Deniz Oncu will not be able to participate in the next two Moto3 World Championship races, in Misano and Portimao , after receiving an exemplary sanction from the Race Direction this Sunday in Austin .
The Tech3-KTM team rider changed his line in the middle of the back straight of the Circuit of the Americas, hooking the wheel with Jeremy Alcoba, which caused a serious accident in which Pedro Acosta and Andrea Migno were also involved.
Fortunately, all the drivers were unharmed, but Acosta was thrown into the air and hit the track wall, which, fortunately, is very wide on the straight, which prevented further damage.
“Responsible for causing an accident when crossing the line of another, on the straight between turns 11 and 12. That contravenes the instructions sent by email to the teams, and is considered irresponsible driving”, explained the FIM to execute the exemplary sanction to the 18-year-old Turkish runner.
In the press conference after the Grand Prix, the three drivers on the podium gave their opinion on the heavy sanction against Oncu.
“There has been a moment of fear. Watching it on television in the box there was a deathly silence because you never know what has happened and it is a difficult season. It has been the error or the action of a pilot that has caused this. It is a very strong sanction, it was not Oncu’s intention for sure, but in the end they have to go in this direction if you want to avoid these actions. You can’t change direction in the middle of the straight. It is the way to stop this type of action, especially in small classes”, argued Marc Marquez , winner of the MotoGP race.
The leader of the World Cup, Fabio Quartararo , has shown himself in the same line.
“The last accidents have been in small classes. Slipstream is very important to them, but you can’t change direction in the middle of the straight. It was not Oncu’s intention and I think that during the race you have to penalize those who do strange things on the straight”, he pointed out.
Pecco Bagnaia agreed with the harsh penalty against the Turk.
“It’s not the first time we’ve seen him in Moto3. In Barcelona [Gabri] Rodrigo did it, but with more luck because there was no accident. We are seeing strange actions. The luck is that the straight here is long and the wall is far away. It is positive that he received this type of penalty. That is good to induce a change, but something else has to be done because these things are dangerous”, settled the Ducati rider.
(Click on this link or on the image to see the photos of the Moto3 Americas GP)
