MotoGP stewards deliver judgement on Alex Marquez v Joan Mir clash at Brno

The FIM MotoGP stewards have handed Alex Marquez a penalty for his collision with Joan Mir on the second lap of Sunday’s Czech Grand Prix.

The Gresini Ducati rider started from eighth on the grid and was looking to make up ground in the opening laps.

But on the second tour of 21, he went for an overtake on Honda’s Joan Mir at Turn 12 that ended in disaster.

Alex Marquez lost the front end of his Gresini Ducati on the way into the corner and slid into the rear of the factory Honda.

It took both riders out on the spot, with the stewards opening up an investigation after the grand prix.

The stewards panel took a dim view of Alex Marquez’s actions and have handed him a long lap penalty for the next grand prix after the summer break in Austria.

However, should Marquez miss the Austrian Grand Prix due to an issue not related to the incident at Brno, it will be deemed as served by the stewards.

Both riders looked uninjured after the incident, though 2020 world champion Mir was visibly furious with Marquez.

As it was a first offence for Marquez, the stewards have been lenient with its punishment.

It compounded what was an awful weekend for Marquez, who scored no points in the sprint after being dropped to the back of the field when he got wheelspin off the line from his elder brother Marc Marquez’s discarded visor tear-off.

As such, Alex Marquez’s slim championship hopes have all but vanished after Marc Marquez took a 120-point lead in the standings with victory at the Czech Grand Prix.

For Mir, who qualified a season-best fifth, he has registered his eighth grand prix DNF from the opening 12 rounds.

Honda endured a tough Czech Grand Prix, with Mir’s team-mate Luca Marini its best performer in a distant 12th.