MotoGP: Joan Mir Slams Steward Decision After Marc Marquez Collision

A collision between Marc Marquez and Joan Mir during the 2024 Thai Grand Prix sparked controversy over stewards’ penalties and race control decisions.

Apr 14, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Joan Mir (36) of Spain and Repsol Honda Team before the MotoGP Grand Prix of The Americas at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

During the 2024 Thai Grand Prix held at Buriram amidst challenging wet conditions, Marc Marquez and Joan Mir suffered a significant collision. The crash, taking place at Turn 3 as Marquez attempted to overtake Mir for the 15th position, led to Mir calling out the Stewards for the subsequent ruling and Marquez's way of dealing with the penalty.

The collision at the rainy and slippery circuit was just one of the intense moments in a race dotted with incidents. Earlier in the race, on lap 14, Marquez experienced a significant crash while attempting to overtake Francesco Bagnaia, which caused him to drop from second to 16th place. Driven by a determination to recover, Marquez's aggressive riding style eventually led to the contentious collision with Mir during the race's final laps.

Post-incident, the MotoGP stewards imposed a penalty on Marquez, ordering him to drop one position for his involvement in the collision. Marquez complied by overtaking Takaaki Nakagami before allowing him to pass, then overtaking him once more.

Mir, visibly frustrated, did not conceal his annoyance. He commented whilst speaking to the media:

“A bit on the limit? No. Over the limit.

“It was very similar as in the sprint race in Jerez. The same thing happened.

“I will not give any comment because always when I give a comment it turns in the opposite way for me. So, I’ll let you judge this thing.

“It’s true that it’s… the people that get paid for this, it’s not possible that they don’t see, that if you have a problem with one rider, then the other starts to fight and recover many positions more, and then at the end of the race you remove one position.

“And what happened with me? I lost three when you hit me. So, for sure, it’s not right how they take the decision.

“For me, the most logical thing to do when this happens - it happened a lot with me in the past when I touched somebody - [you get a] long lap.

“Long lap and you lose the positions that you probably made me lose, because when you hit me I was in the long lap. This is the logical thing.”

Having started from 19th on the grid, Mir had shown impressive progress, entering the top 10 by the third lap. However, in the race's closing stages, grip issues severely compromised his performance. He continued:

“The thing is that something happened in the last 10 laps, I was not able to stay on the bike at all,” he said.

“We lost two seconds of performance and I don’t know why at the moment.

“It’s a shame because I put from my back everything that I could. I started from P19. In the third lap I was fighting to be in the top 10 already.

“Then about what happened in the last laps was ridiculous. I don’t understand what really happy. We will try to understand to not happen again.”