Pernat is scathing about the Marc Marquez-Bezzecchi incident: “It makes me laugh”

MotoGP manager Carlo Pernat weighed in on the controversy surrounding the Sprint race in Qatar and the collision between Marc Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi: “I believe Bezzecchi was the fastest of them all, even in the Sprint. He made some incredible passes, then slipped into a very wide gap,” he told GPOne.

“Marc was wide, just as the others behind him were wide. You can see perfectly clearly from the footage that he slipped through; he’d handled the tight section very well and was on his way to a big win. But Marquez isn’t about to lose. And that’s exactly why I admire him—of course I do! He doesn’t even consider losing. He has the instinct of a predator. He tried to pass on the outside, touched Bezzecchi, and Bezzecchi went down.”

“He didn’t do it on purpose—far from it—but given the current rules, I think a Long Lap Penalty for the next day would have been appropriate. Not out of malice, because he absolutely didn’t do it on purpose. It’s the instinct of a predator, of someone who won’t accept losing. He tried to pass on the outside, made contact with him, and Bezzecchi ended up on the ground. Then I even heard some people saying it was Bezzecchi’s fault. That makes me laugh out loud!”

“It’s nobody’s fault; these are racing incidents. But, you know, under the new rules, when you knock someone down and they end up on the ground, you get a Long Lap Penalty. Nothing out of the ordinary, but in my opinion, that would have been the right call.”