Unraveling the Misano Clash: Crafar’s Revelations and the Ongoing Debate Over MotoGP Steward Decisions

Simon Crafar's insights on stewards' decisions open up further queries

New angle on the Enea Bastianini versus Jorge Martin incident comes to light

Discussion surrounding the final lap incident involving Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin during the MotoGP Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was reignited on Thursday in Indonesia.

Merely four days after the contentious end of the second round at Misano, where Bastianini aggressively pushed Martin off the track at Turn 4 during the last lap to secure a win, the MotoGP teams have regrouped on the island of Lombok for the Indonesian Grand Prix.

However, the discussion concerning the incident at Misano continues, as Bastianini and Martin were both questioned regarding the matter during Thursday's press conference before the event.

Notably, Bastianini maintains his belief that his actions were justified, a stance validated by the stewards' decision not to penalize him, although Martin continues to dispute the absence of a penalty.

An aspect that has faced critique is the seemingly insufficient inquiry into the event by the FIM stewards panel, led by two-time 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer.

Former grand prix champion Simon Crafar, set to replace Spencer in the stewards room in 2025, leaving his role with Dorna's commentary team, recently revealed new details about the events of last Sunday, indicating that an investigation took place.

"He confirmed on Thursday, before the initial press conference on motogp.com, that the stewards had indeed looked into the matter."

"They examine every detail. I've allocated some time to be there for the past four Moto3 races and all Moto2 events throughout the weekend, and I'm beginning to grasp their operations.

In Misano, there are approximately 160 cameras installed, with 50 of them exclusively allocated for their use, allowing them to choose their own placement.

"Additionally, the international broadcast cameras, which are what we view on television, along with all the circuit's closed-circuit television cameras, utilized for track events and similar activities."

"Therefore, it's slightly less than 160 cameras. From my observations atop, they scrutinize every incident – indicating that they probe into every slight disturbance that occurs."

"Whenever someone goes off course, there's a specialized team for every boundary on the track. What I'm trying to say is, just because 'under investigation' isn't displayed on the television screen, it doesn't imply that no investigation is happening."

During the entire cooldown lap, they meticulously review it from various perspectives and swiftly come to a conclusion.

"Their verdict differed from what approximately half of the population believed; they concluded there was no penalty."

Crafar accurately points out that the task of displaying TV tickers for race direction messages doesn't fall to the stewards. Instead, this responsibility lies with the broadcast production team, who disseminate the information once they receive it.

Last weekend, Gino Borsoi, the head of Pramac Racing, disclosed that his team sought clarification from the stewards regarding their approach to a recent incident. Meanwhile, Martin mentioned that he was unable to speak with Spencer when he attempted to visit him.

"I made an effort, I headed to Race Direction, but they weren't present. When I attempted to connect with them again later, they advised me to communicate with them the following day," Martin explained to the Spanish press on Thursday in Mandalika.

"I made an attempt, yet it was unsuccessful. My desire is to speak with them, but not over the weekend or right before a session. My preference was to have the conversation today, on Thursday. However, we might be able to schedule another suitable time for it."

Outstanding queries

Although Crafar's perspective has offered a much-appreciated overview of the current circumstances, it does, however, leave several queries unresolved.

Why wasn't it mentioned initially if an investigation was underway? It seems illogical for the officials to delay revealing that no penalties were necessary. A straightforward announcement of 'no further action' on the global broadcast could have conclusively stopped this discussion in its tracks.

Other media sources have implied that although the stewards examined the issue, they apparently did not consider it significant enough to merit a thorough investigation. This is notably unexpected, especially since it involved a victory in the race.

At its core, the primary concern isn't about the necessity of a penalty. This is subjective and will likely be revisited for its impact on the championship by the time we reach Valencia. What's truly at stake is the apparent absence of clarity surrounding how steward decisions are made and the guidelines they follow.

Following the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Martin and the Pramac team explicitly stated their belief that Bastianini's actions were within the boundaries deemed acceptable by the race officials. Consequently, they argue that similar behavior on their part should not warrant any penalties. This stance seems reasonable, and undoubtedly, it signals that racers will likely explore these ambiguous zones in the rules, as is common in competitive racing.

Critics advocating for a penalty against Bastianini argue this point primarily on the grounds that they observed him veering off course as well. In his defense, Bastianini explained that his action was a result of checking to see if Martin had taken a fall (however, it's plausible to assume he was actually ensuring that Martin wasn't about to re-enter the race beside him at high velocity).

In final lap confrontations, going beyond the boundaries of the track usually leads to the infringing rider being demoted a place. Yet, this typically applies only to the runoff areas marked in green. Areas on the track that are not marked in green are not considered to give a rider an undue benefit for crossing them. Bastianini's actions, in this case, were acceptable.

If the officials deemed the incident at Misano unworthy of a detailed probe, does this mean a racer just needs to divert their gaze from their intended path if they're veering off course? Naturally, officials can consult data if required – yet, this hinges on their perception of its importance.

In our first review of the situation, we mentioned that the officials provide a daily summary of all scrutinized incidents along with a concise rationale. We highlighted an exemplary case demonstrating how the officials manage matters efficiently without extensive inquiry, while still offering their justification.

During the Spanish Grand Prix, Johann Zarco made contact with Pedro Acosta, causing him to go off track at Turn 5 during the initial lap. This incident led to Acosta dropping a position behind Zarco. However, since Zarco rectified his action in the subsequent sector, officials did not mandate him to relinquish his position back to Acosta, which would have been the standard penalty had the situation escalated.

That was sufficient. That was the only action required from the stewards at Misano on Sunday to resolve a matter as contentious as the final lap incident.

Four days have passed, and it's now clear they investigated the incident. However, the reasoning behind their conclusion or their lack of communication remains unknown.

At the bare minimum, the upcoming steward Crafar, who is notably at ease when elucidating intricate aspects of motorcycle racing on television, has shown that he is the ideal candidate to address and enhance the longstanding transparency concerns that have plagued the existing panel.

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