Randy Mamola says Marco Simoncelli’s on track reputation reason for Le Mans penalty – MotoGP news
Former 500cc Grand Prix Champion Randy Mamola expressed his views about the well-talked Dani Pedrosa-Marco Simoncelli accident and stated that Simoncelli’s on track reputation was the reason for his penalty.
13-time 500cc GP winner Randy Mamola said that Simoncelli was guilty in the incident but the penalty imposed was not as the result of his act but after the complaints about his hard riding style. It also caused him to lose his first podium in MotoGP career.
Randy Mamola told crash.net, “The machines that we're racing on are not toys and if you saw the Stoner/Rossi battle at Laguna Seca 2008, or Lorenzo and Rossi in Japan last year, you went 'wow, that is the fine line of hard racing'. There are some people who say they don't agree with that kind of racing and others that want more of it.”
He also said that if Valentino Rossi had attempted that same overtaking action and any other fellow rider hit his rear, the race directions would have not penalised him.
In an exclusive interview to crash.net, Mamola added further, “What happened with Simoncelli and Pedrosa - there are so many people pointing at Simoncelli, saying that he is a hard rider and doesn't give you room. Unfortunately that reputation bit him.”
The accident between San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli and Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa happened during the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France. The Italian rider was penalised after his illegal act which made Pedrosa to fall and sustain a fracture on his right collarbone.
Fellow Honda RCV riders were engaged in a fight for second place in the race with ten laps to go in the race. Simoncelli attempted to overtake Pedrosa in the last bend before the front straight. In the following stretch, Pedrosa gained back the lead and maintained his lead while entering the Esses. The Spanish locked his inside and the Italian had to attempt the pass from outside.
While Simoncelli was making his late move to pass the Repsol rider, he came too close in front of Pedrosa and with no margin Simoncelli crossed his curve line forcing the Spanish rider to fall.
The race directions at Le Mans gave Marco Simoncelli a ‘ride through’ penalty which dropped him from second place in the race to sixth place. In the end, he managed a fifth place finish at the French GP.
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