The tire pressure caused problems for several riders in the MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix race – prompting a series of warnings for the respective infraction, including for the winner.
The rules introduced at the British Grand Prix last August determine that there is a minimum pressure to be met on the front tire. The first infraction results in a warning, and thereafter penalties are assigned in time incrementally – three seconds for the second infraction, six seconds for the second infraction, and 12 seconds for the third.
In Sepang, the stewards warned five riders for not respecting the minimum pressure limit. The winner Enea Bastianini (Ducati) was one of them, as well as his teammate and championship leader Francesco Bagnaia – who finished third.
The other warnings were presented to Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati), to Iker Lecuona (LCR Honda) and to wildcard Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati).
The rule was introduced midway through the season, but in just 12 rounds, 13 riders have already been warned for an infraction and one of them, Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia), has already been penalized. Therefore, if nothing is changed, there may be several penalties and consequences on the quality of the races – especially because the idea is that in the future the sanction will be disqualification.
