During the race at Jerez, Ducati's Valentino Rossi took the Australian rider out in Lap 8, but was able to resume racing after a bunch of Spanish race marshals assisted him in his attempt to put his bike back on track. The same did not happen to the Honda rider however, who was left with only one marshal to help and was unable to restart his bike, recording his first DNF of the season.
Needless to say, Stoner voiced his anger publicly after the race, saying that he was more frustrated about the marshals' behavior rather than the fact that Rossi took him out.
“When I looked back I had like one guy pushing me, all the rest were walking back to their posts... What am I supposed to do with that? For sure that guy was trying hard, but with one guy it's impossible - he'd be destroyed before we got over the hill,” he said.
“(...) This is something that riders who are against Valentino have had to learn to deal with. It's completely unfair, but it's something that's happened to me in the past when I've crashed. I've had people pushing my bike off the track – even when it's perfect and I can still race. I've had to fight with marshals to get them to try and get me started again.”
The FIM moved quickly to respond to Stoner's comments, issuing a statement in which it confirms an investigation will be launched on the behavior of the Jerez marshals. However, nothing will have been changed in terms of race results.
“Following the collision between Rossi and Stoner during the MotoGP race of the Spanish Grand Prix on 3 April in Jerez, the Race Direction has decided to organise a hearing with the Clerk of the Course and the Chief Marshal in order to review the incident and to hear the explanation of the officials in charge,” said the statement.
“Due to the fact that the final decision of the Race Direction will not affect the result of the race, the hearing will be organised on Thursday 28 April in Estoril, Portugal.”
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