Thomas Luthi thinks Marc Marquez’s penalty in the 2026 Thai Grand Prix at Buriram was “justified”, as he gave up trying to beat Pedro Acosta.
Marquez And Acosta 2026 started MotoGP season Last Saturday at Buriram for his first win of the year with a bright stick. But the Sprint result left a bit of a sour taste in Acosta’s mouth, though KTM The rider took the first win of any kind in his MotoGP career.
“I don’t think I’m going to win,” Acosta said after the Buriram Sprint.He then inherited the lead through the last corner on the last lap Ducati Cavalry Marquez was ordered to drop a position. The stewards, driven by Simon Crafar, punished Marquez’s moves on the previous lap.
Crafar and the stewards team didn’t like Marquez’s late hit that took Acosta out and led the sprint in the race. Thailand GP. Acosta had moved in front of Marquez earlier in the lap, with the latter having some time in turn 5.
David Tardozzi disagrees with Marc Marquez’s penalty in the Sprint at the Thai GP
Would Pedro Acosta have made a similar move to leadership?
Marc Marquez ‘desperate’ to overtake Pedro Acosta for 2026 Buriram Sprint lead
Marquez struggled to stop the Ducati GP26 in the Buriram Sprint, but did enough for most of the race whenever his KTM rival Acosta looked to grab the lead. However, his move on the penultimate lap was penalized as he dipped far back.
Read more: Every MotoGP record Marc Marquez can break in the 2026 season.
explosion of MotoGP fans disagreed with Marquez’s penalty in the Buriram Sprint.And Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi questioned the decision as he did not think the rider had made contact with Acosta. But long-time Moto2 rider Lütti feels Marquez’s move was deservedly retribution.
“In my opinion, the punishment is good,” Luthi said. Motor sports magazine. “It wasn’t a very severe punishment, it wasn’t a long one. Mark simply had to get his place back.”
He added: “The manual happened when Mark dived into Pedro in the last corner.
“Marc said that after the sprint he tried to control the speed at the front. But at turn number 5, he had a rear wheel slide. He was able to recover, but Pedro passed.
“He really wanted to get back to the front as soon as possible. However, in the next sections it is very difficult to pass on a MotoGP bike because there are many corners in a row without straights. Then came turn 12, but Marc was too far away.
“He opened the brakes, he went into the corner too fast, and he couldn’t hold the line. That pushed Pedro off the track. So I think the penalty is justified.”
Marc Marquez blamed himself for the Sprint penalty at the Thai Grand Prix
A changing of the guard to start the season or just plain old? 🤔
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Despite Tardozzi’s suggestions after a sprint at the 2026 Thai GP on Saturday, Marquez made contact with Acosta, forcing the KTM rider to lift his bike to avoid a crash. Acosta’s reaction meant Marquez only dropped to P2 before receiving the penalty.
Both Spaniards were brave in their battle for the lead in the Buriram Sprint, especially braking in the final corner. But Márquez had only himself to blame for the penalty as he came from distance from Acosta to finish off a clean pass.
If Acosta had seen Marquez coming sooner, the incident could have ended differently. The KTM star may have chosen to stay clear of the final corner to hit lap 1, or he may have tried to throw the bike on top of Marquez.
But whatever Acosta may or may not have reacted to if he saw Marquez sooner, the Ducati rider was the attacker, so running away wasn’t an option. And when Acosta lost out to Marquez and Raul Fernandez, the stewards felt they had to act.
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