Pecco Bagnaia Crashes Car, Fails Breathalyzer Test On Vacation In Ibiza

By David Emmett | Tue, 05/07/2022 - 20:50

Pecco Bagnaia has been involved in a car crash while vacationing on the Spanish island of Ibiza, which occurred while he was under the influence of alcohol. According to local Spanish media, Bagnaia crashed the car he was driving at a roundabout, losing control when he caught a wheel in a ditch. Though no other vehicles were involved, when the police arrived, Bagnaia failed a breath test, showing a blood alcohol level of 0.87g/l. Spanish law states that the legal limit in a breath test is 0.25 g/l, while the limit for a blood test is 0.5 g/l.

(It should be noted that blood alcohol content is measured differently in Europe and in Australia and in the US. In the EU, the units used are grams of alcohol per liter of blood, while in the UK, Australia, and the US, percentage is used, which is grams per 100ml. A blood alcohol level of 0.87 in Spain is equal to 0.087 in the US, or 87 in the UK.)

According to the police reports quoted by the local newspaper, Periodico de Ibiza, the police were called to an accident at 5am, where they found Pecco Bagnaia in a crashed car. They administered a breath test, standard procedure for anyone involved in an accident, and found him over the limit.

On Tuesday night, Bagnaia issued a statement and an apology on his social media accounts. "Last night I was in Ibiza with my friends for a party during this break from MotoGP. We celebrated and toasted together for my victory at the Dutch GP. As I was leaving the disco at 3am, I was facing a roundabout when I ended up with the front wheels in a ditch without involving other vehicles or people. However, the alcohol test carried out by the police found that the blood alcohol level was higher than what is allowed by Spanish law. I am sorry for what happened; I am practically a nondrinker, and it was a serious carelessness that should not have happened. I apologize to everyone, and I can assure you that I have learned my lesson. Never get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol. Thank you."

Bagnaia's statement on Twitter appears below:

What happens next for Bagnaia is as yet unclear. Anyone caught in Spain with a blood alcohol level of between 0.5 and 1.2 g/l faces a punishment which includes a fine of between €300 and €600, and if they are a Spanish license holder, the loss of 6 license points and a possible suspension of the driving license of up to 6 months. As a foreigner, however, he is likely to only face a fine.

How Ducati and Dorna handle this is a separate matter. In the past, undesirable behavior outside of the track has been glossed over, or left to the teams to deal with. However, in this case, Pecco Bagnaia is one of the biggest names in the sport, a factory rider, and a prominent contender for the 2022 MotoGP title. It will be harder for Dorna to ignore, but they are unlikely to want to lose one of their biggest stars.

There is a clause in the regulations banning riders and teams from making statements which bring the MotoGP championship into disrepute, section 1.11.4.1. However, this section is titled, "Public Pronouncements by Teams and Riders", and makes no mention of behavior which could be detrimental to the championship. Only explicit statements are banned: "Teams and Riders must avoid public declaration or press release which could damage or negatively affect the MotoGP World Championship," the rule reads.

At the time of writing, Ducati have not released a statement on the incident.

Whether it is fair or not, talent tends to buy tolerance. Aprilia stood by Andrea Iannone, long after the Italian had been found guilty by WADA of using a banned substance, and had his appeal rejected by the CAS. Bagnaia is widely recognized as one of the most talented riders in MotoGP, so that is likely to buy him a degree of tolerance for his misdeeds.

https://www.periodicodeibiza.es/pitiusas/ibiza/2022/07/05/1754245/franc…

https://solomoto.es/de-ganar-el-gp-holanda-2022-en-motogp-a-estrellar-e…

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Comments

Pecco, Pecco, Pecco. I have to be careful here since I am not from Italy or Spain and don't know how this will play. But in this country, you would have the Criminal Justice System in your shorts for years over this. Rehab, AA, Counseling, 1 on 1 talk therapy, group therapy, community service. Then the endless circle of going from revoked to suspended and back. Until you finally get them off you back. And I might add, with a further caveat, given the English is not native to Pecco, maybe it is an artifact of translate software, but I found the tone of the appology/explanation to be totally inadequate. Written practically in 3rd person, it's like the car drove itself into the ditch. And those last few sentences. No Pecco, your assurance that this will never happen again and that you have learned your lesson, will not be quite enough... I think a judge will determine that, no?

