Analysis: is MotoGP being overregulated?

The biggest point of discussion at the German Grand Prix this weekend was how race management dealt with Fabio Quartararo’s suit drama when the Yamaha rider’s leather cracked late in the Catalonia Grand Prix and ultimately received a three-second penalty after the race brought in.

PLUS: Why Quartararo’s Catalunya penalty reveals a bigger problem in MotoGP

Quartararo violated the rules, but the penalty for such violation was imprecise. For reasons of driver safety, many – including Quartararo – are of the opinion that he should have shown the black flag immediately and be disqualified. Others criticize the three-second penalty – because a penalty for something he was ultimately not responsible for did not seem appropriate, nor did it make sense to hit him with it hours after the checkered flag.

When asked by Autosport on Thursday in Germany whether he thought Quartararo should have driven with a black flag – after criticizing in Barcelona for taking off his chest protector – world champion Joan Mir said he had one in this situation wanted black flag.

That discussion continued on Thursday at the pre-event press conference in Germany, where KTM’s Miguel Oliveira – who won in Barcelona – said the black flag decision wasn’t as straightforward as it was claimed.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“I mean, when things happen in the heat of the moment, I think it was a tough decision even for the race management because they don’t know exactly what happened, whether he opened the leather or whether the leather was sticking off even opens, “he said.

“Well, at this moment, to warn a driver about the material [malfunctioning] and not from a mistake on his part, I think it’s a bit controversial.

“But it’s Race Direction, I won’t have an opinion on your decision. It is what it is.”

The incident in Barcelona was only scrutinized by the MotoGP race management after a flood of questionable decisions last year.

Riders have expressed their dismay at MotoGP’s 2020 yellow flag rule that anyone crossing a yellow flag zone will lose that lap time regardless of whether there is any danger. Lane boundaries have come under fire, even more recently, after pressure sensors in the run-off zones were introduced into police lane boundaries, removing what I described as the “human touch” from these decisions.

Maverick Vinales, Yamaha Factory Racing

Maverick Vinales, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Yamaha MotoGP

Maverick Vinales broke this system twice in Portugal and lost qualifying laps for breaking the track limits – only to later show that it was a tiny piece of rear tire that triggered the sensor, which it was hard to guess what it would have won .

Yamaha teammate Quartararo believes the lane limitation rules are now over the top. The world championship title says the rigor makes the race “a little too serious”.

He cited the penalties given to Mir and Oliveira at Mugello for touching the green painted area next to the curbs on the final lap – a violation in all classes that forces a driver to give up a position. Since both drivers were doing it at the same time, they kept their original positions in second and third. Race Direction assumed that anyone who ran off the track at Mugello’s Turn 5, like both drivers, would win by 0.5 seconds.

Quartararo also had an issue with the three-second penalty awarded to him in Barcelona for running through the chicane on corners 1 and 2 when he made a mistake.

The race management stated that every driver who did this had to lose a second in the lap time or otherwise face a long lap penalty. Quartararo lost seven tenths that lap, which earned him the penalty – although he argued that it was impossible for him to really gauge how much time he could lose on the bike.

Jack Miller, Ducati Team, Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Jack Miller, Ducati Team, Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“Yes, not only about what happened in Barcelona, ​​but also about what happened in Mugello with Joan and Miguel, for me this kind of punishment is strange,” said Quartararo when asked by Autosport if the confidence in the race management is the lowest. “You run out two or three centimeters on the green and lose a position – you don’t gain time [doing that]. It’s a bit too much for me, including what happened in Barcelona when I was driving straight ahead [at Turn 1]. I was seven tenths slower and they say when you go [another] three tenths slower you have no penalty. I mean, how can you do the math? “

That reaction sparked tension between Quartararo and Jack Miller – who was behind Quartararo when he made that mistake and finished third – which flared up Thursday, with Miller finding that the lane delimitation rules are for safety and advocated in the safety commission ( something that oddly enough is not visited by all drivers, Quartararo apparently one of them).

“I write it on that nobody likes the referee in a football game, but the referee is necessary,” said Miller when asked about the race management of Autosport. “I think Race Direction is necessary. This rule, which you talk about for one second, has been in force for three years. “

Quartararo replied, “Yes, but the rule is stupid,” while Miller replied, “Yes, but what if it was grass or gravel in the middle of the chicane?”

