{"id":700550,"date":"2026-05-28T18:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T18:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/700550\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T18:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T18:31:11","slug":"what-causes-motogps-turn-1-accidents-its-not-the-devices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/700550\/","title":{"rendered":"What causes MotoGP\u2019s Turn 1 accidents? \u201cIt\u2019s not the devices\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Incidents at the Catalan MotoGP mean that both Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco are absent from this weekend\u2019s Mugello round.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/935450\/alex-marquez\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Marquez<\/a> suffered back injuries after clipping the KTM of race leader Pedro Acosta when the Spaniard suddenly lost power midway through the grand prix.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/889489\/johann-zarco\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Zarco<\/a> then sustained knee injuries during a nasty Turn 1 accident on the restart.<\/p>\n<p>Since Sprint races were introduced in 2023, Turn 1 incidents have accounted for around 20% of injuries causing riders to miss a MotoGP race, according to analysis by Dimitri Stathopoulos.<\/p>\n<p>Unique to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MotoGP<\/a> is the use of holeshot\/ride-height devices, which lower the front and rear of the bike to reduce wheelies and improve acceleration.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>With all manufacturers now using similar systems, the devices no longer offer a major relative performance advantage and will be banned from next season.<\/p>\n<p>However, riders quizzed at Mugello on Thursday did not believe the technology is the main cause of first-corner crashes.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/gng_1317126_hires_1600x900.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Marco Bezzecchi, 2026 Italian MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.78\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Marco Bezzecchi, 2026 Italian MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end, the first corner after the start is dangerous with any bike,\u201d said title leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/995158\/marco-bezzecchi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Marco Bezzecchi<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen MotoGP is quicker than Moto2, Moto3 so the braking is very difficult. It\u2019s not because of the device, I think.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor sure some tracks like Le Mans are a bit more difficult because you don\u2019t brake much for the first corner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I don\u2019t think it\u2019s because of the devices that sometimes a crash can happen at the start.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end, we all make mistakes. Everyone on the grid has done it. It\u2019s something that you really can\u2019t remove. It\u2019s part of racing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/gng_1317122_hires_1600x900_0.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Fabio di Giannantonio, 2026 Italian MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.78\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Fabio di Giannantonio, 2026 Italian MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p>Catalunya winner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/995149\/fabio-di-giannantonio\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fabio di Giannantonio<\/a> highlighted the unpredictability of braking for Turn 1 compared to a normal lap.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think the devices make a big difference. Also if you see Superbikes, they are pretty fast like us, and at the first corner sometimes you can see some disasters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first thing is that we only experience the first corner, all riding together, just twice per weekend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s say that when you do a normal lap, you brake for the first corner here at Mugello at 200-250 metres.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut when you do a start, the brake point depends a lot on how you started. If you arrive faster or slower the braking point is different. So every time is different. You don\u2019t have a really clear point to brake.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecondly, we are riding at a few tracks where we arrive for Turn 1 at a really high speed. But still not the full speed we are used to arriving at.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s better to arrive every lap at 360km\/h and brake in the same point than to arrive once at 300km\/h and not know where to stop the bike.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shortening the distance between the grid and Turn 1 &#8211; as widely proposed for Catalunya &#8211; might help, Diggia said, but won\u2019t eliminate the issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think in the future maybe we can work to arrive a little slower to the first corner. That can help a little with this. But I think also we will always see some mistakes,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c24 riders all together, we all know how important the first corner and first lap is, so everybody will be aggressive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s more about being conscious, careful and trying not to create problems. But it\u2019s tough to predict.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/gng_1317119_hires_1600x900.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Pecco Bagnaia, 2026 Italian MotoGP.\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.78\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Pecco Bagnaia, 2026 Italian MotoGP.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a9\u00a0Gold and Goose<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/911999\/francesco-bagnaia\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pecco Bagnaia <\/a>was directly involved in Zarco\u2019s Catalunya accident after being hit from behind under braking.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that [the devices are] just more difficult in three grand prix: Le Mans, Silverstone and Phillip Island,\u201d said Bagnaia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are the only tracks where the first braking is not heavy, so it\u2019s easy not to disengage the devices.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApart from that, the devices are not more unsafe. Without them, you weave more on the straight, because you wheelie more.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, it\u2019s not the devices that have increased the level of injuries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s because we start twice, you want to gain as many positions as you can in the first part of the race, because if you are stuck behind it\u2019s difficult to overtake, the front tyre pressure goes up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you know there\u2019s a possibility to gain an advantage in the first acceleration and braking and you try more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut first corners incidents will always be there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>MotoGP riders proposed a ban on the use of holeshot devices at Le Mans, due to the high speed first corner, plus Silverstone and Phillip Island later in the year.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>The ban did not receive unanimous manufacturer backing during the French Grand Prix but is still under consideration for Silverstone and Phillip Island.<\/p>\n<p>Mugello, like Catalunya, has a long run from the grid to the first corner.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Incidents at the Catalan MotoGP mean that both Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco are absent from this weekend\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":700551,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,15118,7607,15612,10732,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-700550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fabio-di-giannantonio","tag-francesco-bagnaia","tag-johann-zarco","tag-marco-bezzecchi","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=700550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/700551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}