 

I have zero tolerance for people who get drunk and get behind the wheel.  I don't care if you're a highly paid, prominent athlete - you drive drunk, you deserve jail or worse.

He'll get away with it, though, because he's famous.  The rich and well-connected always do.  Ducati won't lift a finger.  Dorna won't do a thing.  This will all be quietly swept under the rug and Pecco will be allowed to continue as if nothing happened. 

I've lost my respect for him.  In my mind, he's now just another spoiled primadonna who will get away with things that would land you or me in jail. 

 

Is for famous athletes to be held accountable to the same consequences that you or I would. 

Pecco will get away with this because he's the lead rider on a factory team.  Neither Ducati nor Dorna have the will to punish bad behavior. 

You drink, you get behind the wheel, you should go to jail.  Money and prestige should not allow you to get away with what other people are punished for.  I'm not out of line for saying that. 

Twentysomethings on a break to party on Ibiza, who would think they might have a lapse of judgement?

I have heard the Balearic islands are great for vacations. Wiki says "Ibiza; It's well known for the lively nightlife in Ibiza Town and Sant Antoni, where major European nightclubs have summer outposts."

From memory visits to nightclubs sometime involve booze. Drinking alcohol can affect one's judgement.

Where is Dennis Waterman when you need him to get you back to your accommodation? Oh dear he died two months ago in Madrid. R.I.P. So no Terry McCann to babysit youngsters. Uccio would take care of Vale in a similar situation i think.

Minder;

One who minds, tends, or watches something such as a child, a machine, or cattle; a monitor. Or a bodyguard.

I think back to when I was 25 yrs old & of course I never made any bad decisions - yeah right. Lessons learn't from bad decisions - growing up I think it is called.

Layers and layers of embarrassment. Firstly, as a celebrity racer millionaire you crash the worlds biggest shitbox into a ditch in public - get found still in the car when the cops arrive - then blow over the limit for the grog, but barely enough alcohol in your system to justify why you drove it into a ditch in the first place.

0.08 - apparently can't drive a car (and legally shouldn't of course) - Appeared intoxicated at the scene - "I practically don't drink" - no shit! They should have tested him for horse meat and coke as well!

Pecco's absolutely killing it this year. His career that is.

^ Larry, how do you articulate the legal limit of alcohol to drive a car in Canada? My B.C. relatives just visited here in Oregon, USA. We each had two 355ml ciders each eating dinner, and drove. They were 8.5% alcohol, super high for beer/cider. That would be legal here, not sure about Canada (or Spain). Each is about 1.75 servings of alcohol I think? You could feel it for sure, but legal to drive. One more would have put us over. If we wait we process them, we were there for 3 hours too...it gets complicated. Anyhoo - what is the Canadian law?

This feels like a long Summer Break

"Friends don't let friends drink drive OR get a Tesla/Energica, or support Elon Musk/Jeff Bezos"

The legal limit here (I believe in all provinces/territories) is 0.08% BAC (blood alcohol content). As low as 0.05% can get you a licence suspension and a big fine, depends on the jurisdiction, what kind of shape the officer considers you to be in, etc. It's measured by a breathalyzer at the time of being stopped, and there are penalties for refusing one.

Don't know how your cider would count, but I don't think it would be a problem unless the person being investigated showed obvious signs of intoxication; might well show up on a breathalyzer test. Personally, I don't mind driving (four wheels) after maybe two beers, or one beer and a glass of wine, but I wouldn't do more than that for sure. My driving, by the way, is strictly on local back country roads (I'm 8 km from the nearest town), and the only time I'd do so is after visiting my brother's place for dinner so the drinks are well spaced out.

