A bizarre pit entry collision during Moto2 practice at the Thailand Grand Prix at Buriram ended with both riders sanctioned as a marshal was "placed at extreme risk".
Zonta van den Goorbergh, son of former MotoGP racer Jurgen, collided with a stationary Tony Arbolino right in the middle of pit entry, only just avoiding a much worse incident given a marshal was heading over to Arbolino in that moment.
This is the reason for the red flag 👀@TonyArbolino and Zonta vd Goorbergh collided on the entry to pit lane 💥#ThaiGP 🇹🇭 pic.twitter.com/D1LJGIrct8
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 25, 2024
Both riders were called up to face the stewards after the session, and it was found both had contributed to a dangerous situation - resulting in a three-place grid penalty for Arbolino and a pitlane start penalty for van den Goorbergh.
The stewards outlined their reasoning in a fairly extensive verdict.
Arbolino had crashed close to pitlane entry and was being pushed along by marshals towards pitlane, in a process the stewards said "was taking its time and placing the marshals and rider at risk".
They say Arbolino ignored instructions from the marshals to take to the service road - which would end up being the catalyst for the grid penalty handed to the experienced Italian.
Yellow flags were in the area, and two riders had entered pitlane - so, successfully avoided Arbolino - right before van den Goorbergh, but the Dutchman "appeared to make no attempt to meaningfully slow down despite the pitlane being clearly and partially obstructed".
Once he did, he could not get the bike stopped in time, locking the rear wheel and crashing into Arbolino.
The incident was "entirely avoidable", the stewards summed up, and "the actions of #84 [van den Goorbergh] in particular placed a marshal at extreme risk".
Arbolino was left pained by the incident, but was declared fit to continue in the weekend and returned for the second session.
Moto2 stats
Tony Arbolino
Age: 24
Starts: 74
Wins: 6
Podiums: 16
This year: 9th in riders' standings
Zonta van den Goorbergh
Age: 18
Starts: 54
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
This year: 22nd in riders' standings
MotoGP riders on crash
Marc Marquez: "“Of course nobody wants to do that kind of thing, but it looks like he [van den Goorbergh] missed a little bit the concentration.
"It's true that it's super difficult to calculate because on the racetrack you feel that you are slow, but you arrive super quick.
"It was an unlucky situation but a super dangerous situation. So in the end you need to penalise. Of course it wasn't on purpose, but you need to penalise."
Fabio Quartararo: "It's one situation that at the end it's really difficult to understand. It's not usual to see a rider stopped there, and a marshal.
"Of course it's difficult to blame someone, luckily there are no big injuries."
