ROUND 6 / MAY 24-26, 2024
CIRCUIT DE BARCELONA-CATALUNYA / BARCELONA, SPAIN
MOTOGP I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P88
BASTIANINI'S ACT
OF DEFIANCE
Enea Bastianini staged an act of
defiance toward the FIM Stew-
ards by refusing to take a string of
penalties in Sunday's race after he
cut the track on the outside of turn
one. This resulted in a 32-second
penalty (the equivalent of a ride-
through) and dropped him from
ninth to 18th. Yet Bastianini rightly
felt the penalty was undeserved.
Asked if he hadn't seen his dash-
board, which indicates whether a
penalty has been given, he said,
"The dashboard was [very] clear!
But I didn't agree with it. Because
I overtook Alex [Marquez] in the
straight, and when we arrived on
the brake, he pushed me out on
the curb. The only solution was
to cut the chicane. "I waited for a
'drop position' [penalty] for Alex
for 2-3 laps and after arrived the
long lap for me! I was not agreed,
and I decided to continue without
doing the long lap. I know it's not
the correct choice, but we have
to do something because noth-
ing changes. Every race, there
is something to explain with the
[Stewards] and it's not correct."
Both Bastianini and Ducati said
the Stewards had admitted they
made a mistake after the race but
couldn't reverse the penalty post-
race.
"SOMETHING BIG"
COMING FOR YAMAHA
It was another tough Saturday for
Yamaha at a track which used to
be suited to its M1. Fabio Quar-
tararo bemoaned a lack of speed
through the fast final sector. He
was losing on average three-
tenths of a second a lap there to
Briefly...