Years ago when I worked at a Triumph/Kawasaki dealer I spotted one of our customer's Triumphs parked outside a very nice tavern; I teased him about it the next time he was in the shop. He was a BIG guy, a major in the armed forces, and he just smiled and said, "One per wheel, Larry, one per wheel." Big guy like him could probably carry it no problem. I've occasionally had a light beer over lunch on a long ride, but probably an hour between the drink and riding. Now that I'm old (73) and sadly progressively feeble (getting old sucks, but so far beats the alternative, lol), no more. Drinking, I mean -- still riding!

For all those supercilious characters who want to have Pecco (or anyone else who drinks a bit over and drives) nailed to a cross, I'd like to point out that almost all of the accidents involving drinking and driving (at least here in Ontario, and I'll bet most places) are due to incorrigible idiots who have an arm's length record of drinking excessively. The people who have a couple and carefully drive home are hardly ever involved in any sort of incident.

As for the "Tesla/Energica, or support Elon Musk/Jeff Bezos" thing, that was the best laugh I've had this week. I have no problem with Bezos, really, but Musk, as scary smart as he is, acts like a six-year-old as often as not.

I would like to be a fly on the wall the next time Pecco meets Vale because the Rossi riders are trained up like pups in media and corporate interaction so this might not go down too well.  

He's young and dumb and behaving like it, and this event will have taught him a lesson for life. Thank bloody god no-one was hurt, so I say give him a fine and a month's driving ban. If he does it again, then you can throw him to the lions.

I might be misunderstanding the units conversions but the amount means he's had roughly two pints of 5% ? So he wasn't falling down drunk, he had an amount of alcohol in his system deemed in Spain to make him incapable of operating a vehicle safely. Easily done...easily not done....zero alcohol if you're going to drive. This rule not only prevents fines, suspensions and prison...it also saves lives and keeps cab drivers in business. Hopefully he's learnt that lesson now, he's learnt it the hard way by being caught but thankfully without any injury to anybody. It's a first offense. I do see that far from escaping sanction because of his position it seems Pecco's position qualifies him to suffer higher standards than the rest of society. This has some moral value because Pecco owes his position to his ability to ride bikes and as bonkers as it is, given the nature of racing, he should promote very sober, competent and safe riding. However, in detail and in eyes of the law he's no different to anybody else...the crucifixion must wait. Dorna should get him to do some community service.

I don't see why Dorna or the FIM should get involved at all. Ducati will give him a stern talking to in private. He did something stupid and irresponsible while partying on vacation, barely registers as sports news.

But I have zero respect for anyone who drives drinks and drives. I hope the Spanihs authorities throw the book at him. Criminal proceedings, no tolerance.

The fine from Ducati will dwarf anything the authorities take. They fined Jack for a shoey and this is a million times worse publicity-wise. There must be a 'bringing disrepute on Ducati' clause in his contract which could and should make this very very expensive for the young mistake maker.

I quote the article that David linked to in the original post (https://solomoto.es/de-ganar-el-gp-holanda-2022-en-motogp-a-estrellar-e…):

Pues bien, en ella el italiano dio una tasa de 0,87 mg/l en aire espirado; más de tres veces la permitida, que es 0,25 mg/l.

0.87 mg/l aire espirado (breathed air) equals 1.83 g/l in blood alcohol level. It's a 2100 ratio between breathed air and blood alcohol level. See the Wikipedia article I linked to.

 

 

 

His weight is 67 kg, so 4 to 5 pints of 5% ABV lager might do the trick, I agree. (In this particular case it might have been some 40% ABV shots that did the trick though, but that's another story...)

