn't clarify what happened with Marquez. However, a subsequent update indicated that a software error was responsible.

A short statement mentioned that MotoGP officials looked into a postponed enforcement of track limits regarding Marc Marquez.

The issue was identified as a software error, leading to the manual cancellation of the lap.

In an interview with TNT Sport, Marquez expressed his thoughts on the situation, stating, "Yes, the events this morning were quite puzzling, particularly because the notification came so late. When you're on the bike, it's often difficult to tell if you've crossed onto the green area or not."

"I realized the lap hadn't been called off, so I decided there was no reason to keep pushing hard, especially since there were a few raindrops."

"I mentioned that achieving that lap time would place me on the front row, which was our goal."

"Regrettably, we received that notification at the last minute."

"The officials informed me that they encountered issues with the links."

"Unfortunately, that's just how things turned out. The task was to move past it, focus on the sprint race, and once again, we gave it our all."

In the initial laps of the sprint, Marquez advanced to fourth position and moved up to third after Pedro Acosta, who was leading, experienced a crash.

In the final stages, he fiercely competed with Enea Bastianini for second place but ultimately had to give way to the official Ducati racer.

He acknowledged that during the initial laps, he was applying too much pressure, leading to the front tire overheating.

"After taking a moment to calm myself and assess my position, I began to close the gap in the final laps, finding my rhythm and performing exceptionally well."

During the final lap of the battle with Enea, his defense was outstanding, making it too risky to overtake him. I gave it a shot, as I always do, but his defensive maneuvers were excellent.

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