Ok, I'll say this on the subject: Clearly the marshals favored Rossi. Of this I have no doubt. HOWEVER, I don't think it’s their job/duty to help riders restart their bikes. Their first and ONLY concern is safety. In fact, I'm not even gonna say they are there to help the rider remount their bikes. They are NOT there to endanger their own lives. BTW, I'm not sure people are aware, but they are for the most part volunteers, no professional enthusiast willing to help. They should do NOTHING to endanger themselves. When they go out, it’s first to help the riders get out of harms way. Let me say this again, getting the riders back on the track is of ZERO priority, concern, or even their goal.
If they were required to help the riders get back on the track, it would create a situation for an inequitable response, as they guys are fans and volunteers. What has happened is we have (including riders) began to incorrectly think these guys are there to support riders in the racing endeavor, but that is INCORRECT! They are there to support the safety of downed riders and help (without endangering themselves) to maintain a safe track environment, PERIOD.
So regarding this investigation, no marshal should be sanctioned. If anything, they should first be thanked for volunteering, and reminded their duty does NOT include helping riders get back into the race. It’s a live track and anything can happen. So they are asked to act in a high dangerous environment and make split second decisions, the guiding principal should be safety, their first and then the riders. It’s a tough call, because the marshals are also selfless sometimes and the riders selfish. For the most part, self-preservation is not the goal of the riders, they would gladly compromise life and limp for the glory they so much seek. This is why we see riders soldier on with injuries hoping some quack doctor will put enough duct tape on their injury to get them back out in competition. It’s the same at the moment they go down. They are 99% of the time in an impact zone, the most dangerous parts of the track when they go down. And what is their first concern? Answer: To get back into the race. This is the mind of a racer. That is to be contrasted with the goal and supported provided by the marshals; as their concern is to get the rider to safety, a rider who is most of the time, out of his mind still focused on the race.
I kinda have started to feel sorry for the marshals in this case. Yeah, their desire to help Rossi as fans kicked in, almost comical, as one of them seemed to be patting Rossi at-a-boys while Rossi seemed annoyed and pushing him away (see the vid again from Rossi’s bike camera). Its almost as if the marshals forgot where they were and thought they were in the paddock fighting with other rabid Rossi fans to get a glimpse. But regardless of the favoritism shown, they are not to be blamed unless they did something to endanger the riders, which they did NOT.
I’m fine with Stoner being angry, because of the favoritism shown to Rossi, once the marshals crossed outside the line of what is their job, they should have applied their support equitably (which was already incorrect, and I will say, this is a very difficult debate position to defend because you are asking them to apply equally something that is already incorrect). I submit that the correct thing to have done was help them both up and check to see if they needed assistance to get out of the impact zone. If at that time Rossi and Stoner decided they would persist to stay in an impact zone while trying to get back on the track, the marshals should have LEFT them both to their own self-interests. If the riders so chose to endanger themselves by sitting their trackside trying to get back into the race, this is of ZERO concern to the marshals.
