“Three restarts is quite dangerous”: MotoGP riders react after “terrible day” in Barcelona

Riders describe the emotional toll of returning to the grid in a Barcelona race marred by crashes

MotoGP riders have expressed their initial views on a chaotic Catalan Grand Prix, which was interrupted by red flags and marred by heavy crashes involving Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco.

The first major incident took place on lap 12 of 24 when Marquez could not avoid race leader Pedro Acosta, who suddenly slowed down with a suspected electrical issue on the run down to Turn 10. Marquez crashed heavily after running off the track, and had to be transported to hospital for check-ups.

Then, moments after the restart, Zarco got caught up in his Francesco Bagnaia's Ducati in a three-way incident at Turn 1 that also involved Honda's Luca Marini.

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Both Marquez and Zarco were conscious following their respective crashes, but had to be taken to the hospital for further check-ups.

The decision to restart the race for a third time led to backlash from certain quarters, especially due to a lack of information on Marquez and Zarco’s condition.

Factory Aprilia rider Jorge Martin, who himself suffered a concussion after crashing in Friday practice, questioned whether there should be a limit on the number of restarts allowed after repeated incidents.

The issue carries added significance in Barcelona, given the safety concerns surrounding Turn 1.

“It was a really dangerous day out there,” he admitted. “I had some pain because of the crash, but I was really in panic about the situation with Alex. I'm happy that he's okay and also about Zarco.

“For sure, the show must go on, as always. But after three times, maybe it's time to stop the thing. I don't know, it's not in my hands. But for sure, three restarts is quite dangerous. You completely lose concentration and then to go back in….

“I'm confident that I can do it, but there are other riders that cannot. So, I think at that point, it's quite dangerous to continue restarting because how long could this be? Six, seven times? I don't know. If this continues happening.

“So, this is something we need to think about. But as I said before, the important thing is that we are all alive and we can continue doing what we love.”

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing, Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Photo by: Qian Jun / MB Media / Getty Images

HRC’s Marini described Sunday at Barcelona as a “terrible day for us”, saying Zarco’s crash brought back memories of his incident during Suzuka 8 Hours testing that left him with multiple injuries.

Having been involved in the Turn 1 crash with fellow Honda rider Zarco, he said: “I hope that Alex and Johan will recover well because it was really a terrible day for us.

“We are the best riders in the world and we know how to be focused in the next start, but it was tough, especially for me. When I saw Johann there with the leg like this, it came to my mind the flash of Suzuka. It was a really really bad feeling.

“Now that I don't have the adrenaline anymore and all the focus for the race, there is a really bad feeling coming in my stomach.

“I hope that the medical team did a good job at least for don't let him feel the pain because I know the pain at that moment. But he is lucky that the ambulance was there quite quickly and now he can be in the hospital resting a bit. I hope that they will come back soon, especially at 100%.

Asked if riders would have preferred not to do another restart, Marini replied “No, never”, indicating he was happy to finish the race.

Yamaha rider Alex Rins described how difficult it was to wait in the garage for the race to resume after witnessing Marquez lying on the ground following the heavy crash.

“When this kind of thing happens, for me the race goes into the second page,” he said. “When I saw Alex on the floor, my heart broke.

“I was really affected, I was trying to breathe a lot in the box because it's not nice to see a mate on the floor.

"In the end, we are all humans, but it's really tough, really difficult.”

Asked how MotoGP could deal with such situations, he added: I don't know. For me, the priority is that the rider is conscious. If the rider is conscious, then my heart becomes normal.”