Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo says Austria MotoGP Sprint penalty ‘undeserved’ after viewing replay

Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia took out the Sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon at the Red Bull Ring, but there was chaos unfolding behind him.

Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo was handed a long lap after a collision with Aprilia wildcard Lorenzo Savadori on the sixth lap.

Quartararo initially accepted his penalty, but changed his mind after watching the incident back after the race.

The French rider explained after the race, saying: "Before looking at the images, I felt like I deserved the long lap. But looking at the image, I feel I don’t deserve the penalty."

Quartararo was quick to clarify that he was not looking to start a controversy.

He explained: "That’s not my job, my job is just to ride at my 100%. When you are struggling so much to overtake, you have to find a way. It happens. Of course, I was on the limit, from the start to the end. It’s something that can happen, but at least we were able to make a good pace.”

Quartararo had been fighting hard to claw back a foothold in the race after being caught up in another collision in the first lap.

Pramac’s Jorge Martin was involved in two collisions at the Red Bull Ring, including the pile-up on the first tour for which he has been blamed. Martin collided with Quartararo, after trying to overtake from the inside. Quartararo in turn struck Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales and the crowd piled up from there.

The incident remains under investigation and has not yet been officially deemed the fault of any one rider, but Martin was questioned about the incident afterwards.

He spoke with absolute certainty about his innocence.

He said: "I watched it like 50 times and for sure it’s complicated for their side, but also for my side."

Martin continued, explaining his version of events: “I was keeping a straight line, I didn’t do any excess. I felt I was going to do the corner on the inside quite comfortably, but then some other riders on the outside closed their lines a bit. Then Fabio closed on me and he lost control a bit.

"I think it was a combination of things, but I think it’s not my fault still. I was doing a good line on the inside, for sure it was bad luck. I hope the riders are ok but I guess it’s not my fault. They [the stewards] don’t know still [what their decision will be]. I guess a lot of teams were complaining a lot about the start."

The Spanish racer continued: "Maybe there are some riders who have to be punished, but I feel this is not my case. In case they wanted to penalise me, it’s why I pushed so hard to get those three seconds behind [to keep third]. In case there is a penalty coming now, which I think there shouldn’t be, I have that gap. So, I think if they have 15 laps to penalise a rider, they should do so in those 15 laps, not wait till the end.”

The controversy surrounding the incident clearly won't abate before a decision is handed down, but Martin couldn't be clearer about his position.

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Heineken Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.