Marc Marquez has responded to suggestions he should have been penalised for his pitlane entry in the Spanish Grand Prix sprint, insisting he did not create a dangerous situation.
The factory Ducati claimed his second sprint win of the 2026 MotoGP season at Jerez on Saturday, with the timing of his switch to the wet-weather bike proving key to his triumph.
Running in second place with five laps remaining, the Spaniard had initially opted to stay out for another tour, but a crash in damp conditions at the final corner prompted him to change his plans.
While the seven-time MotoGP champion ensured all riders had passed him before he rejoined the track, he then took an unusual route over the grass to enter the pitlane, having already missed the standard entry point located before the final corner.
No investigation was launched into the incident, with Marquez going on to pass Fermin Aldeguer and his factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia to secure an unlikely victory.
However, his unconventional pit entry led to heated debate over its legality, with LCR’s Johann Zarco among those questioning whether he should have been penalised.
Asked about the criticism, Marquez said: “I don’t know, read the rules!
“They [stewards] say that if you don’t gain time, you don’t create any dangerous situation and you don’t cut any corner from the service road, [you are within the rules]. [I have] nothing to say.”
Pressed further if he was aware of the exact rules at the time, he added: “I just know that you cannot start the bike on the track and you cannot create any dangerous situation when you rejoin. So what I do is stay there and just rejoin the race and go in the box.”
According to MotoGP’s sporting regulations, ‘riders should use only the track and the pitlane. However, if a rider accidentally leaves the track then they may rejoin at the place indicated by the officials or at a place which does not provide an advantage to them. Advantage may be deemed to be gained, including by exceeding track limits and short-cutting as detailed in the race direction protocols’.
In pre-race notes, the race direction stated that ‘the solid white line on the inside of the pit entry and pit exit must be respected to avoid cutting corners and dangerous riding’. However, no reference was made to the outer line at pit entry, which Marquez crossed.
Pitstop timing
Marquez revealed that he was initially considering heading to the pits on the same lap where he eventually crashed, but changed his mind after watching his brother Alex Marquez stay out on the race-leading Gresini.
“It’s true that the correct decision was coming in on the previous lap, but Alex stayed out. I was thinking to stop, but Alex stayed out and then I decided to stay with him, but on that last corner, I crashed and lost the front.
“Then in one moment, when I was in the run off area, I said, ‘what do I do?’
“I decided to stop there, let all the riders pass, not to create any dangerous situation, and then when I saw that nobody was coming, I just went to the box. I changed the bike. That was the key point of the race.”
Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Marquez conceded that his victory owed more to circumstances than outright speed, as he maintained that his brother Alex – who later crashed out on slicks – was faster than him at Jerez.
“I would say lucky. Lucky and then, of course, smart to stop there on the run off area,” he said. “But lucky because I crashed on the last turn, but it was possible to crash at Turn 1, also.
“So, in the end, I was lucky, because that mistake comes from a mistake to not go in the box.”
He added: “Alex is faster than me. Already, yesterday he was half a second faster than me on a fast lap. But in a rhythm, he was like three tenths, four tenths faster than me.
So tomorrow we will try to start. The favourite is Alex, because he is riding in a very good way. He’s flowing everywhere.”
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