### Title: “Marquez’s Run-Off Penalty Sparks Debate on MotoGP Tyre Pressure Rules

MotoGP's penalty risks related to tyre pressure after run-off incidents 'need to be reviewed'

Marc Marquez: 'It takes me 2 laps to recover, and those 2 laps caused me to fall below the minimum pressure today'.

The real-time tire pressure monitoring system in MotoGP has been operational for nearly a year.

However, although some had previously cautioned about the hypothetical danger of a rider being punished merely for veering off track or getting back on their bike after a crash, it seemed to actually occur during Sunday’s Dutch MotoGP.

Marc Marquez received a 16-second penalty after the race, causing his position to fall from fourth to tenth. This penalty was imposed because he did not maintain the mandatory 1.8-bar minimum front tire pressure for at least 60% of the laps during the grand prix.

However, the Gresini Ducati racer explained that the crucial factor was the loss of heat and pressure that occurred after he was pushed off the track by Enea Bastianini during an overtaking maneuver on the 21st lap out of 26.

"I was managing the tire pressure effectively," explained Marquez. He let Fabio di Giannantonio overtake him early in the race to follow the VR46 rider, allowing his tire pressure to increase, instead of leading the pack in the cooler air.

"I was well within the pressure limit, but what caught me off guard was Enea making contact with me at the first corner."

"He forced me off the track, which made me one second slower on that lap. I held back at Turn 3 and Turn 5 since I couldn't be sure of the tire condition after rejoining from the runoff area."

"The pressure decreased once more, and it took two laps to recover. Those two laps caused me to fall below the minimum threshold of 60% today."

The FIM Stewards informed Marquez that, at present, these situations are not considered. However, Marquez noted, "I believe this might change in the future. This is particularly true if someone collides with you, causing you to leave the track."

"Currently, the regulations state that unless you complete 16 laps at 60% of the designated pressure, the rules cannot be modified. However, with these motorcycles, being just 1 to 1.5 seconds slower per lap causes the pressure to decrease by 0.05 bar."

How could the regulations regarding tyre pressure be adjusted to address these types of incidents?

In the most recent episode of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast, Pete McLaren, the MotoGP editor, commented:

Marc agreed with the ruling, though he mentioned that the infraction was minimal and attributed the decisive factor to Bastianini's action. He went off the track, which caused him to lose time, allowed the tire to cool down, and resulted in a slight drop in pressure.

Frankie Carchedi, who is the crew chief for Marc, had earlier pointed out this specific problem: When a rider crashes or goes off the track and then returns, they may be in danger of having tire pressure drop below the minimum requirement because of the time it takes to regain their pace.

"Action must be taken because, if it began to drizzle and all the racers lost 2-3 seconds per lap, everyone's tire pressure would likely be too low."

A rapid decrease in temperature or a rise in wind speed could potentially hinder the speed and disrupt the pre-race planning.

A possible method to eliminate racing mishaps or significant weather variations could involve managing tire pressure similarly to how track limits are handled, but in an opposite manner.

“If a rider is noticeably slower in a particular section than usual, that lap is excluded from the pressure percentage computation.

"Alternatively, a rule such as the 105% lap time regulation might be implemented to exclude any exceptionally slow laps from the pressure assessments."

An alternative perspective is to argue that "everyone else was following the rules on Sunday."

However, Marc insists that he was handling the pressure and was on track to stay within the rules. What he couldn't control or foresee was the incident with Bastianini that pushed him off the course.

"It's possible that a similar racing incident might occur in the future, so I believe it should be examined from a pressure standpoint."

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