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Marquez demands new halved MotoGP Penalties

October 15, 2025

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Tyre Pressure Penalties: Marc Márquez’s Stance

The controversial MotoGP tyre pressure rules remain a hot topic, centered around safety and the severity of penalties.

The Rule and Penalty:

The rule enforces a minimum front tyre pressure for a specified duration of the race, primarily as a safety measure.
For the 2024 season, penalties were set as an 8-second time penalty for a Sprint Race and a 16-second time penalty for a Grand Prix race, replacing the initial, more extreme threat of disqualification.

Marc Márquez’s Argument: Call for Penalty Reduction

Current MotoGP title leader Marc Márquez publicly accepts the underlying safety rule but argues the existing penalties are too severe.
He has called for an immediate reduction of the penalties by half, suggesting they should be 4 seconds for a Sprint and 8 seconds for a Grand Prix.
Márquez highlights that these harsh penalties often result from minor, unavoidable technical infringements—such as tyre temperature spikes caused by riding in the dirty air of a closely-packed group—that should not warrant such a drastic demotion in the final standings.

The Grand Prix of the Americas (COTA) featured a major grid chaos and tactical controversy earlier in the season.

The Incident: Márquez’s Calculated Gambit

The event was triggered by Marc Márquez’s deliberate tactical move just before the start. With the track rapidly drying, he correctly deduced the initial choice of wet tyres was wrong.
Márquez abandoned his grid slot and sprinted to the pit lane for a last-minute slick tyre change on his spare bike.
This calculated maneuver was a gambit aimed at exploiting a regulatory loophole concerning mass grid abandonment to force an aborted start and a subsequent grid reset. Numerous other riders followed, causing unprecedented chaos on the starting grid.

Outcome and Criticism: Demand for Clearer Rules

Race Direction ultimately decided on a delayed start and a quick start procedure on the grounds of safety concerns due to the chaotic movement of riders, bikes, and personnel. This effectively nullified the wrong initial tyre choice for many.
The incident provoked intense criticism from teams and riders who felt that a clever exploitation of the rules was rewarded.
The aftermath led to a widespread demand for the FIM to undertake a rule review and implement a clear, unambiguous regulation to prevent riders from deliberately generating an aborted start through this specific grid-exodus strategy.

Official 2024 Penalty Structure (MotoGP.com): https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2024/03/07/motogp-tyre-pressures-penalties-whats-new-in-2024/491276
Márquez’s Penalty and Call for Rule Tweak (The Race): https://www.the-race.com/motogp/marquez-gets-assen-penalty-and-wants-it-to-prompt-a-rule-change/

Márquez’s Deliberate Tactic and Analysis (The Race): https://www.the-race.com/motogp/cota-motogp-grid-madness-was-deliberate-marquez-tactic/
Race Director’s Explanation and Rule Review Commitment (Motorsport.com): https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/motogp-race-director-validates-the-chaos-caused-by-marc-marquez-in-austin/10708463/

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