Green flag for Márquez: Court of Appeal rules in favor of racer and annuls penalty

The MotoGP Court of Appeal has issued its decision on the appeal against the disciplinary sanction imposed on Marc Márquez by the MotoGP Stewards Panel. The penalty was in response to an unintentional incident involving the Spanish rider during the Portuguese Grand Prix on March 26.

The MotoGP Stewards Panel issued a notice on the same day of the incident, imposing a double long-lap penalty on the rider for the MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix. After the announcement of Márquez’s decision to undergo surgery on his right hand on March 26—and that consequently it was impossible to participate in the Argentina GP—the MotoGP Stewards Panel issued a “clarification” on March 28, noting that he would have to serve the penalty at the next round in which he participated.

 

With legal counseling by Cuatrecasas and Carballo Asesores, Márquez and the Repsol Honda–HRC team appealed the decision of March 28 that changed the content of the previous decision and imposed a de facto double penalty on the rider. We highlight, from the arguments asserted in the appeal, the infringement of the principal of legal certainty and the legitimate expectations of the rider, who decided to undergo surgery and not compete in Argentina, trusting the statements of the MotoGP Stewards Panel who had assured him—verbally and in writing—that the penalty referred to the MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix. Ultimately, the appeal reasoned that the original penalty had been served inasmuch as Márquez and his team decided not to participate in the Argentina GP.

After obtaining a stay of execution of the penalty on April 12, the appeal prepared by the Cuatrecasas and Carballo Asesores team was also allowed, in terms of substance, by the MotoGP Court of Appeal in its decision of May 9.

The ruling fully upholds the arguments of the six-time MotoGP champion, who will not be penalized by the disciplinary sanction in this season’s remaining Grand Prix races.

The Cuatrecasas team participating in the case was made up of sectoral experts Alberto Fortún, Roberto Álvarez, Borja Álvarez, Sara Moro and Miquel Lara, with the collaboration of Carballo Asesores lawyer, Javier Rubio.