How MotoGP handled a tragic weekend

If you have experienced the mood at a racetrack after a competitor has lost their life, you won't need me to describe what it was like in Barcelona last Friday after Luis Salom's accident. If you haven't, I'm glad you haven't.

Whatever your role at the venue, from spectator to race winner, danger is a known quantity, but when it shows its hand it is a stark, tragic reminder. A racetrack becomes a terrible place to be, but what remains of an event's natural weekend rhythm often says a lot about the people involved.

When Salom crashed, I was at Scott Redding's post-practice media session. There's a point in my audio recording where Moto2 bikes stop blasting down the front straight. By the time I arrived at the next rider debrief, that of Maverick Vinales, news of the red flag and the cause was on Twitter.

Little more information emerged over the next hour or so, but the consensus was that the situation was not good. Then the news we had all dreaded arrived, that a much-liked 24-year-old with a rich life ahead of him had died.

About half an hour after the news on Salom was announced, 10 MotoGP riders attended the regular safety commission meeting. For the record, they were: Marc Marquez, Andrea Iannone, Andrea Dovizioso, Aleix Espargaro, Pol Espargaro, Bradley Smith, Cal Crutchlow, Alvaro Bautista, Jack Miller and Tito Rabat.

The possibility of the remainder of the weekend being cancelled was discussed, before the family of Luis Salom was consulted, giving its blessing for it to continue at an unimaginably tough time.

This group then settled on a switch from the layout MotoGP has traditionally used at Barcelona to the Formula 1 configuration, having inspected what would become the new final sector and requested further tweaks be made overnight.

In the circumstances, they did the best job possible. And at many other tracks on the calendar, there wouldn't have been the luxury of changing the layout to alter or avoid the corner in question.

Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and the FIM's safety delegate Franco Uncini briefed the media at lunchtime on Saturday, after the new layout had been used for the first time in the third practice session.

It was the right thing to do. Both were open and honest with what they knew and answered questions. It is debatable, though, that posting CCTV footage of Salom's crash on MotoGP.com was the right thing to do.

Understandably, the rider media sessions later that afternoon were somewhat muted. But there was also a bit of a heated turn.

Ezpeleta's comment that riders had not previously flagged up Turn 12 as potentially troublesome was contested by a number of riders. Valentino Rossi reckoned it was first raised as long as six years ago.

At the end of the post-qualifying press conference, reigning Moto2 champion and Barcelona polesitter Johann Zarco reacted angrily to a question from a journalist (working in his second language) about who was "lying" about whether or not Turn 12 had been raised.

Zarco had earlier spoken really nicely about Salom, who he had known since they were both in Rookies Cup in 2007. While the question was addressed to Lorenzo, Zarco felt it was neither the time nor the place for that line of questioning, telling the journalist to "shut up" several times.

Marquez stood up as a paddock leader in the media session, calming the situation and breaking the silence by saying: "Nobody lied. We discussed this corner in the past, and everybody was agreed that with the air fences, 'OK, it's a good solution', because it was not possible to have more [run-off].

"With the air fence, we thought that was enough, but like we saw yesterday... nobody expected this. It's so difficult to imagine that this would happen."

In his solo media session earlier, Smith had already - correctly - expressed his disappointment that only 10 of the weekend's 21 MotoGP riders attended the safety commission meeting.

"That day of all days, assume our responsibility, because our responsibility there is not so much as a GP rider, it's as a safety advisor that's the key thing," he said.

"Everyone who turned up there assumed their responsibilities, the riders that didn't turn up there, I'm a little bit disappointed [in them] because we all know exactly what time it starts and where it is."

When told Rossi did not think Turn 10 had to be changed along with Turn 12, but that he accepted the decision as he wasn't there, Smith also didn't miss. He noted Rossi "spat his dummy" after the events of Sepang last October and hadn't been to the safety commission meeting since.

Jorge Lorenzo echoed his team-mate's view that Turn 10 might have been fine as it was. Lorenzo said he was disappointed that all of the riders couldn't be there together. At times, he nearly came across as indignant that "as the champion of last year" he didn't receive specific communication that the meeting was happening.

"We all have the option to go onto the safety commission normally but [on Friday] what happened was a special occasion," he said. "And also the safety commission normally is in the Dorna office, yesterday was moving to the corner. I don't know anything that was happening in that area.

