Let's talk MotoGP: It has to stop

Make yourself comfortable for this new installment of “Let’s Talk MotoGP”. Today, we are going to look back at length and breadth on the accident at turn 1 in Catalonia. Five drivers crashed, with one injured, Enea Bastianini. What do you think? Should the MotoGP rules be changed to try to limit this carnage? Here's everything we think, from several angles.

 

Who is responsible ?

 

It's sad, but the first point of this analysis is easy to guess. This time the answer is obvious; Enea Bastianini was rightly found guilty of this strike, and moreover, the decision was not debated. The Italian arrived too far inside not to meet another driver on his trajectory, and could not do anything other than hit his opponents head-on. His responsibility was also supported by Johann zarco, another victim, specifying that“he did shit”. Bastianini suffers a new injury at the worst time of the season, given the pace at which the Grands Prix will follow one another at the end of the 2023 financial year.

 

 

A justified penalty?

 

In our opinion, yes. The incident is similar to the one we experienced two weeks ago in Austria. A driver is optimistic and tries to rush inside, initiating contact with others, who are turning to take the corner. The contact on Johann Zarco then Álex Márquez is hard, but without Enea Bastianini completely losing control of his machine. So, if this percussion is similar to that of Jorge Martín on Fabio Quartararo in Austria, it is not as perpendicular, dry, and off-course as the cutting of Miguel Oliveira by Marc Márquez in Portugal. As a reminder, it is essential to judge the act and not the consequence, regardless of the number of pilots on the ground.

Therefore, we believe that the long period of penalty to be served upon his return is sufficient. Furthermore, the decision was made quickly, which was one of our requests after the Austrian Grand Prix, which we – and many drivers – had described as poorly managed by the race management. When sports commissioners make decisions against common sense, we highlight it, but we must also congratulate their effectiveness when it is proven.

 

Let’s talk MotoGP or let’s talk philosophy?

 

This is why we wanted to write this article. As after every event of this kind, the comments do not take long: “What is DORNA waiting for to react” we could read here and there on the internet. These reactions are entirely legitimate, and moreover, many pilots, those mainly concerned, share this opinion. After the race, one testimony stood out; that of Miguel Oliveira. “The only thing that could be done to improve the situation is to ban devices that influence the height of the motorcycle. You have to brake very hard and very late to deactivate this starting aid. But since we are starting with low air pressures, the tire is not yet ready to handle such loads » he said.
As usual, his comments are relevant but yet he is only half right.

 

 

Since tragic Paris-Madrid 1903, an automobile event which cost the lives of more than ten people including the famous Marcel Renault, we are still looking for those responsible for the accidents that are inherent to motor sports. It's hard to hear, but it's the cold truth. The drivers will continue, whatever happens, to want to be in front in the first turns. After 2016 and the introduction of the single ECU, almost everyone can compete for the podium. So, it is perfectly normal for those who start from the back of the grid to try to move forward as quickly as possible to position themselves well.

Whether we change the tires, the aero, the holeshot device, the distance separating the starting line and the first turn (idea put forward by Loris Baz not long ago) or even, the drivers, accidents of this type will always happen, because it's the race. Wanting to alter an intrinsic dimension of motor sports and a fortiori motorcycling sports is not the solution. It's unfortunate, but that's how it is. Even without a holeshot device and with more tire pressure, Enea Bastianini “could not have turned given the angle at which he was coming into the corner” as Álex Márquez rightly pointed out. Otherwise, what, will we soon put lines on the ground so that the drivers stay in a lane before arriving at the first braking?

Of course, we can try to find rational explanations for each of these accidents, because there are, in fact, more of them this year. For our part, we are banking on two distinct elements. First, the upheaval of the hierarchy in MotoGP. This season, in particular, many drivers are not in their positions, or do not have equipment that matches their talent. From then on, they try to compensate by attacking excessively, particularly at the start, the moment when it is most opportune to grab positions.. This is why Enea Bastianini attempted this maneuver, he who had also received three penalty places on the grid. This was also the case for Marc Márquez in Portugal, and, to another extent, during qualifying in Germany, or Takaaki Nakagami in Argentina.

 

 

The second theory is more philosophical. Since the end of the 4th century BC, but more precisely – and concisely – since the 1st century, the Stoics have taught that certain events occur, and that it is perfectly futile to seek an explanation for each of them ; but also, to have an opinion on them. Whether one agrees with the principles dear to the Portico or rather Epicurean school, this notion finds numerous applications in motor sports. Certain facts cannot be explained, cannot be controlled, seasons are marked by falls, sometimes fatal, others not. Unpredictability and danger make up the essence of our favorite sport, among other dimensions. Why did Enea Bastianini take the interior in this way in Catalonia and not another? Because he was there to fulfill his role. This does not excuse him, his guilt is proven. But it is useless to look further, and above all, to want to change the soul of a sport because “Bestia” played in accordance with the spirit of the discipline, and therefore, of the order of things.

What do you think ? Tell us in the comments!

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport