Bagnaia-Marquez contact, the two summoned by the commissioners: would Marc have closed the throttle?

Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia enlivened the first laps of the Italian GP with a splendid battle. The Ducati riders repeatedly exchanged positions, not sparing even very aggressive overtaking. The crossings of trajectories kept the many fans in suspense. It was hardly predictable that one of these, culminating in a contact between the two, would have attracted the attention of the post-race. In fact, the Steward Panel decided to summon both riders to clarify the episode.

The “incriminating” fact dates back to the beginning of the third lap. Coming out of a chicane, Marquez found himself going slower than his teammate. Trying to cross the trajectory, Bagnaia ended up hitting the number 93 Ducati. At the time, everyone thought it was a simple racing contact. The stewards, in fact, did not take immediate action, letting the Grand Prix finish without intervening. Then, however, at the end of the race, the Italian, who had finished fourth, was called in to have his version of the facts. The situation seemed to end with nothing done. Instead, shortly after, Marquez also appeared before the stewards.

Everything revolved around the origin of the maneuver: why had Marc suddenly slowed down, creating the conditions for Bagnaia to hit him? A logical explanation was dictated by Marquez's difficulties exiting the chicane. Struggling to find the right line, perhaps also struggling with optimal traction, the Spaniard had no choice but to close the throttle. In the end, the doubt was resolved without any sanctions for the protagonists. Marquez, winner of the race, explained via Sky: "Simon Crafar (president of the Steward Panel, ed.) wanted to have my version of the contact. He likes to discuss it with the riders. In any case, everything is ok".