P1racenews AI automatic summary:
The (ignored) offence that stopped a likely first-time MotoGP winner
Johann Zarco was frustrated and angry after losing 10 points in the curtailed Japanese Grand Prix due to a technicality. He crashed on lap 13, leading to a red flag and the race being rolled back to the end of lap 12, where he had finished sixth. However, he was deemed ineligible for the failed restart because he dragged his damaged bike to the pits via a service road instead of crossing the pit entry line. While Zarco contravened the rule wording, there are arguments that the rules didn’t work as intended, especially since Miguel Oliveira was allowed to take the restart despite retiring earlier. There is a strong argument that Zarco was actually robbed of 25 points because he had shown impressive pace and was running sixth after starting 20th. His performance in wet races and his ability to find an extra gear suggest that he could have been leading the race at the 12-lap mark if circumstances were different.
Source: The Race