"If I knew they wanted to change the two corners, I would go to such an important and special occasion. I will go to at least understand which ways we can improve the safety and to say my opinion.

"But I didn't know anything, I thought they would keep using the same track as changing these kinds of things after starting the weekend has never happened. But obviously it's like that and the important thing is what happened, and the rest, we have to accept it, but in my opinion we should be all together for such an important modification."

Marquez was not buying Lorenzo's comments about confusion surrounding the location or timing of the meeting. While he is not one of the regular attendees, Lorenzo will have known where to go and when.

"In the end, there is one thing clear," Marquez said. "Every Friday we have the safety commission at 5:30pm in the same place, and yesterday we were the same riders like usual.

"We are always around nine, 10 riders - and not every rider - and I think if we have the opportunity to go there and improve the safety of the tracks, every rider needs to go there. OK, in some tracks, we don't speak a lot and in 15 minutes it's done, the safety commission. But in some tracks it's important and we are there to try to give our opinion."

It was another example of a maturing Marquez finding his voice. He calmly rebuffed Lorenzo's assertion without causing a scene in emotional circumstances.

Fortunately, Saturday was the end of the tension and angst over the layout change and on Sunday the three classes got back to the business of racing, and remembering Salom. Paddock members flocked to the grid and pitlane on Sunday morning for a minute of silence, and MotoGP riders embraced Salom's crew members.

It was really nicely done. Afterwards, I saw a few good moments that were reminders of just how much of a bond exists between the MotoGP riders, putting their bodies on the line together for three days every fortnight. Lorenzo caught up to Smith, and I forget whether Lorenzo extended an arm around Smith's shoulder or if it was the other way around, but they walked the next part of their journey together, having a chat.

The Espargaro brothers were among the hardest hit - outwardly at least - by the tragedy. They were towards the tail end of the paddock contingent heading back down pitlane, big brother Aleix with an arm over little brother Pol's shoulder. They might be extremely talented and dedicated, but they are still people.

That afternoon, the riders in all three classes turned their attention to validating Salom's family's desire for the grand prix to continue. And they did. And fans responded. I watched Moto2 from the exit of the final corner near the main grandstand. Even though Zarco denied local hero Alex Rins a victory that would have been dedicated to Salom, he was warmly applauded.

Some riders picked up Salom flags on their cooldown laps and paid their own personal tributes to a popular fallen comrade, on bikes and wearing helmets adorned with LS39 stickers.

You will already know what happened in the MotoGP race. It was a cracker, a fine advertisement for the championship. On the way back to the pits, Marquez stopped trackside and had his number 93 reversed to Salom's 39, Pol Espargaro stopped at the site of Salom's accident and kissed the ground through his helmet.

Then, after their amazing battle, Rossi and Marquez shook hands in parc ferme. Their cold war has been an awkward sideshow this year, following the events of the end of 2015. They have barely made eye contact even when crossing paths, in the same room for a press conference or when sharing a podium. It is in such contrast to how both champions appear the rest of the time, and does not add to their legacies.

Later, when Rossi was asked if he felt it could help their relationship, he replied a short but symbolic "yes", and Marquez put a hand on his shoulder. It's a shame that it took a tragedy for the ice to be broken again - and I'm pretty sure they're not going bowling together anytime soon - but silent animosity between two of MotoGP's three big guns is not good for anyone involved.

"After what happened all the rest becomes not very important, very small. So I think it's the right thing to do," Rossi said of the handshake.

Also sounding like he was going beyond merely saying the right things, Marquez said it was "important that we shook hands with Valentino. I'm happy with this".

Hopefully it will pave the way for Rossi and his vast experience to return to the safety commission meetings, and that from the next meeting at Assen the number of attendees is a lot closer to 21 than it is to 10, with the likes of Lorenzo also returning to the fold.

Smith and Marquez are right. Safety is in the direct interest of every rider who does up leathers on a grand prix weekend. Moto2 and Moto3 riders are represented in these meetings by the MotoGP field, so they not only need to look out for their future peers, but also set an example for them to follow, to ensure their work continues well into the future.

Motorsport will never be completely safe and fortunately fatalities like Salom's are few and far between. The number of times we have to experience that hollow feeling of loss is reducing.

At the very least, it should be remembered as riders weigh up their Friday afternoon schedules. To help do everything they can and try to prevent going through this all again.