MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

On the third lap of the opening grand prix of the 2023 MotoGP season, Marc Marquez locked the front wheel of his Honda RC213V while braking for Turn 3, trying to close the gap to Jorge Martin and Miguel Oliveira. As he did so, he clipped the Ducati of Martin, lost control, and barreled into the RNF Aprilia of Miguel Oliveira.

For that incident, Marc Marquez was handed a Double Long Lap Penalty, to be served at the Argentina GP the following week. But two days after the penalty notice was issued, the FIM Stewards issued a revised penalty, stating that Marquez was to serve the Double Long Lap Penalty at "the next MotoGP Race in which the rider will be able to participate".

That revised penalty has kicked off a controversial process which has gone on so long that the case has exceeded the term set for a hearing by the MotoGP Court of Appeal. As such, the penalty for Marc Marquez is no longer valid.

The FIM regulations set out very clearly that the MotoGP Court of Appeal must hear an appeal and issue a judgment within four weeks of the brief of appeal (basically, the letter from the appellant setting out their case) being received by the court. Section 3.4.4 of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship Regulations states the following:

3.4.4 Time limits to be observed for appeal hearings

The FIM Appeal Stewards must be convened to examine an appeal immediately after the brief of appeal is received.

Ducati may have swept the podium and stolen the headlines in Argentina, but behind the triumphant trio of Marco Bezzecchi, Johann Zarco and Alex Marquez there was plenty of fascinating detail to examine. There were surprises, such as Franco Morbidelli outperforming Fabio Quartararo on the Yamaha throughout the weekend, the Aprilias failing in the wet where they had been so strong last year and in the dry, and Jack Miller sealing another strong weekend for KTM. We also had 17 riders lining up on the grid, after Joan Mir was ruled unfit after his crash in the sprint race on Saturday.

But let's start with conditions. Racing in the rain is always difficult enough, but the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit presents an additional challenge. Though the track had been cleaned up by the time the race started, both with blower trucks and by having two days of grand prix machines circulating, there was still a lot of mud and dust around the circuit. Add in a morning of heavy rain, and the spray coming up from the bikes ahead wasn't just water, it was a mixture of water and dirt.

What did we learn from the Grand Prix of Argentina from Termas de Rio Hondo? First and foremost, we learned not to trust weather forecasts. It was supposed to rain on Friday, and it turned out fine. It was supposed to be fine on Saturday and Sunday, and there were patches of rain on Saturday and a downpour on Sunday.

We also learned that grip levels change everything. In the dry and in the wet, as grip changes, so do the relative strengths and weaknesses of the bikes and riders. We saw that most clearly in the Yamaha garage, where Franco Morbidelli was suddenly outperforming Fabio Quartararo through practice, qualifying, and the sprint race, mainly because Morbidelli gets faster as grip drops off, and there was very little grip available at Termas.

And we saw Marco Bezzecchi fulfill the potential we all believed he had, dominating the feature race on Sunday after getting tangled up on Saturday, and having to settle for a podium.