The race weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix presented a severe challenge for Johann Zarco, who had to accept a bitter outcome resulting from a procedural error. The experienced rider suffered two crashes during Sunday at Motegi, but the fall during the morning warm-up session proved to be the most costly moment in his quest for a strong result. That mistake not only affected the course of his weekend but also resulted in a heavy penalty from the race stewards.
The primary reason for the sanction was a violation of the technical regulations newly introduced for the current world championship season. These rules strictly prohibit riders from attempting to push-start their machines at the side of the track after suffering a crash. A double long-lap penalty was handed to Johann Zarco because he inadvertently breached this novel regulation while trying to recover from an incident in the morning.
Reacting to the punishment he received, Johann Zarco admitted that his instinct as a professional rider took over when his motorcycle stalled. He explained that the warm-up session was extended by ten minutes to give the team an opportunity to test the hard tyre compound and compare it with the medium option. The team's initial plan involved swapping bikes after two laps, but the situation shifted when he lost control and slid on the tarmac.
"About the penalty, this is the rule," said Johann Zarco. "You cannot restart the bike but I forgot it. The warm-up was extended by ten minutes to have the possibility to try the hard tyre, and we wanted to compare between the medium and the hard. So it was planned to do two laps then swap the bike and try the other one. At this moment, when I slid, I tried to keep the engine on and it was still on when I tried to pick up the bike. Then, when I picked up the bike it stopped. It was instinct to try and restart [it] but I got this double long-lap."
As a consequence of the incident, Johann Zarco became one of two riders given a double long-lap penalty over the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, alongside Alex Marquez who caused a collision with Pedro Acosta and Fabio di Giannantonio in the sprint. Although he had to serve two long lap penalties during the grand prix, Johann Zarco showed competitive pace in the early stages before suffering another crash while trying to overtake Maverick Vinales near the end of the race.
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