The decisions and inconsistency of MotoGP stewards are once again a topic of discussion at the Italian GP. The decision not to penalize Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing/Aprilia) for the incident with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) in the Sprint race is not unanimous among the riders. Aleix Espargaró was one of those who questioned the outcome. In Mugello, the panel of stewards includes Andres Somolinos, Freddie Spencer, and Tamara Matko.
The Aprilia rider believes that the current stewards are not sufficient for MotoGP: ‘All I can say is that I am 100 percent sure that they try to do their best, they analyze everything carefully, they are doing as much as they can, but the level is not enough, it’s far from MotoGP. If I finished 22nd in every race, I would give everything I had, work hard, spend ten hours in telemetry, I wouldn’t be here for four years – I would race for a year, or maybe two, and then I would go home and someone else would replace me. That’s the situation.’.
Espargaró later said: ‘On Friday, I was very vehement in the Safety Commission trying to give my opinion to Dorna. For me, it’s difficult because I don’t want to speak badly about them because I’m sure they are doing their best. But they are 20 years away from today’s races. We need someone who has competed recently – not last year or two years ago, not 25 years ago. Someone who knows the current MotoGP riding style, the tires. Maybe they can continue to do their job, but they need someone else who knows more about MotoGP in 2024.’.
Questioned about whether Cal Crutchlow could be a solution, the Spaniard agreed: ‘It could be Cal, yes. Maybe just a MotoGP rider who gives his opinion to help them. But when they give a penalty for something and the next day exactly the same thing – the only thing that changes is the color of the bike – it’s another. We, riders, go crazy! Why was there no penalty for Oliveira on Friday? Jorge [Martín] was on pole position, he was out of the garage. But they said: “He was trying his best.” I don’t care! I’m also trying my best. That’s why they penalized Pecco [Bagnaia] well – he was in the middle of the trajectory, competing, it can happen, but it’s a penalty. It’s difficult for us to be relaxed and understand this’.
In Espargaró’s view, this modern ex-rider on the stewards’ panel doesn’t have to be someone who has fought at the top: ‘No, no. Someone who has competed, who knows more or less about bikes. Maybe Michele Pirro for example – he understands bikes, he still competes a bit. He just came to my mind, there are several, several riders. But after the incident in Jerez with [Brad] Binder I went there in the afternoon to try to explain my opinion to help them. Because they told us: “Please, come and try to help with whatever you want.” So, I went there and asked: “Why was there no penalty for Brad in this action with Pecco?”. “Oh, it was just a clash because there was no space.” Yes, but there was no space because he put both wheels on the curb, he was out of control, off the trajectory. So it should have been a penalty. They don’t understand’.
