A "stupid" sanction to Fabio Quartararo to spice up the World Cup

• Assen Aleix Espargaró tightens the World Cup with a great comeback and the overtaking of the year

About MotoGP, first of all remember:

is the leader of the World Championship with 21 points over

-yes, Aleix Espargaró-, no other Spaniard has any chance of being champion and

continues to recover from his eternal injury.

Where were we going before summer?

Oh yes, the penalty!

Although it may not seem like it because of the five weeks of vacation, the championship is in turmoil because of a sanction.

In the last race, held in Assen, Quartararo made a mistake by overtaking Espargaró, hit him, expelled him from the track and the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) decided to punish him: this Sunday at Silverstone (2:00 p.m., DAZN) he must comply with a long lap penalty in the first three laps.

The penalty is not serious, it consists of tracing one of the curves of the circuit outside, but it will initially place the Frenchman in the last positions of the peloton, if not the last.

The comeback will be a risk.

And one failure, another, would greatly complicate the remainder of the year.

For this reason, this Thursday, after spending a few days on the French Riviera with the family, he criticized whoever sanctioned him, that is,

, the FIM race director for MotoGP.

"I don't want to talk about the crash, but it wasn't to sanction me. You have to know how to differentiate an accident from irresponsible driving because otherwise the World Cup will be very boring," Quartararo denounced and it wasn't just his thing.

All the drivers in the championship sided with him.

For example, his main rival this season, the one affected by the incident, Espargaró: "There were other drivers more aggressive than him and they were not penalized. It is difficult for us to understand what is punished and what is not."

For example, the current runner-up,

: "I don't agree with the sanction against Fabio. In Qatar I did more or less the same thing and they didn't sanction me".

For example,

, normally very critical of extreme actions: "It's a difficult penalty for us to understand. He overtook and lost the front end. It's not very understandable that they punish him."

Criticism of managers

In the background of the controversy there is a crusade of the MotoGP riders against Webb and his sanction criteria because they seem to respond to non-sporting criteria.

To spice up a bland World Cup, what better than placing the leader at the bottom of the squad and forcing him to heroics.

In similar actions, even worse, such as those carried out by

this year at Mugello and Montmeló, the FIM race director abstained and denied any penalty.

So he joined the influence of Honda, in its worst historical moment of results, but also the brand with the largest budget in the contest.

"I have this stupid penalty, but I still look ready for anything," Quartararo announced as a warning for the test and for the remainder of the World Cup.

In the next nine races it will be decided what happens and beyond the penalty, the Frenchman has everything to celebrate his second consecutive title.

Among the following there are several circuits in which he has already triumphed -Misano, Thailand, Japan or Cheste- and his only concern is Espargaró, who before the break had gone three races without being on the podium.

Due to the difference in points, he is not worried about Bagnaia, nor

, nor

, nor

, nor

... In fact, most of these come back from vacations the same or in a worse state of mind than they left.

Bagnaia, a case, spoiled his holiday: one morning in Ibiza he drank more than necessary - he tripled the maximum blood alcohol level - and crashed a rental Citroën C4 in a gutter.

And Mir, another very different case, is still without a team for next season: while Rins or the youngest of the Espargaró have already signed their downward contracts, one with the Honda satellite team and the other with KTM, the 2020 champion Continue your long wait.

So first of all remember: MotoGP returns as a duel between Fabio Quartararo and Aleix Espargaró -yes, Aleix Espargaró-, there is no one to threaten them, Marc Márquez does not even run and there is a sanction, a "stupid" sanction, to be resolved .

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