How Jerez underlined MotoGP's speed problem

For anybody watching free practice in the paddock or on television last Friday, seeing Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro head for the barriers at Turn 7 – a 181km/h corner on a MotoGP bike – was enough to make your blood run cold.

Both Repsol Honda riders lost the front of their RC213Vs in corner entry, sending them skidding across the tarmac and gravel before being swallowed up by the AirFence. It was a miracle that neither rider collided with his own bike on impact, an outcome that would have almost certainly led to tragedy.

Once over the shock, both riders were supported by the rest of the grid in their assertion that it was time to talk again about the safety measures in place at all of the circuits on the calendar. The majority opinion is that something needs to be done quickly about the phenomenal speeds being reached by modern MotoGP bikes.

With many safety zones limited by the physical characteristics of the circuit, which makes some of them impossible to extend, the onus has to turn back to the bikes themselves.

Top speeds have been on the rise in recent seasons, but especially so in 2021. The three highest speeds ever registered in MotoGP have all been recorded this season. Top of the chart is Johann Zarco, who touched 362.4km/h (225.18mph) during FP4 in Qatar, followed by his Pramac Ducati teammate Jorge Martin, who clocked 358.8km/h in Q1 at the same track, while in Q2 Jack Miller reached 357.6km/h. These mind-blowing speeds may well be surpassed by the end of the month, when the long straight at Mugello could easily allow for new records touching 370km/h (229.9mph).

The question about whether this is too much to ask of the safety measures currently in place in MotoGP needs to be asked, and it needs to be asked now. Marquez has built his career and reputation on his incredible bravery, and the Spaniard is in little doubt of the urgency of the matter.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“Do we need to be hitting 362km/h on the straight in Qatar? I don’t think we do,” said Marquez on Sunday, after finishing ninth in his second appearance of the season. “If we keep going like this, the gravel traps will be too small at every circuit in the world.”

The crashes that happened at Jerez's Turn 7 suggest that it could merely be an accident black spot, but riders such as Aleix Espargaro believes we need to take a wider view.

“On this occasion nobody crashed at Turn 12 but there are only three metres of run-off there and it’s a 200km/h corner,” remarked the Aprilia man, who is keen to see the circuits adapt before the bikes. “The technology being applied in MotoGP is the best there is and the bikes are becoming faster and more aerodynamic. The circuits need to adapt to keep up with the bikes.”

While the top three highest speeds recorded in MotoGP have been set this season, it is also interesting to note that all top ten positions on the chart belong to Ducati. The Desmosedici has long been the most potent powerhouse on the grid, and the holeshot device has given the Italian machines even more punch on the straights.

"I am in favour of factories trying to develop the best systems, but the riders should also have a say in this. Do we really need to activate the holeshot device on the straights?" Marc Marquez

The mechanism that came out of the Borgo Panigale factory in 2019 and was gradually adopted by the rest of the manufacturers except Suzuki, allows them to lower the centre of gravity on the rear of the bike, limiting the wheelie effect off the start. For the last two years, the Ducati riders have also been able to make use of it during the races, on the exit of certain corners and down the straights.

In Marquez’s view, development of these mechanisms is clearly the way the sport is heading and it needs to be regulated before it is too late.

“Now, with the holeshot device, the riders who have it can drop the rear of the bike on the straights and maybe in the future they’ll be able to do it with the front too,” he said. “I am in favour of factories trying to develop the best systems, but the riders should also have a say in this. Do we really need to activate the holeshot device on the straights?”

Jack Miller, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

In the interest of finding a balanced opinion on the matter, Autosport also asked MotoGP technical director Danny Aldridge where the holeshot sits within the sport and within the rules.

“We are monitoring the situation but it is clear that the [holeshot] system is within the regulations – it is activated by the rider without any electronic aid,” Aldridge said.

According to the British technician, it would be unfair on a factory that invented and developed a perfectly legal mechanism to ban it, unless it posed a risk to safety, which is exactly the matter that came to the fore in Jerez.

“The only reason why the holeshot should be banned is for safety reasons or if the MSMA proposed it,” added Aldridge, who also highlighted the difference between this debate and the one about wings.

“The main reason behind the intervention with the wings was because of their profile, which posed a danger in a crash. There was also the question of cost, because Ducati were turning up with a new design at every race, which had been developed in a wind tunnel.

“With the holeshot, since there is no electronic element, the cost is also not that high.”

Jack Miller, Ducati Team leads

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images