Pedro Acosta became the first MotoGP rider to be penalized under new restart rules introduced to prevent the crucial moment of the end of qualifying from being interrupted by yellow flags.
FIM MotoGP Stewards have announced that a KTM rider has been fined €2,000 for violating regulations during qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Saturday.
“On October 25, 2025, at 11:27:15 during Qualifying 2 for the Petronas Grand Prix in Malaysia, after crashing at Turn 1, within the last three minutes of the session, you restarted your bike and continued riding,” the official statement reads.
“This is in direct violation of the specific instructions given to MotoGP competitors and teams during the briefing on October 23, 2025.”
The new rules aim to limit the duration of yellow flags, and laps for riders passing through the affected area will be automatically cancelled.
A rider who falls may be tempted to rejoin simply to salvage another last flying lap, but extending the yellow flag time can also help maintain grid position.
In any case, the only thing that will affect Acosta is his wallet, and he will start as planned from fifth on the grid in Sunday’s Malaysian MotoGP.
Acosta’s best lap time was recorded on the second of seven laps early in qualifying.
“I understand both sides of the argument, but when you crash, you’re not going to check your dashboard to see if you have three minutes left,” Acosta said.
“And if the marshals push you out, you’re not going to hit the brakes to stop them!”
Previously, due to new restart rules, Fermin Aldeguer was unable to restart after crashing at the end of qualifying one.
Instead, he came back through the service road on his best bike, but crashed again as he rolled into the back of Gresini’s pits.