The leader of the MotoGP championship, Jorge Martin, has received a three-position grid penalty for the upcoming Dutch TT in Assen. This penalty was imposed due to a near collision with Raul Fernandez during qualifying. While Martin was gesturing to his rivals in the early corners, Fernandez nearly collided with him during a timed attack lap. As a result, Martin has been moved to the fifth position on the starting grid, instead of starting alongside his championship rival, Pecco Bagnaia, on the front row. The penalty was announced several hours after the incident occurred, preventing Martin from commenting on the matter. This is not the first incident involving Martin this weekend, as he was also involved in a collision with Jack Miller during practice. Unlike the previous incident, Martin did not escape without consequences this time. This penalty increases the challenge that Martin will face in trying to compete against the dominant Bagnaia in the next race. However, there has been confusion regarding the penalty itself, as the FIM MotoGP stewards initially issued it with incorrect timing and session information. This is not the first time that the stewards have made errors in their documentation, as they previously addressed a sanction notification to Maria Herrera as “dear sir” instead of using her correct gender. These mistakes have drawn attention to the need for greater accuracy in the stewards’ processes. In the past, there have been cases where penalties were not enforced by the riders due to incorrect specifications. However, the regulation has been modified to ensure that penalties apply to the next race in which a rider competes, rather than a specific round. In Martin’s case, his penalty only applies to the Dutch TT on Sunday.
