The start to the new MotoGP season has also 🗹seen a new era of stewarding begin, as ex-racer and TV pundit Simon Crafar takes 🌌on the role as head FIM steward.

MotoGP stewarding has come in for a lot of flak in recent years und♓er double 50🌌0cc world champion Freddie Spencer’s leadership.

Consistency of penalty calls wꦫas one of the biggest complaints, 🅷as was a lack of transparency.

Coming into 2025, Crafar has a tough task on his hands to rebuild faith in the stewarding process while also ensuring the FIM rulebook ♊is follo𝓀wed.

But after ꩲtwo rounds, the verdict on Crafar’s stewarding has been overwhelmingly positive.

“168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Marco Bezzecchi got an official warning, whichꦑ seems like a sensible move I think because he didn’t bring any other riders down,” Crash MotoGP Editor Peter McLaren began in the lates𝔉t Crash MotoGP Podcast.

“He did affect 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Fabio Quartararo’s race, but he didn’t destroy it because Quartararo in the end got a couple of poꦓints.

“But in the end, h🥂e did make con🐈tact with another rider, he did make a mistake.

“So, I think an official warning for a first offen𒁃ce [is good]🔯. Presumably if there is a carbon copy incident then he would get a penalty next time, which is fair enough.

“I thought it was interesting to see that. Where it be♓comes a harder call with these first offences is when it’s a bigger incident, when othe🔯r riders get brought down.

“So if you’re in another team you’d say ‘it was my riders first offence, same as Bez, right?❀’

“So that’s when it becomes difficult in the future with these things, but there’s never any easy answer for first-corner incidents. Bez held his hands up, first offence so offiꦿcial warning, which I think is fair enough.”

It is understood that a more serious first offence would skip the warning process and go straight to a penalty while one of the aims of the new-look FIM Stewards panel is to protect🌳 riders from repeat offenders by ramping up the punishments.

In other words, ever꧙yone can make a mistake, but a rider can't keep making the 🎶same mistake. 

S༺o in the case of creating a dangerous situation at the start or opening lap - which is deemed worse than later in a race since riders are more closely packed - a warning or double long lap for a first offence would be followed by a double long lap for a second offence, then a ride-through penalty for a third offence, to punish those that keep putting other riders at risk by making the same error.

Crash Senior Journalist Le🔴wis Duncan echoed McLaren’s thoughts, while noting one area Crafar’s stewarding could excel over his predecessor.

“In🌞teresting on the first offence thing,” Duncan sa🔯id.

“I think the stewardin♉g for the most part to begin the Simon Crafar era ღas head steward has been pretty spot on.

“I t꧒hink, yes ok Freddie Spencer was an ex-racer, but I think Simon Crafar being a bit more recent of an ex-rac💞er - let’s say - but someone who continues to ride bikes fairly in anger.

“He does all of his BMW laps [at race weekends], so he’s quite fresh, he understands what the circuits are like everyও weekend.

ও“And being a TV pundit for all these years he understands the riders, he understands🎶 the racing situation, he understands the development of the bikes.

“There does seem to be a much more bigger picture approach to s🥃tewarding now, which I think is good. Let’s hope that continues.

“I think the firsꦜt offence thing is an interesting one, but I guess the way to look at it is Bez ruined his own race, took himself 🌃out.

“Yes, he compromised Quartararo but tꦰhat was a Turn 1 racing incident. Had he wiped out Fabio and a couple of othe🐠rs, that would have been a first offence - but a more serious offence.

“And that seems to b🌠e the way they’re going. If you look at the Morbidelli incident with Binder in the sprint was a clear-cut race incident and ♔that’s what it was deemed.

“They were very prope༒r when it came to giving [Franco] Morbidelli a penalty for getting in🅰 the way of [Pecco] Bagnaia in Thailand.

“[David] Munoz had a pretty stupid inci﷽dent in Thailand and they gave him a pretty hard pen𒁃alty to reflect that.

“It does seem like the stewarding is assessing penalties in a much better way that there is an actual clear punishment there rat෴her than something innocuous the rider can brush off.

“I don’t think anyone tho𓆉ught Crafar wouldn’t do a good job, b꧅ut they’ve had a lot of varied incidents and the calls I think have been spot on.

“The thing I would hope with Crafar, which we didn’t get wit🔜h Spencer, was coming out on camera and𝄹 giving an explanation [of a penalty].

“But Crafar being a TV guy, being comfortable in front of cameras, hopefully when there is an incident like that he can come out and say ‘ok, he♒re’s why it’s a penalty’.

“I think ⛄there’s a lot of really positive things coming out here and it’s been long-needed.🙈”