MOTOGP SETS €5,000 FINES FOR MISSED PROMOTIONAL EVENTS AS MARC MARQUEZ OBJECTS

MotoGP plans to fine riders €5,000 if they fail to meet minimum attendance requirements at promotional events, Motorsport.com reports. The championship’s Sports Entertainment Group views rider appearances at series events and promotional activities as important to MotoGP’s image. The penalties follow repeated instances of some riders showing insufficient commitment during the season.

An email sent to riders at the Indonesian Grand Prix set out the new rule, which applies to the Sunday-morning Hero Walk, a fan meet-and-greet. Riders must spend at least 10 minutes there or face a €5,000 fine; penalties increase for further offences, and sporting sanctions have also been discussed. MotoGP has reportedly been monitoring rider engagement with promotional events for several weeks.

Reigning champion Marc Marquez criticised the approach after finishing sixth in Indonesia, arguing that riders already face a crowded schedule. The rule was introduced a week after he sent a stunt double to take his place at a pre-race kart event in Japan. Marquez said then that he needed to rest his shoulder and put his health and championship campaign ahead of promotional duties.

He said he wants MotoGP to grow, but believes there are ways to do so without placing more demands on riders. “As a rider, we are, and I’m the first one who wants MotoGP to grow and be bigger and bigger,” he said. “But I think we can have different ways to grow the sport without pushing the riders so much.”

Marquez described a weekend that can include sponsor commitments, meetings, warm-up, a quick change for the riders’ parade and the Hero Walk, followed by another meeting because there was not enough time earlier. “So, in the end, we are athletes,” he said.

He also warned that the schedule will become more intense in 2027, when a new weekend format includes sprint qualifying. “Next year, even the schedule is more and more because time on the track is the same but it’s more intense, and it will be more time with the leather suits on,” he said. “So, in the end, we are the first ones that would like to help the championship, but there are other ways to grow. We have the show on the race track, not outside.”