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Which is why, after three first-corner crashes across the past three rounds in Catalunya, Italy and Hungary that have left multiple riders battered and bruised \u2013 and fortunately with nothing more than broken bones and time spent sitting on the sidelines \u2013 MotoGP\u2019s rider corps are getting restless. <\/p>\n
Start devices \u2013 launch devices, holeshot devices, call them what you will \u2013 are being banned in MotoGP as part of the 850cc engine regulation revolution set for next season. But with 14 rounds remaining in this season \u2013 and 28 race starts when you include sprints \u2013 there\u2019s one easy fix that can help make a sport that can never truly be safe somewhat safer. <\/p>\n
Outlaw them now. <\/p>\n
Just ask Jack Miller. <\/p>\n
\u201cTake them off,\u201d Miller forthrightly said after last weekend\u2019s Hungarian Grand Prix, when an out of control Jorge Martin \u2013 clearly struggling to get his Aprilia\u2019s start device disengaged in the short run to Balaton Park\u2019s first corner \u2013 speared into championship-leading teammate Marco Bezzecchi<\/a>, Bezzecchi\u2019s bike then taking out Ducati riders Fermin Aldeguer and Fabio Di Giannantonio, and Aprilia stablemate Raul Fernandez. <\/p>\n MORE MOTOGP NEWS<\/p>\n TALKING PTS: <\/a>Aprilia fumble gift for champ, Aussie rides luck luck<\/p>\n AUSSIE\u2019S MOTOGP CHANCE?<\/a> Tech3 boss \u2018open\u2019 to 2027 rookie,<\/p>\n Marquez reaches 100 win milestone! | 00:43<\/p>\n Fortunately, no riders involved in the incident were seriously injured, and Di Giannantonio remounted his crashed Ducati and continued in the race. <\/p>\n But to Miller, that\u2019s not the point. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been quite vocal about the ride-height device,\u201d he added, his exasperation evident. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all arriving [at the first corner] at the same time, grab abnormal amounts of brake first to get the rear [of the bike] to recover, and second to unlock the front [suspension].<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason why everything is even more chaotic at turn one because of the ride-height device is because everybody has it. Nobody has a clear advantage any more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018WE RISK TOO MUCH\u2019: RIDERS CRITICAL AFTER ANOTHER SCARY SHUNT<\/p>\n Start, or holeshot, devices in MotoGP aren\u2019t new \u2013 Ducati was using the earliest version of theirs as far back as 2018. But as the grid caught on to their advantages and caught up with the Italian manufacturer\u2019s innovation, they\u2019ve become an essential part of what makes a MotoGP monster go from a standing start to full speed as rapidly as they do. <\/p>\n Martin wipes out 5 riders in mass crash! | 00:53<\/p>\n PIT TALK PODCAST: Renita, Michael and Matt catch up with Haas F1 reserve driver Jack Doohan, chat to Broc Feeney about his Supercars season, and wrap up last weekend\u2019s racing with F1 at Monaco and MotoGP in Hungary. Listen to Pit Talk now<\/a><\/p>\n How do they work? With 300-plus horsepower from a 1000cc engine capable \u2013 as we saw at the recent Italian Grand Prix \u2013 of pushing a MotoGP machine to 368.6km\/h<\/a> as Aprilia\u2019s Bezzecchi and Martin both managed at Mugello, keeping the front wheel down when all that torque is transferred to the rear tyre off a standing start requires more than a subtle right wrist. <\/p>\n As the riders prepare for the start of the race, they activate a setting that manually lowers the bike\u2019s suspension, minimising the propensity of the bike to wheelie and allowing for more effective torque transfer through the rear wheel. The \u2018device\u2019, as riders refer to it, should be disengaged when a rider brakes for the first corner, returning the machine to its normal, racing, clearance from the ground. <\/p>\n Marquez overcomes Q2 crash to win sprint | 00:56<\/p>\n The key words, and the caveats? \u201cShould be\u201d, and certain circuits where the first corner \u2013 think Le Mans in France, Silverstone in England and Phillip Island in Australia \u2013 isn\u2019t a braking area where a rider will actually brake hard enough to guarantee the device isn\u2019t disengaged. <\/p>\n Back in May 2024<\/a>, a key component of the regulations set out for 2027 onwards, once you\u2019d read past the change from 1000cc machines to 850cc bikes, was that such devices would be outlawed. <\/p>\n Back then, MotoGP\u2019s sprint race era \u2013 where half-distance races on the Saturday of every race weekend came in from 2023 \u2013 was already in full swing. From 22 starts per year, riders were now doing double that. More starts equals more jeopardy, potentially more accidents, and the higher propensity of riders being injured or compromised. <\/p>\n At the French Grand Prix in May this year \u2013 where the first corner at Le Mans is a flat-out right sweeper that leads up to a chicane where start devices become disengaged \u2013 the standard Friday safety commission meeting suggested a ban on holeshot devices at the aforementioned tracks for the remainder of this season before the devices go for good next year. <\/p>\n While a proposal was submitted to remove them, the lack of unanimous agreement among MotoGP\u2019s five manufacturers meant the status quo was retained. <\/p>\n A MotoGP bike entering a fast first corner with an engaged holeshot device will be lower and not turn or handle as well; add 22 riders hurtling towards the same first braking point in a pack, and the potential for chaos is magnified. <\/p>\n MORE MOTOGP NEWS<\/p>\n RACE REPORT<\/a> Marquez takes magical 100th win as Aprilia teammates collide<\/p>\n ROULSTONE RETURNS <\/a> Aussie gets world championship lifeline as Moto2 stand-in<\/p>\n One round after Le Mans in Barcelona<\/a>, the sprint start at the longest run to the first corner of any track on the calendar \u2013 595 metres \u2013 saw Brad Binder (KTM) and Joan Mir (Honda) crash out. In the restarted Sunday Grand Prix, Honda\u2019s Johann Zarco crashed and had his left knee wedged between the rear seat unit and rear tyre of Francesco Bagnaia\u2019s crashed Ducati. The Frenchman has been sidelined since, and requires surgery before a timetable can be established for his return. <\/p>\n Two rounds after that came Martin\u2019s incident last Sunday at Balaton Park, where the 2024 world champion lost control of his Aprilia well before the tightening Turn 1 right-hander that riders have been critical of since the track first came onto the calendar last year. <\/p>\n Five riders went down after Martin\u2019s botched first corner in Hungary last Sunday. (Photo by Ferenc ISZA \/ AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n While there was a percentage of rider error in all three accidents across the past three rounds, the way the bikes start in modern-day MotoGP is, to at least some degree, a factor. <\/p>\n To be fair to Martin, his first-corner gaffe was out of character for a rider who, this season, has used the scorching starts of his Aprilia RS-GP as a way to mitigate his generally poor qualifying performances. <\/p>\n The Spaniard was MotoGP\u2019s one-lap king for much of his time at Ducati, but after an injury-ravaged title defence in 2024, has become a qualifying question-mark, trailing teammate Bezzecchi 7-1 in their head-to-head qualifying battles this year. <\/p>\n On average, Martin\u2019s average starting position this year \u2013 6.8 \u2013 ranks him sixth (behind Marc Marquez, Di Giannantonio, Bezzecchi, Pedro Acosta and Alex Marquez). So how is he just 20 points behind Bezzecchi \u2013 less than one Grand Prix win \u2013 and second in the standings? <\/p>\n