We said it on these pages just last Friday, after Jorge Martin’s accident in Barcelona: it is no longer time for MotoGP riders to be fatalistic about safety, but to unite and demand respect.
What happened today between the terrifying accident of Alex Marquez and the terrible dynamics of Johann Zarco’s fall sounded the alarm of fear, clear and loud.
And the riders were scared, reviewing the accidents before restarting. Pedro Acosta confided: “The third start was a bit like tempting fate. Having seen what happened twice, there was no need to try a third start. With two riders in hospital, I don’t think it was necessary. It’s fine that the show must go on, but we are the show. People’s health comes before the spectacle“. On the same line was Jorge Martin: “They say the show must go on, but I think there is a point where you also have to think about the human side. I believe that third start was a bit excessive. We should reflect on whether the risk is worth it or if it is worth putting our lives at such risk.”
But if more riders were not so happy to start for the third time, why not talk before the start?
Pecco Bagnaia, among the most active on the safety front, once again stressed the issue of the recently deserted MotoGP Safety Commission: “Once we all went and all voted for the necessary changes. But if only three of us go, it’s hard to be heard. If we are not united, we can do nothing. In a situation like today, the third start was forced.”
Luca Marini then spoke about the possibility of postponing the Barcelona start: “We already asked for it, but it’s not possible“, but he put another hot topic on the table of urgencies, that of the launch control devices: “In the future they won’t be there, but I couldn’t brake the bike on the third start because the device got stuck. And it was even more dangerous. We can’t wait for this stuff to end.”
At the Barcelona Safety Commission there were 6 present: “the usual” Bagnaia, Marini and Miller, joined by Morbidelli, Bezzecchi and Martin.
Pedro Acosta today assured: “At Mugello we will definitely be more“. And maybe on a track with an equally critical start like the Italian one, the idea of banning the launch control could be a correct card on the safety front. Provided the riders decide to talk to each other and discuss it. Provided there is mass participation in the Safety Commission, even from those who complain about an agenda too crowded to attend.
And it would be important to underline the absurdity of the bump in the runoff area of the straight leading to Turn 10 in Barcelona, the one that sent Alex Marquez’s Ducati Gresini flying wildly into the air.
But unity is needed, united riders can have power. Because Pedro Acosta is right: the riders are the show of MotoGP. And safety is a priority, always: unite and demand respect.
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