MotoGP riders slam “embarrassing” traffic in COTA qualifying
Several MotoGP riders have called for more to be done to stop “embarrassing” incidents of people touring on track to look for a tow in qualifying sessions.


The problem of riders backing off and waiting for faster competitors to come by, before latching onto the back of them and taking profit of the slipstream, has been a constant problem in Moto3 and prompted the introduction of harsh sanctions to combat this.
But the problem has also plagued many MotoGP sessions, including Q1 at the Americas Grand Prix on Saturday.
Suzuki’s Alex Rins, who made it through Q1 along with poleman Jorge Martin, says MotoGP must get stricter on this problem to act as an example to the other classes.
“It’s unacceptable,” Rins fumed having been affected by traffic in qualifying.
“We are the big boys, we need to give example to the others.
“I don’t have words to describe the feeling. I was in pushing in Q1, then four or five riders in front stopped.
“It makes no sense, it’s so dangerous. They need to do something.
“I was thinking now maybe for the qualifying time, five seconds between one rider and the other rider. Like this it’s more difficult to close the throttle, or at least you can see who is the guy who closes the throttle and penalise him.
“We are MotoGP riders, not Moto3. We talk every safety commission about this and every race is it’s the same.”

Darryn Binder, RNF MotoGP Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro was also hindered by this in Q1, taking aim at “embarrassing” antics from LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez, but also conceded he shouldn’t have let it detract his focus and lead him to the crash which left him 13th on the grid.
“It’s embarrassing,” Espargaro said.
“I have to say that today was my fault, because I’m in a very good position leading, feeling good with the bike.
“So, I cannot lose the focus. I need to be more focused, do my job.
“But I mean, man, if it’s a rookie who is waiting, everybody did it [in the past]. But with Alex Marquez, factory Honda, three or four years in the class, waiting for me in FP4, waiting for me in Q1, and when I saw him stop behind me with the second tyre I was like ‘come on’.
“It’s not that I don’t want him to steal my lap time, because I knew that he is stronger.
“But to listen to a bike beside you [it’s distracting], I tried to change the plan. I started immediately in the beginning with Franco [Morbidelli], I gave him free space and then I changed tyre.
“I started with the second tyre when it was still seven minutes to the end to avoid the traffic. Then he was waiting in the garage for me, so I became crazy.
“But again, I need to control this more. I cannot control him or his team. So, I need to be more focused because I think a part of this crash was because I lost the focus.”

Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Suzuki’s Joan Mir says riders deliberately slowing and looking for tows “can be dangerous” and wants the issue once again raised in the safety commission.
“Every GP is the same,” he added.
“That’s why you have to do a strategy trying to be alone or following something from the back, just one, because if you start to play there you can lose the opportunity to make a good qualifying.
“Maybe you lose a little bit more performance when you are not following. But it’s true you get an advantage and the people in qualifying want to do it.
“I don’t like it because sometimes it’s dangerous. But in the safety commission we need to talk about it.”
Honda’s Pol Espargaro, however, believes it is simply part of the game and sees no issue with it in general.
“Well, this is part of the job,” Espargaro stated.
“We are tighter and tighter, closer and closer to each other and just one tenth can solve the situation [if you need to improve].

Pol Espargaro, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“So, sometimes it affects you, like me in Mandalika with Alex Marquez and [Luca] Marini. And sometimes you are the guy behind.
“But it’s something that the guys that are behind, well in the top, with factory bikes complaining about the guys that are 10 positions back, this is not fair.
“But it is what it is, sometimes you need to take it and get benefit from it.”
Related video

“Scared” Marquez “didn’t believe in myself” in COTA MotoGP qualifying
Aleix Espargaro left “sad” after "disappointing" first Aprilia MotoGP talks for 2023

Latest news
Why physical fitness is an understimated challenge for IndyCar rookies
The lack of in-car physical fitness is an “underestimated” hurdle for an IndyCar Series rookie, according to Dale Coyne Racing's Indy Lights graduate Sting Ray Robb.
Bubba Wallace ‘got dumped’ by Austin Dillon in NASCAR Clash
Bubba Wallace says Austin Dillon “dumped” him out of second place in NASCAR’s chaotic Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday night.
Albon warns Williams has "long road ahead" to recover in F1
Alex Albon admits that his Williams Formula 1 team has a “long road ahead” as it tries to progress up the field this year.
Toyota won’t put more pressure on Katsuta at WRC Rally Sweden
Toyota World Rally Championship boss Jari-Matti Latvala says the team won’t "put more pressure" on Takamoto Katsuta to deliver in his first drive for the factory team this weekend.
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew-members absorbed into other operations
How one MotoGP team went from title fights to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is MotoGP's comeback king ready to reclaim his throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Autosport
How MotoGP’s underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Autosport why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of competition more than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
The Ducati rider who is much more than just the brother of a MotoGP legend
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Autosport – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend
Ranking the top 10 riders of MotoGP 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Autosport picks out the 10 best performers of the season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.