MotoGP riders will accept Marc Marquez’s controversial penalty at the Thai Grand Prix, says Neil Hodgson. Márquez missed out on the Sprint win after an audacious move against Pedro Acosta.
At first, Hodgson said Marquez’s punishment was fair. Because he came from far behind and forced the KTM rider off the track in the last corner. The incident led to a fierce battle between the future teammates.
Marquez was ordered to drop one place in the last lap, which gave Acosta his first victory of any description. Some MotoGP fans protested the penaltyBut Hodgson stood by his judgment.
Are you changing any of your 2026 MotoGP predictions after Thailand?
It’s only one race, but there were a few surprises!
Neil Hodgson explains why Motor GP drivers accept Marc Marquez’s penalty.
Speaking on Get off the gas podcast, Hodgson admitted that spectators at home wanted ‘entertainment’, but FIM race director Simon Crafar stressed that safety should be a priority.
And ‘silly lungs’ – as Marquez movement in Acosta – They appear when they cross the line. After Crafar’s decision, drivers will be ‘protected’.
Chicho Lorenzo says Marquez can no longer ‘force’ his opponent. A line under Crafar’s rule, which was the ‘label’ of the work.
Will Pedro Acosta reach the same heights as Marc Marquez in MotoGP?
Hodgson said: “What the stewards are trying to achieve – led by Simon Crafar – is a safer race.” “We’re trying to protect the stupid lungs. If you’re a rider, you want to be protected, basically, that’s what Simon does.”
“If you’re completely neutral, you sit at home and you don’t care, you just want to watch people get crushed. That’s entertainment.”
“At the end of the day you have to think about the safety line. That’s why Simon Crafar is doing a fantastic job. His comment was, ‘Mark is on the line there’, so he dealt with it.”
Marc Marquez says Simon Crafar and the FIM stewards have set a new ‘red line’.
Asked again about the penalty this week at the Esrella Galicia 0.0 event, Marquez Contrasted with soccer refereeing, especially the flexible handball rules.
Crafar says he has set a new ‘red line’ and expects it to be enforced consistently for the rest of the season. Because of this, drivers must be aggressive.
“You have to get used to it – it’s like a penalty in football,” he explained. “What was not handball before is now handball or vice versa.
“Every season, there is a red line drawn by the stewards, and in this first Grand Prix, they lowered it a little bit.
“Well, that’s what they have to expect all season, and the Cavaliers have to adapt.”
After retiring from Sunday’s race due to a tire failure, Marquez left Thailand with just nine Sprint points on the board. That puts him eighth in the championship ahead of Brazil.
Receive competition news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