Is it Pecco sitting in the car here? (Scroll to see the second picture) https://www.speedweek.com/motogp/news/194847/Pecco-Bagnaia-Autounfall-a…

It reminds me of an old colleague from many years past who was arrested while sitting at the wheel of a car sitting broadside across the street...he gave up trying to turn the car around after turning down a narrow dead end street and had a sleep instead, no damage to car, street or any individuals.

Doubt it. Isn't that him in the background of those photos ? Spent two hours trying to get a friend to pull the car out before the police arrived but his mates were all drunk maybe. What would you be doing in those circumstances ? Reading some things on social media and it's a bit severe. I don't think this should hurt his sporting life at all. I do think Dorna/Ducati should give him a 'social penalty' of promoting/taking part in drink driving awareness campaigns of some sort or whatever, do some good beyond what he normally does and for free...if his fame helps then even if it's deserved or not some good will come from it which is a winner.

Translating into USA terms I think it is 4 drinks, and a drink defined as 12 ounces of 4.5% beer, 6 Oz wine or 1 ounce liquor. "Every .02 is a serving of alcohol" and they are really small. Places serve drinks that would count as 3.

I like Bagnaia. He makes mistakes though. Remember Pedrosa cheating on his boating license? It was hard to hear, he is such an upstanding person. I had a tough time with the domestic violence concern, wasn't it Hector Barbera? 

(Looks like we could use a Summertainment video post to feel a bit better. I will find something later and post it somewhere besides here)

(Pecco crashed out, all by himself, his own mistake, looks bad and may cost him. Sounds like a race!)

^ The tricky part is the translation, yet again it seems! Km's and miles per hr, weight of riders in Kilos, pounds, "stone." I did my best. We say .08 is what .8 is over there? % of blood. That is 4 servings. I think I have the USA part right. 

And, that I am feeling like Summertainment Video. 2017 and 2018 need re-watches. It has been a while since watching 2017 P.I. so will start there. Plus whatever else pops up. 

I have been thinking alot about some other things that would be great to connect with Motomutterers about. Every break I try to up the reader engagement partially for selfless reasons, partially my wants/needs/interest.

Back later!

:)

USA domestic normal

12 ounce = 355ml

The typical lager American style beer (lousy light common stuff) is only around 4.5% 

Some of the American light beer goes down to 3.2%!

No Imperial pints (22 ounces). American "pint glasses" at the pub? 12.5 ounces, 370ml!! Of cold bubbly piss and 4.5% alcohol by volume. 

(We need to get back on motorbikes, eh? Do not read this unless you want to be upset you did. Be thankful you aren't drinking American Budweiser. BUT, if you DID here you can have a LOT of it and legally drive. But you can't legally use your concealed gun in your pocket over a legal alcohol limit too. Oh jeez, horrible topic, but American laws are nuts to most everywhere else aren't they? Used to be .1 blood level of alcohol, or FIVE drinks was the legal limit. Now .08, or 4 drinks. I forget about shooting someone. It is different).

 

I must admit I got lost trying to convert the various measurements, but it sounds like it was a lot more than we're allowed here in Canada, like double or more. If he doesn't drink much, as he said and which I believe given his normal physical regimen, that amount would likely have a pretty big effect. I feel sorry for the guy; it'll take a while to live it down, for sure.

So David’s first paragraph should read that Pecco had a breath (as opposed to blood) alcohol reading of 0.87g/l.

In my state of South Australia a blood alcohol concentration of 0.183 is considered a “serious (category 3) drink driving offence” met with immediate licence suspension of 12 months and fine between $1100 - 1600 as well as six demerit points (disqualification comes at 12 points) on your license after the disqualification ends. That’s for a first offence and ramps up steeply beyond that.

At 64kg and not a practiced drinker he’d have been absolutely smashed.

He is very lucky that it ended this well for him, regardless of any sanctions he may receive.

