Aron Canet will have to start the Moto3 French Grand Prix from the back of the grid as a sanction for the collision with title rival Jorge Martin in the closing stages of the Jerez race.
After starting from 14th, Canet had worked his way into the podium battle in the 22-lap Spanish Grand Prix, which featured standings leader Martin, Enea Bastianini, Tony Arbolino, eventual race winner Philipp Oettl and Marco Bezzecchi.
With four laps remaining, Canet launched a desperate lunge on Martin at Dry Sac, colliding with the Gresini rider, who also unwittingly collected Bastianini and Arbolino in front of him.
The incident was put under immediate investigation by Race Direction, who have since deemed Canet was “riding in an irresponsible manner causing a crash” and have handed him a back-of-the-grid start for the Le Mans race.
It is not the first time that Canet has been involved in a controversial incident this season.
During FP1 in Argentina, the Spaniard collided with rookie Makar Yurchenko at the penultimate corner after he felt the CIP rider had blocked him earlier in the lap, though Canet escaped serious punishment on that occasion.
However, the reprimand he was given for that incident, as well as the severity of his Jerez accident, led Race Direction to the decision to send him to the back of the grid for France.
Canet slips to third in the standings after his exit from the Jerez race, with Bezzecchi taking over from Martin by eight points after finishing second.
In Moto2, Sky VR46 rider Luca Marini has been handed a six-place grid drop for the Le Mans race after hitting Jorge Navarro at Dry Sac on the opening lap of the intermediate class contest.
