Pramac rider Jorge Martin has called for a rethink of MotoGP’s long lap rule after being hit with a penalty for cutting the chicane in the Austrian Grand Prix sprint.
Polesitter Martin was leading the half-distance race at Spielberg on Saturday when he overshot the tricky Turn 2 and had to take to the escape road, before rejoining the track in second position behind the factory Ducati of Francesco Bagnaia.
While he did slow down and lose a position because of the error, the data showed that he didn’t drop a second in the same sector as required by the rules, prompting the stewards to issue him a long lap penalty.
The 26-year-old had been running just a few tenths behind Bagnaia when he finally took the loop at the exit of Turn 4, but it left him down in third place, almost four seconds down on his title rival.
A crash for Gresini’s Marc Marquez elevated him to second position, but he had no chance of recovering the lost ground and mounting an attack on Bagnaia, who cruised to his third sprint win of the year to draw level with him at the top of the championship standings.
Speaking afterwards, Martin felt that it is “unfair” for riders to be penalised for running wide in such a manner, when they have already lost time by going off track.
“Surely, the rule should be revised,” he told Spanish broadcaster Dazn. “It would have been a more fun and spectacular race.
“I think I could have fought with Pecco, I was waiting a few laps to go in with the pressure rule.
“In the end there are a lot of things to think about at the same time. And when I wanted to attack, I went straight and they sent me to the long lap.
“Having lost time [by going off track], I don't think it's fair [to get a penalty for it]. If you've already lost time, I don't know the need [for the penalty].
“It's not that I'm going straight because I want to, it's that I'm going straight because I'm on the limit in a fight. In this circumstance, then maybe losing time....
“Maybe [the best thing] is to let the race go and at least enjoy a good fight.”
Martin and Bagnaia had already traded positions a number of times on the opening lap, but their duel effectively ended when the Spaniard carried too much speed on the run down to Turn 2 and was forced to go straight.
The stewards officially handed him the sanction on lap five, which he duly served on lap eight - returning to the track just ahead of Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro.
Martin claimed that he would have just carried on as normal and not purposely dropped behind Bagnaia if he knew a penalty was coming.
“Fair or not fair, in the end it is what it is,” he said. “Today was a day with complications. I gave my best in this situation.
“In the end, I went a bit long [at Turn 2] because I didn't have much space with Pecco either, and I even let him pass.
“I didn't do the ‘shortcut’ fast, I just lost the position to Pecco. Even so, there was a long lap penalty.
“If I had known, I would have stayed first and waited for the penalty. But that's the way it was.”
Bagnaia has a strong track record at the Red Bull Ring, having won two of the last editions of the Austrian GP in 2022-23.
Martin did gain the upper hand over him in qualifying by beating him to pole position, but it was Bagnaia that emerged ahead in the half-points sprint race.
Having concluded that he is closer to Bagnaia than many had expected, he believes he has the speed to challenge the two-time champion in the grand prix on Sunday.
“I think I saved the race, being second with these complications was good,” he said.
“The Long Lap was very close to the limit. There was a moment when I thought I was going to go out and that I would even get another one. But I was able to save it.
“Another second place, which realistically would have been third.
“But I think that without the Long Lap I have the potential to fight with Pecco tomorrow.”