“I’m going on the grass,” added Quartararo.

“That’s right, so you’re losing more than a second,” Miller continued. “Well, this green from the outside, if it was grass like it used to be, you don’t go all the way to the curb. This brings the wall closer.

Jack Miller, Ducati team

Jack Miller, Ducati team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“When you come to the Security Commission, you will understand what we are discussing, and that is why we in the Security Commission are pushing for this rule, because at the end of the day the tracks are getting faster, faster, wider and wider, more and more unsafe.

“The same goes for the chicane. Before, when it was gravel, nobody went through. When tarmac came on, people would go through three or four times in a race, not use that side of the tire six times on each side over the tire, and they would gain an advantage at the end of the race.

“So the rules are the rules. Nobody likes the referee, they can do a lot of things better than any of us but someone has to be the bad guy. As simple as that.”

Johann Zarco from Pramac provided a balanced argument on the subject of Race Direction and stated that the decision-making process for track limits is incredibly time-sensitive given the 45-minute racing time of the MotoGP. However, he agrees that the current system is fallible.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing, Johann Zarco, Pramac Racing

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing, Johann Zarco, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Miller’s point on safety also underscores the eternal struggle: MotoGP must establish rules that reflect advances in safety. In the past, route boundaries were not a big problem, as the curbs were lined with artificial turf and the asphalt run-off areas were made of gravel.

But Astrorasen turned out to be too dangerous due to the water absorption, as the material was removed from the racetracks after Aragon in 2014, when Valentino Rossi fell and suffered a brief concussion while driving the material. And the run-off zones had to grow to take account of the increase in speed.

All of this can easily be viewed as a normal process in which drivers and rule makers predictably disagree, but the concerns expressed are legitimate – not least when the categories below are taken into account.

During the Moto3 race in Barcelona, ​​some riders in the large leading group deliberately backed away at critical points in order not to end up in the slipstream on the main straight. Behavior in Moto3 races has been a hot topic for a while, especially when it comes to qualifying tactics – although Race Direction has taken steps to stop this through tougher penalties.

But the question of how drivers do the final laps in large groups and safety concerns were brought into the spotlight by the tragic death of Jason Dupasquier at Mugello.

Jeremy Alcoba, Team Gresini Moto3

Jeremy Alcoba, Team Gresini Moto3

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Quartararo believes that the antics in Moto3 have become “stupid” and aimed at the fact that the race management seemingly overlooked this while at the same time going over the track barriers to the extreme.

“Just to add one thing, we’re talking about MotoGP, but when I look at the final laps of Moto3 I think there is more to be said about Moto3 safety than MotoGP because it’s totally stupid to cut everyone see [the throttle] in the last two laps with what happened last week, “said Quartararo.

“We talk about details, OK, the seconds rule is the rule, but for me it’s OK to buy time or not. But we lost a guy three weeks ago, so they have to focus a little more on the smaller categories. “

Quartararo’s argument is correct, but not new either. Rossi has long felt that some of the aggression in MotoGP today stems from the fact that racing in Moto3 is wild and this sets the precedent for young riders to get through. He too had similar views as Quartararo about the events in Moto3 in Barcelona.

Much of the current disdain for race management – and especially the stewards’ panel that imposes penalties – stems from a knee-jerk reaction after the fall between Rossi and Marc Marquez in Sepang in 2015.

Valentino Rossi, Petronas Yamaha SRT

Valentino Rossi, Petronas Yamaha SRT

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Rossi was not penalized for an incident that resulted in Marquez being dropped from the Sepang race. The Yamaha rider finished third and kept his title hopes alive for the final lap. That decision was criticized at the time, and the backlash when Rossi was hit with a back-of-the-grid start for the Valencia Final was massive for the Italian’s fans – the paranoid talk of sabotage and conspiracies, first from Rossi only made it worse.

The Stewards Panel was set up in 2016 to separate the race control’s tasks of administering races from the need to assess fines.

One element that can’t help is the fact that the stewards panel is headed by two-time 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. The American is an experienced racing driver but has no current MotoGP experience. It’s not unreasonable to think that someone who rode modern MotoGP machines would understand any incident a lot better.

Miller is right: Race Direction is necessary and someone has to be there to enforce the rules.

But it is clear that the system must be carefully analyzed and changes made to restore some of the trust in Race Direction that appears to have been lost on some of the grid.