The Spanish rider from Intact GP is penalized for the contact with Lunetta: here is the official FIM statement.
A challenging weekend for David Muñoz in the MotoGP World Championship. After his retirement in the Thai GP, the Spanish rider will also face a tough penalty: he will start from the pit lane in the next race. The decision came after a contact with Luca Lunetta under yellow flag conditions during the season opener.
Initially, the Stewards Panel had imposed a long lap penalty, which, due to a crash in Turn 3 shortly after the penalty notice, was not served. After the race, the contact was reviewed, and the decision changed: below is the explanation of the penalty given to David Muñoz.
The Official Statement
The FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel identified the reason for the penalty based on the following actions: “On March 27, 2025, at 12:28:22 during the Moto3 race of the PT GRAND PRIX OF THAILAND at Turn 3, you (referring to David Muñoz) were found to be riding irresponsibly, causing a contact that involved rider #58. The situation was exaggerated with the maneuver executed while the section of the track was under yellow flags/led.
This contravenes the specific instructions given to Moto3 competitors and teams, causing disruption to the session, and is considered irresponsible riding that endangers other competitors. Therefore, it is a violation of Article 1.21.2 of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship Regulations.”
This is the resulting sanction for David Muñoz: “For the reasons mentioned above, the FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel initially imposed a Long Lap Penalty during the race. After being informed of this penalty, you crashed at Turn 3 without serving it. The FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel then reviewed the incident after the race and considered the exceptionally high risk to the marshals, who were placed in danger following the contact, which caused #58 to run deep into the run-off area.
Ai sensi dell’Articolo 3.2.2 del Regolamento del Campionato del Mondo FIM Grand Prix (Pluralità di penalità), visto l’alto rischio causato, il pannello dei Commissari FIM MotoGP impone ulteriormente una Penalità di Partenza dalla Pit Lane, che dovrà essere scontata dal pilota (#64) nella prossima gara del Campionato.”
Photo: David Muñoz
