The issue of safety in MotoGP is something we have already talked about at length. Without going any further, last week before everything that happened on Sunday, Enea Bastianini himself already began to comment on the matter. Now, after the Catalan GP, this situation is gaining strength.
And no, it is not because of the accidents, of which no driver has commented anything about them, although seen from the outside there are things that seem to be improved on the Circuit. It is evident that the speed at which the first braking is reached when starting so far from the first corner represents an extra risk as we have seen on so many occasions. And, it goes without saying, that the counter-goal straight would have to be given a review of that escape from the variant where very serious accidents have already been seen in the past and where Álex Márquez avoided the tragedy by millimeters when entering that gravel that is only for the aforementioned variant.
What most of the pilots have emphasized, at least publicly, is how the restarts were managed once again after the two serious accidents. Complicated moments before getting back on the bike and which many of them consider are not well managed.
Safety in MotoGP is something that requires the unity of the riders
In that sense, the Moto.it colleagues spoke with different riders and, although each one has their opinion, again the majority agree that something must change with how safety issues are being managed. It is not necessary to read between the lines but to read Joan Mir’s statements to realize that they have not felt listened to in the Security Commission and that, perhaps for this reason, some have stopped attending until only Bagnaia, Marini and Miller attend regularly: “We have gone to the safety commission many times, we have talked about many things and many times we have not been heard. Somehow the pilots have lost confidence in the process. It is our mistake not to have continued insisting. I agree. I think we have a WhatsApp group and many times there is missing someone to say: ‘Guys, why don’t you go to the Safety Commission?’. It is a collective failure, we have to be more united. I completely agree with Pecco.”
The Spaniard was referring to the questions that Bagnaia had answered to Moto.it: “Before, we all went together, we voted on the things that had to be changed. Now, with only three of us, it’s hard to have a voice. We can talk and say whatever we want, but if we’re not all there, nothing can be done.”
And the problem of not being able to exert pressure together is a reality. In fact, for example, Pedro Acosta saw it differently: “I don’t see it that way. When something of this magnitude happens, many riders always get together, as happened last year in Malaysia in Moto3. I don’t think we should go every week to point out a new bump on the track. And I don’t think any Safety Commission could have prevented what happened yesterday. Now we will have to understand how much we want to risk our skin after certain episodes.”
In the end, each person has their principles and priorities and in the case of pilots it is exactly the same. Of course, with the changes that are coming to MotoGP, it would be better for them to have a strong and uniform voice when it comes to safety. Mir, Marini or Bastianini view Pecco favorably, who emphasizes the importance of everyone going together and not just one. In any case, we must not forget that the lives that are at stake are theirs and if that does not seem a priority to them, who are the rest of us to judge?
