Barcelona’s sigh of relief
What happened last weekend at Montmelò kept the entire paddock and MotoGP fans on the edge of their seats, with the serious accidents involving Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco who suffered respectively a clavicle fracture and a knee ligament injury. The two riders were assisted on the track and then taken to the hospital, leaving a trail of unease among the others who faced a total of three restarts spread over more than an hour.
Also FormulaPassion highlighted several questions about safety that emerged from the Catalunya GP weekend and from these pages we invited the riders to unite and demand more respect.
In this regard, the words of Carmelo Ezpeleta – CEO of Dorna – given to the podcast Curva 15 are very interesting, touching on several topics from recent days.
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The accidents of Alex Marquez and Zarco
“The weekend was complicated. We were lucky. When I first saw the images of Alex Marquez, I was very worried. We were lucky. Sometimes luck is not on your side, but this time it was. I saw Alex as soon as they brought him to the Medical Center and he was fine and everything else. And then the same happened with Johan, just bad luck. If Zarco had simply fallen and not gotten caught in Bagnaia’s bike wheel, he wouldn’t have been hurt. Let’s say there was some kind of compensation in a way. Other times we have had fatal accidents due to incredible bad luck.”
The three restarts
“The issue is complex. What both I and they would like to do in these cases is to stop, but we shouldn’t. We will discuss it at Mugello next week. If the track is in good condition and the riders are fine, the race should continue for the spectators. And the question of whether to restart a race or not… It could advantage some and disadvantage others. If the rules are not changed, we must stick to what is written. No rule forbids having 3 restarts. I am willing to study anything, but it must be studied and not promoted in the heat of the moment. I understand that the rider may feel uncomfortable, we are willing to discuss it, but taking all factors into account.”
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Few riders in Safety Commission
“Pecco Bagnaia comes to the Safety Commission every Friday, I do not intend to accuse those who do not come. Pecco is one of those who is always there, I don’t remember the last time he didn’t attend. Everyone can participate, we discuss decisions and consider the requests made by those present and evaluate if they can be implemented. But the voice of the riders, whether few or many, is always heard and taken into consideration. Those who participate are welcome, obviously the more the better. But we have not considered making participation in the Safety Commission mandatory, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I believe it’s better to convince them of the importance of being there.”
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