 

SP_won: 0.087 BAC U.S.--David's 2nd paragraph--is not "absolutely smashed." Not defending his behavior, but here in CA, for example, where the line is drawn at 0.10, it is borderline legal. And would have been legal a few decades ago.

Apologies for keeping this debate going, but we have five weeks until the next race!

MatsE quotes above from the original Spanish article that Pecco blew 0.87 *breath* alcohol (with a legal limit of 0.25) which equates to 0.183 *blood* alcohol, which equates to sh*tfaced, and more than three times the legal limit.

I grew up with 0.08 blood alcohol limit so I’m aware of the difference.

Cheers

edit

Oops just saw MatsE’s explanation below after I posted.

Also I’m not wishing to join a lynch mob against Pecco, just wishing to clarify how pissed he was to those who misread the article.

SP_won: Yes, correct. And David should have written 0.87 mg/l and not 0.87 g/l. The second article he refers to, in combination with El País, GPOne, Speedweek, The Race clearly reports 0.87 mg/l.

Having 0.087% Blood Alcohol Content is not being smashed, but having 0.183% is certainly being smashed. Especially if you're, as you mention, not a regular drinker. The pictures of Pecco's rental car being in the ditch on the wrong side of the road shows that he probably was so drunk that he was completely unaware what he was doing behind the wheel.

I think he is risking a 3-6 month prison penalty and that's why it's dead silent from Ducati at the moment. Since he's (as far as I know) unsentenced, the penalty could likely be suspended and thus not affecting his availability on the grid.

To the other readers: I don't have anything against Pecco. But people need to be observant about what they are reading and not do stupid conclusions and believe that 0.87 mg/l breathed air equals 0.87 g/l in blood content and write stupid comments like "the bloke had one pint too much, don't judge him" or as in Italian comments sections "It's completely ok to have two glasses of wine and drink. Now it was holiday and he had three glasses.", while he likely had the equivalent of 350ml of 40% ABV vodka/rum (half a regular bottle).

.087 is barely over the limit in the USA.  Weight, tolerance, a lot of factors involved.  If the percentage was .1 or more, well let’s quit with the judging.  People make mistakes.  He’s young, and let’s don’t act like people go to the Ibiza to meditate or pray.  People make mistakes.  He didn’t hurt anyone.  If he had totally different story and he should be behind bars.  I marvel at the make a mistake in life, get canceled attitude that is prevalent today.  Anyone that wants to cast that first stone of judgement should first get their own life examined in public.  Lord knows I made mistakes at that age.  Ban him from driving in Ibiza, and Spain for a few years.  Fine him.  Make him do some public awareness statements, etc.  This is his personal life, not his job.  

What is ironic is how hard boos are pushed worldwide.  IE marketing.  In the US, it’s totally acceptable behavior and you can’t turn on sports without alcohol advertisements.  Meanwhile, it’s poison for your body.  And at the same time, cannabis is so much less harmful, but not legal in most states here.  And people pop prescription drugs like their candy.  And the biggest drug of all, that kills more people than anything, food, IE being fat, obese, etc, fast food, etc, is marketed 24/7.  

Boos and the marketing of them to be specific is why alcohol is such a prominent issue in the world whether drinking and driving, or alcohol related diseases.  Last time I checked nobody in the history of man has died of cannabis yet it’s outlawed in most places and certainly not marketed anywhere.  Oh the irony.  

How far over the legal limit is immaterial in my opinion. They are countries with zero tolerance and no amount of alcohol is permitted if getting behind the wheel.

The lad has put himself ‘out there’ and as a result, has a responsibility to lead by example. This is simply not the standard to set, for others to follow or deem acceptable. The courts punishment may be fairly lenient given the circumstances, but Ducati should be much, much less lenient in the action they take.

 Might seem over the top to those of you that haven’t been touched by this type of irresponsible, dangerous and sometime deadly selfish act BUT - when you’ve lost two dear members of your family to a drunk driver ‘just over the limit’ who got nothing more than a fine and a few meaningless points, it cuts deep!

 

Young man indulges in some alchohol after realing with an abusive "family" realtionship and some bad luck during his summer break. Young man damages his car and injures no one. "Serious" consequences await. Members of society await thier pound of flesh while they do no wrong. Puritanism seems alive and well even while its gospel has moved to humanism. 

Oh, and Matt Mladin is only guilty of helping Ben Spies develop his motorcycle skills: https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/mladin-says-he-was-a-victim-of-dom…

Drinking and driving is bad and should not be done. Having said that before we all get to judgemental, arguably all of the MotoGP riders are (much?) smaller than the average guy. Small and light weight enables a given amount of alcohol to have much more effect than on say an 85 or 95 kg guy. Similarly when you don’t drink it also seems to have a bigger effect. Most countries provide alcohol consumption guidelines for average sized adults, but I would be drunk well before those amounts. Years ago when I was basically a non-drinker, 74kg super fit and regularly competing in triathlons, one and a half standard drinks (e.g. 150ml of wine x 1.5) in an hour would put me over the legal driving limit. My point is that he may have consumed what would be regarded as acceptable number of drinks within a given time frame that many of us could consume and still be able to drive legally, except his lower weight etc may have put him over the limit. We all need to learn our drinking limits and I’m not defending him. Hopefully he’ll learn from this and move on.

This makes Fabio's incident really trivial in comparison. Ducati need to fine him, give him a real bollocking and issue a statement to say they don't condone this behaviour. Its the summer break and there are a lack of motogp stories. It feels very unlike Pecco 

He was well over the limit - far enough that he would know he's breaking the law.

The law he broke relates to road safety, in a vehicle.

He makes a living racing a vehicle.

Therefore, ban him from his day job for a race or two.

His day job racing is completely removed from road safety, nor does it require him to have a road licence in Spain.

He’s really shat the bed with this act but banning him from his job seems a step too far to me.  
I realise that his employer and probably Dorna can sanction him under his various contracts and agreements if they see fit.

He will no doubt feel the force of the law as he should.

I’m just thankful that he hasn’t completely destroyed his life or those of innocent victims.

 

He's employed by Ducati. Ducati sell motorbikes (in Spain too) - exciting but safe motorbikes. Ducati will not want to be associated with a drunk driver, so they'll need to show some spine. The ban may come from them, not Dorna.

I also look forward to their radar / blind spot system having a breathalyser added. :-)

...two+ times over the limit isn't an accident. It's a choice, poorly made.

The alternative - fining him - will have no effect. Well, unless the fine is a large percentage of annual income that actually affects him day to day. A ban? He will never forget that.

And from Ducati's point of view it's a 'safe' decision because he's not going to win the championship this year. He's too far behind two consistent riders. 3 wins, no 2nds, no 3rds. Very good, but not WC good. Yet.

May be three to six months in prison according to Spanish law.

A fine may not worry him but the publicity around this event will not be something he forgets in a hurry, and three to six months in a cell would certainly catch his attention.

I never implied that it was an accident. A very foolish choice it was to be sure.

I’m confident that it is one he will not repeat, even if he receives no penalty at all.

Cheers

 

 

No chance of prison. I don't know why I'm reminded of this but do you remember Keith Richards got busted for heroin in Toronto ? Judge sentenced him to perform for charity, all proceeds going to etc, took a negative and made a positive. So they should sentence him to use his position, fame or celebrity on road safety campaigns beyond anything the riders normally do. His position does not place him above the law but it does give an opportunity to make a positive out of a negative.

I don’t think he’s headed for jail either, just making the point to richtea that a meaningless fine is not the only alternative.

Community service is also specified as a penalty and as you say it offers a chance to turn something bad into something better.

And just a general note about my contributions here. Tone is very hard to convey in writing, especially when a topic is emotionally charged.

My intent is always to be respectful and friendly here among the mutterers.

