MotoGP race director explains the reason why none of the riders got penalised in Americas GP for running into the pitlane before the Warm Up lap.
Ducati’s Marc Marquez cleverly utlised the rule in favour of him when he ran into the pitlane a minute before the Warm Up lap in Americas GP to switch from wet to slick tyres. He led several other MotoGP riders into the pitlane to change bikes.
The weather was wet before the start of the Americas GP, but it dried enough to start on slicks. Only handful opted to start on slick compound on the grid, while few didn’t follow Marquez. Trackhouse Aprilia’s Davido Brivio was unhappy with the race direction.
They red-flagged the start which nullified any chance of a penalty. There was every chance of a penalty to the riders who rushed into the pitlane, but the moment, they waved the red flag, it nullified everything, giving them a free hand to run.
Marquez, though, crashed out of the grand prix which aided teammate Francesco Bagnaia to win, and Gresini’s Alex Marquez to take the lead in riders’ standings. “We requested a delay and then a quick restart procedure due to safety concerns,” said race director Mike Webb.
“Given the number of riders, bikes, and personnel in the pitlane, it was impossible to begin the warm-up lap. Restarting was the safest way to respond to an unprecedented situation. We will analyse the circumstances with the teams and review the rules.”
M Marquez: “I really know the rules and how to do and how to be on the limit all the time. I asked to [Marco] Rigamonti seven minutes before the start if the second bike was ready. He said to me yes, and then I said to him maybe I will leave the grid. Why? Because I predicted that when I leave… I saw that the rain tyres was not the correct strategy. And then I predicted that more than 10 riders would follow me, and then they would stop the race. So, it’s what happened.”
Bagnaia: “As soon as I started running, I just hoped that many riders would follow. Because I said, if we are just two, I think some penalty could arrive. But then I saw many riders were following from the big screen. So I said, ‘they will not have time enough to remove the bikes from the grid, so will not be any penalty’. It’s not clear in the regulations this particular situation. The only guys who were prepared were KTM, Binder and Enea and Trackhouse [Ogura], who were already with slicks on the grid. So I imagine their situation, they could be much more angry about what happened.”
A Marquez: “I think for everybody it was really chaos. We need a clear rule for that because as Pecco said, it’s not really clear. I didn’t even know that was possible, honestly speaking! I just followed the other guys. So, we need to be more clear. If they delayed the start just for the chaos, it’s not the correct way. If that’s in the rule, you can do it, they need to do it and they need to organise better. It’s not fair that somebody takes a risk and then they make a start delay. Imagine if I was with slicks on the grid. It was not fair. Everything needs to be more clear.”
Here’s how MotoGP Americas GP panned out
