The Penalty System in MotoGP: Rule Violations from the Long Lap to Grid Penalties

MotoGP
Author: Lütfi Mete Odabaşı
Creation: 18 October 2026

A long lap penalty costs the rider 2-4 seconds, and since 2016 the penalty has been issued by the three-member FIM Stewards Panel.

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When a rider breaks a rule in MotoGP, the penalty is handed down by the three-member FIM Stewards Panel: there is a scale of sanctions ranging from a warning and a fine to the long lap, and from a grid drop to the removal of points, and which violation results in which penalty is determined by the size of the advantage gained.

Highlights

The long lap penalty normally costs the rider 2-4 seconds of time and must be completed within 3 laps .
A jump start and exceeding the pit lane speed limit are punished with a double long lap penalty.
Since 2016, penalties have been applied not by Race Direction but by the three-member FIM Stewards Panel .
A warning system is in place for track limit violations; in a Sprint, 3 violations, and in a long race 5 violations, can bring a long lap.
Rossi's Sepang 2015 penalty is an example of a case that was taken all the way to the highest sports arbitration body.

Which Violation Brings Which Penalty in MotoGP?

Işıklar sönmeden kalkan sürücüye iki long lap cezası kesilirken, pisti aşan her viraj yarışın gidişatını saniyeler içinde değiştirebiliyor.

When racing is decided by fractions of a second, it is almost impossible not to bend the rules even once. Did you turn into a corner late, did you leave your braking past a corner, did you set off before the lights went out... That is when the penalty system kicks in. The nice thing is this: nearly every type of violation has its own specific sanction, so once you learn the system, you stop asking yourself during the broadcast, "will they hand out a penalty?"

Let's go through the most common violation-penalty pairings one by one:

Slow riding: Riding below racing speed on track to hold up a rival means a grid penalty in the next race.
Jump start: Setting off before the lights go out brings a 2 long lap penalty.
Track limit violation: Lap time deletion in practice and qualifying; long lap penalty in the race.
Pit lane speed limit: If you exceed it during a race it is 2 long laps; if you exceed it during a ride through, the penalty again turns into a long lap.
Irresponsible riding: Here the panel has free rein; any penalty can be given depending on the severity.
Failure to serve a penalty: It is answered with a ride through or a time penalty.

Beyond this list there are far heavier options: a fine of up to €50,000 , disqualification, removal of championship points, suspension, and complete exclusion from the championship. In other words, the penalty scale extends from leaving your leathers on a corner to sanctions that can overshadow an entire season.

What Exactly Is the Long Lap Penalty, and How Much Time Does It Cost?

You can liken the long lap penalty to walking laps around the school yard after being late to class: the rider has to take that famous long route marked with orange lines at the edge of the track. Compared with a normal corner, this produces a difference of around 2-4 seconds ; though it varies from track to track. The riders themselves say that Spielberg's long lap takes more time than most tracks.

When the penalty is given, the rider learns of it from a board held at the pit wall and (if possible) a signal on the motorcycle's dashboard. Then it is time for the rider to deliver: the long lap must be completed within 3 laps . In the case of a double long lap penalty, the time limit is 5 laps is served. If you do not serve the full penalty before the end of the race, the organization can make another arrangement; sometimes the penalty can also be postponed to the next race. A long lap given in practice can also turn into a race penalty.

Why is a double long lap so intimidating? Simple: entering the long route twice means roughly an 8-second loss. On track, this difference completely ends the podium dream. That is why clear violations like a jump start are punished directly with this penalty - you cannot even be angry, the rule is quite transparent.

Time Penalties, Grid Penalties and Other Sanctions

The long lap is not the only option. A time penalty that can be added to the end of the race can reach up to 2 minutes; in the Sprint format this penalty is even more brutal, because the points distribution is very narrow. Fabio Quartararo's Argentina Sprint is a living example of this: the Frenchman, who received a 1-second time penalty for overtaking under a yellow flag, dropped from 9th to 10th. Since only the top 9 score points in the Sprint, he lost even his single point. Moreover, there is no avenue of appeal against decisions of this type.

Grid penalties are also among the favorite types of sanctions: you can drop a rider as many grid positions as you want, and even force the rider to start from pit lane. Takaaki Nakagami received a 3-grid penalty at Valencia 2022 for riding slowly on the racing line in FP3 and disturbing Jorge Martin; despite being 11th fastest in Q1, he started the race in 24th place. A more recent example: at the German GP, Franco Morbidelli and Diogo Moreira each lost three positions for the main race on the grounds of "riding excessively slowly."

The ride through is considered the big brother of the long lap: during the race the rider enters pit lane, and passes through without stopping and respecting the 60 km/h

speed limit. If they never make this pass, things heat up quickly - the black flag comes out, meaning disqualification. If there is not enough time, the penalty can be converted into a time penalty. Marc Márquez was black-flagged and removed from the race at Phillip Island 2013 for failing to comply with the tire-change rule and riding unsafely; he did not even score points from that race. Point deductions are the teams' nightmare. Yamaha lost 50 constructor points in 2020 for violating the engine homologation rules - but the riders' points were not touched. In other words, whom the penalty hits also varies according to the nature of the violation. Tire pressure violations are fully automatic: a rider who drops below the minimum pressure receives a time penalty of 16 seconds in the main race and 8 seconds

in the Sprint. Maverick Viñales finishing 2nd in Qatar and being demoted to 14th shows how brutal this system can be.

The FIM Stewards Panel: Who Decides the Penalty, and How? Until 2016, penalties were handed down by Race Direction, composed of representatives of the FIM, IRTA and Dorna. Then the system changed, and since that date is penalizing riders. The panel reviews all incidents; when making decisions, it uses data sources, video evidence, and additional information from Race Direction. In other words, shouting "I think that rider is at fault" on TV is free, but at the decision desk everything is based on evidence.

The chairmanship recently changed hands too: former racer and commentator Simon Crafar took over as panel chairman from Freddie Spencer. Crafar's era was immediately marked by a decision: in the Thai GP Sprint, Márquez pushed Pedro Acosta off the track with a move similar to what he had done approaching the final corners, and the panel imposed a penalty of giving back one position, taking away the win. The new chairman's first message was clear: consistency.

There is also the concept of the "judge of fact," which is the most interesting corner of the system. Determinations like jump starts, track limits violations, and photo finishes are based on facts, so they cannot be appealed. Sensors work on this side too: track limit sensors were installed in 2021 to reduce human error, followed by a single-spec tire pressure monitoring system. In pit limit violations, panel decisions are also final - no protests, no appeals.

How Does the Appeal Process Work If a Penalty Is Given?

Apart from judge-of-fact decisions, the appeal ladder is quite long: first the decision of the FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel, then FIM Appeal Stewards - they can uphold the decision, overturn it, or impose a completely different penalty. Above them is the MotoGP Court of Appeal, and at the very top, if necessary, the CAS, that is, the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Anyone affected by a penalty - rider, team, manufacturer, even officials - can appeal. But the deadlines are so short that some appeals 1 hour must be filed within a window like this. The race ends after a crash, the luggage is being packed, and the case has already begun.

The most striking example is again from Márquez: the Spaniard, who received a double long lap penalty for taking down Miguel Oliveira at the 2023 Portuguese GP, had his case referred to the MotoGP Court of Appeal by the FIM Appeal Stewards. The court issued its ruling in September 2023. Valentino Rossi also took the penalty points he received from the incident with Márquez at Sepang 2015 to the CAS. So in MotoGP, legal battles can sometimes last longer than the ones on track.

Famous Penalty Debates That Have Become Part of History

This penalty system is also the source of moments etched into memory. Remember what a disappointment Brad Binder experienced during Assen 2023 week: exceeding track limits on the final lap, he dropped from 3rd to 4th and Aleix Espargaro took the podium. In the Sprint that same weekend, he made a similar violation in the same corner - turn 8 - dropping from 3rd to 5th, and this time he lost the podium to Fabio Quartararo. The same corner, the same rider, twice heartbreaking endings. Under track limit rules, repeated violations after a warning result in a long lap or position loss; 3 violations in the Sprint and 5 in the long race fill this threshold.

Jorge Martín's first-corner incident in the Austrian GP Sprint also divided social media: he was given a long lap penalty for the following day's main race, but whether or not he should have received a grid penalty was debated all week. Another curious case, Valencia 2022: Marco Bezzecchi, after his motorcycle caught fire following a crash, received a 1,000 EUR penalty and an official warning for making physical contact with a marshal. A single incident resulting in both a penalty and a warning is a good example showing that multiple sanctions can be applied for the same violation. A note from Moto3 as well: at Aragon 2022, two technicians from one team who deliberately made contact with a rival rider at the pit exit faced timed suspensions and a 2,000 EUR penalty. So the rules bind not just riders but everyone in the paddock.

What Changed in 2026? New Rules and Debates

There are concrete innovations in the system this season. The most practical one: unserved long lap, ride-through, and grid position penalties are now cancelled after 365 days. This clarification answered the question "Does a penalty carry over until a rider returns from injury?" An important step was also taken for marshal safety: a motorcycle stopped after a crash or technical failure can no longer be restarted on track or in the run-off area; the marshal carries the motorcycle to a safe zone, and the rider can return to the race from there.

The debate side never stops. Steward decisions, especially discretionary ones, are a hot topic of debate every season; the proportionality of penalties to violations is also constantly questioned. Race stewards say it clearly: penalties are not handed out as tit for tat; what matters is whether the advantage gained from the violation was excessive. The fact that the rules are not clearly listed in one place is also criticized - part of fan debates actually feeds on this ambiguity. In my view, the good news is this: with sensors and automatic monitoring, human error and the room for debate have certainly narrowed. Do you think the penalty system is fairer now, or still too arbitrary? Your answer will probably change depending on which penalty your favorite rider has taken - let's admit it, we're all like that.