MotoGP has tightened its approach to riders missing promotional activities during race weekends, with a €5,000 penalty set out in an email circulated at the Indonesian Grand Prix. The rule applies to Sunday’s Hero Walk, where riders meet spectators, and requires them to stay for at least 10 minutes. The financial punishment rises with each subsequent offence, while sporting sanctions have also been raised as a possible escalation.

The measure follows several weeks in which MotoGP is said to have monitored limited rider participation in these events. Marc Marquez sees a wider problem in the accumulated workload. He said he wants to help the championship grow, but described race weekends that now combine sponsor commitments, meetings, warm-up, a rapid change for the parade and then the Hero Walk, alongside the actual demands of racing.

Marquez questions the growing workload

A week before the Indonesian Grand Prix, Marquez had sent a replacement to a pre-race karting event in Japan. He explained at the time that he needed to rest his shoulder and put his own condition and championship challenge ahead of promotional appearances. After finishing sixth in Indonesia, he argued that MotoGP can grow in other ways without placing so much pressure on riders. His position was summed up by the view that the show belongs on the race track, rather than outside it.

Marquez also expects the next race-weekend format, which includes sprint qualifying, to make the schedule more intense. In his view, track time may stay unchanged, but the tighter programme will mean more time spent in leathers and greater overall fatigue. That makes the Hero Walk more than a standalone financial issue: it becomes part of a broader question about how far riders’ promotional duties should extend during an already crowded racing weekend.