Marc Marquez, the Miley Cyrus of MotoGP (and not in the good way)
Let’s just get the known responses to the comments that will inevitably come in after I hit the post button on this.
Yes, I am aware of his championships, and that he is faster than I (and the comment maker) will ever be. Yes I am aware that his bike is not the dominant machine that contributed substantially to him winning those championships. Yes I am aware that (insert rider name here) was also a bit reckless.
I am not denying that he is a talented rider with speed that, if he gets someone to follow in qualifying, is unmatchable. I am not denying that in order to be competitive on a bike that just isn’t as good as it once was means that Marquez may have to jump on every single mistake in order to stay with the front pack. I am also not denying that even the GOAT(s) of racing gone by were at times aggressive, but this isn’t about them.
This is about the b-group trackday racecraft that Marquez applies at the world level.
When a rider is able to ride their bike at 100% of its limits, they need to know where their personal limits are as well. I am not convinced that Marquez knows what his are anymore, after all he has had some career threatening injuries and more surgeries in the last few years than he has had clean passes.
Watching him pinball his way through yet another GP because he has the decision making skills of a coked-out rapper is getting kinda old, and someone in his camp should probably host an intervention before he torpedoes another series of riders.
Fat chance.
Instead, Repsol Honda is trying to get their serial Juggernaut (X-men definition, not Websters) off on a technicality. Marquez was issued a double long lap penalty for his irresponsible riding to be served at the Argentina round, but since he will be missing that due to breaking his thumb, Repsol thinks that should just go away.
According to a statement made “Repsol Honda Team considers that the modification of the penalty consisted of a change of criteria on when the penalty should be applied, and that this modification was issued by the FIM two days after the initial sanction was final and definitive, is not in line with the current regulations of the FIM for the MotoGP World Championship.” Repsol is contesting that the FIM can't change the wording of the penalty after it was issued, which, by the way was after they found out Marquez was going to miss the Argentina round.
I can see why Repsol is pissed, as this pushes his penalty to Austin. COTA is a track that Marquez doesn't need to follow anyone to qualify well, and when he doesn't fall down he wins there. After 500 something days without a win, I would be frustrated, too. But saying that Marquez should get a pass on serving his penalty because he hurt himself in the process of hitting two other riders is like suggesting an axe murder should stay out of jail because they got a splinter from the handle. Stupid should hurt; it is part of human evolution. Since the physical pain of his actions doesn't seem to get through to him that treating his fellow racers like bowling pins is wrong, then I am all for even more severe penalties as the season progresses.