Marc Marquez has responded to the penalty he received in the Thai MotoGP Sprint, which has been branded “unfair” by Davide Tardozzi.

Marquez received a ‘drop one position’ penalty for a pass he made on Pedro Acosta on the penultimate lap of the 13-lap Buriram MotoGP Sprint. He served it before the final corner on the last lap, allowing Acosta through to take his first victory in MotoGP in either a Sprint or grand prix.

Acosta had made the same move on Marquez on several occasions during the race, but on lap 12 it was Marquez trailing the KTM rider. Acosta’s moves had gone without contact, as had the retaliations from Marquez, but this last one at the final corner saw minor contact between the two that sent Acosta into the run-off area, rejoining second but half-a-second behind Marquez with only one lap to go.

The outcome of the move certainly prevented a last lap battle for the win between Acosta and Marquez, but whether an Acosta win was certain without it is impossible to say. In any case, it was the time loss suffered by Acosta as a result of the minor contact that prompted the penalty, one that Ducati Lenovo Team Manager Davide Tardozzi feels was not fair.

“I think that we saw a lot of these kind of overtakes,” he told the MotoGP world feed broadcast after the Sprint.

“Marc [Marquez] didn’t touch Pedro [Acosta], he didn’t [go] out of the race track, so I think it’s unfair.”

Marquez’s own opinion was less explicit than Tardozzi’s, the Spaniard simply accepting it’s what he got.

“In my opinion, Race Direction decides, so I just follow the rules,” Marquez said about the penalty, speaking in his post-race TV interview.

The reigning MotoGP champion added that after Marco Bezzecchi crashed on lap two he had tried to control the race, inviting the battle with Acosta.

“When I saw Bezzecchi crash, then I just slowed down the race,” he said.

“I was just trying to control. 

“I know that this championship was super-long and it’s what I tried to do: control the pace of the race, and every time Pedro [Acosta] overtook me I overtook straight away in the next corner. 

“But unfortunately I get that penalty; but nine points, first race after injury – not bad, I’m happy.”