MotoGP front-runner Marc Marquez escaped a grid penalty on Thursday over a high-speed collision, boosting his chances of extending his championship lead this week in Malaysia.
Officials handed the 20-year-old rookie one penalty point for contact with Dani Pedrosa which sent his fellow Spaniard crashing out of last month's Aragon Grand Prix.
But Marquez avoided the heavier fine of two penalty points, which would have forced him to start at the back of the Malaysian Grand Prix grid on Sunday.
As well as the one-point penalty, which brings his season total to three, Marquez was stripped of the constructors' points earned for his victory at Aragon.
Defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo, who trails Marquez by 39 points in the standings, had earlier urged officials to be tough with the inexperienced Marquez.
Safety is again in focus at Malaysia's Sepang circuit after two people died in an accident last month, two years after the fatal crash of young Italian star Marco Simoncelli.
"The mistake (by Marquez) was not as serious as others, but if you sum them up then I say that he is a very aggressive rider who puts himself and others at risk," the Yamaha rider said, according to reports.
In Aragon, Marquez, following a braking mistake, touched Pedrosa's Honda, causing his team-mate to lose traction control and come off.
Marquez then went on to rack up his sixth victory of the year, with Lorenzo second.
Lorenzo has totted up five wins in a season which has been interrupted by collarbone injuries after falls in the Netherlands and Germany.
Race officials have again promised that the Sepang circuit is safe after a rider hit a marshall late last month during practice for the Malaysian Super Series, killing both.
"The incident... has nothing to do with the safety aspect. It's a tragic incident," Sepang chief executive officer Razlan Razali told AFP, dismissing the accident as a one-off.
But he said the mood was still "emotional" at the course on the outskirts of the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. A tribute will be paid to the two men on Saturday.
In 2011, 24-year-old Honda rider Simoncelli lost control of his bike and died in an accident at Sepang's turn 11. A bronze plaque was installed at the turn in his honour.
Rain could also mar the race in the hot tropical climate with some 80,000 tickets already sold for Sunday.
A torrential downpour caused the race to be cut short last year, with Pedrosa crowned as the winner.
Lorenzo, who secured his first MotoGP title at Sepang in 2010, said he was keen to recover some points from Marquez with only four races left this season.
"The championship is difficult, but we want to fight until the end. Let's see what happens!" he said.
Pedrosa is third in the standings while nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi, still mathematically capable of winning this year's title, is fourth.
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