Considered Too Ambitious, Fabio Quartararo Sentenced To Long Lap Penalty Due To The Incident With Aleix Espargaro At The Dutch MotoGP

Yamaha MotoGP rider, Fabio Quartararo. (Doc. MotoGP)

JAKARTA - Like rubbing salt into the wound. That's the right saying to describe the fate of Monster Yamaha Racing MotoGP racer, Fabio Quartararo, after the Dutch MotoGP race.

Fabio Quartararo received a long lap penalty due to an incident involving him with Aleix Espargaro. The sanction applies to the next race, namely the British MotoGP, next August.

The FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel assessed that the French rider was too ambitious to overtake Espargaro, according to the official MotoGP website.

"The FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel judged Quartararo to be too ambitious in trying to overtake Espargaro. Quartararo was not in a position to complete the move successfully and then crashed, causing contact with Espargaro and forcing him wide," a MotoGP statement said.

The incident occurred at the 5th Turn. At that time, Quartararo, who was trying to overtake Espargaro, lost his tire grip and fell. His Yamaha motorbike also hit the Aprilia Racing rider.

Espargaro managed to save himself and did not fall. However, he had to lose many positions because he fell into the gravel due to Quartararo's maneuver.

Quartararo himself had already admitted his mistake. He said it was a rookie's mistake and should learn from it.

As a result of failing to finish in the Dutch MotoGP, Quartararo's points did not increase, which was 172 points. However, he remains at the top of the MotoGP rider standings for 2022.

However, now the difference with Espargaro has been reduced to 21 points.

"The championship is still a long way off, and to make silly mistakes like these that lead to dropping points, I have to learn from that," said Fabio Quartararo.