Please read anything I post in that context.

I’m all for interesting and robust discussion but I have no desire to insult others.

Cheers

Agreed on two points there 1) prison is inappropriate for a first offence, and 2) community service would be a positive option. I'm not sure doing community service AND still being allowed to race is enough though. The community service might just be viewed as an inconvenience. What really hurts is not being able to race.

Last car was 2005 VW Passat diesel. Weird "secret" thing a gasoline station guy showed me, once the fuel tank appears full, there is a hidden mechanical button you can reach down the filler inlet if you are careful and know it is there (unmarked, blends in, barely noticeable). It open another inlet to add another several gallons of diesel, basically expanding the fuel tank. It perplexed, why on earth do that?

So they can fill that too before giving it to another party testing the fuel efficiency. You drive and record distance. You fill (not clicking the secret added fuel capacity) until full, and do your math. BUT, when you started it had lots more fuel! So you think it got better fuel efficiency. (Caveat - these are my own thoughts on the experience).

Prior to USA 2005 models, the 1.9 TDi diesel motors in Jetta and Golf were getting 45 miles per gallon or more. I had a few, ran biodiesel. Switched to the Audi A4 wagon based Passat (it is still sitting in my driveway, selling this Summer) - same motor pushed out to 2.0 and way hotter top end. Hauls ass even though much heavier. Cool, or so I thought. Emissions were worse, and fuel efficiency WAY worse. Like horrible, close to the gas engines.

Then came about 2010, when diesel emission standards got more stringent in the USA, and POOF suddenly there was a new "clean diesel tech" from them! Wow.

Oops. Got greedy. 

Don't take shortcuts. Like driving after drinking or making cheater vehicles?

Anyone have other stuff for us? Summer break feels long.

Very unsmart in the big picture. I do not know how the story came out at source but the idea that you can keep a secret like that for as long as it would need to be kept in an organisation that large is fantasy island. Even if it was successfully kept internal, the idea that nobody would ever be capable of stumbling across it by pure chance when you've spread god knows how many hundred thousand copies of the evidence across the globe is flat earth territory. Not to mention that others might be actively looking.

ATTENTION: SARCASM ZONE AHEAD

Yeah, he may have been over the limit, but the fault here lies with the front wheel drive car he was driving. Had that had been Aron Canet's Corvette, he would have drifted that baby through the roundabout.

https://www.gpone.com/en/2022/06/12/moto2/aron-canet-in-car-accident-ju…

Jack Miller's comment:

“Two decent tyres all weekend, and I tried my maximum but to be honest I had nothing on the right-hand side from the beginning until the end, and especially at the end. “I was [wheel]spinning in a straight line. I don’t know what happened with the hard tyre but it didn’t function.

Ouch, thanks to fellow mutterers for pointing out the lack of clarity around the reading and its conversion into various units.  So it would be more like 0.183% BAC in Australia.  That is more than three and a half times the legal limit and might be termed 'properly shitfaced'.  Certainly a high range reading rather than accidentally being 'just a bit over' due to his light weight etc.  Still unlikely to be a jail sentence for a first offender but should be viewed in a very different light to my earlier misinterpretation of it to be 0.087% BAC.  The article should be updated to clarify.

FB can thank his lucky stars he didn't run someone down while in that state.  That WOULD have been jail time and goodbye career.  I'm still struggling to understand how someone like that with all those minders and hangers-on could have ended up driving in that state.

 

Ok! Don't drink and drive, Pecco WAS very intoxicated indeed, and now let's think Silverstone... (this was a dbl post of below, now needn't a delete)

I think the timing and length of the summer break will be enough for it to be brushed under the carpet. The fact that they were at the start of the break was indicitive of drunkeness that wouldn't happen during the rest of the season.

Looking at several news sources, not especially moto ones, indicates that Pecco was around 3 times the alcohol limit so he would have been very drunk, especially when he says he doesn't normally drink.