KTM star takes aim at MotoGP for restarting Catalunya race
Was MotoGP right to restart the Catalunya Grand Prix twice? KTM’s Pedro Acosta thinks not.
Last weekend’s Catalunya MotoGP was the ugliest race the sport has seen in a long time, and restarting it on two separate occasions rubbed one particular rider the wrong way.
After starting from pole position, KTM’s Pedro Acosta encountered a technical issue in the middle of the back straight, which caused Alex Marquez to ram the KTM at full speed.
What happened next was pretty awful and terrifying to watch, as Marquez immediately became a passenger as his Gresini Ducati launched into the air. It sent the Spaniard flying from his machine, who appeared to be unconscious on impact.
Debris then started flying off the completely wrecked Desmosedici machine, including a tyre which hit Fabio di Giannantonio, causing the eventual race winner to crash as well.
As a result, the race was red-flagged and restarted, albeit without Marquez, who was taken to hospital, and Enea Bastianini, who suffered his own technical gremlins aboard his Tech3 KTM.
But when the race restarted, a massive collision then took place at turn one, involving Johann Zarco, Luca Marini and Francesco Bagnaia. Zarco was the rider who came off worst, as he too was quickly taken to hospital.
With two massive shunts already, questions began circulating as to whether MotoGP would, and should, call it a day. But that was not the case as decision makers quickly confirmed that a second restart, third attempt to complete the race altogether, would go ahead.
This led to criticism, with pole sitter Acosta calling into question the decision to put MotoGP riders through another start, given what had already happened.
Speaking after the race to TNT Sports, Acosta said about the decision to restart again:
“I don’t really think it’s necessary after two red flags to go again for a third try. For this, I think these things are not really necessary. At the end of the day, the show is important, but we are the ones that make the show. Like I say, it’s not necessary to have a third try of something that can go really bad.”
Aprilia’s Jorge Martin agreed with Acosta, saying:
“I think that we have to think about the human side. At one point it was unnecessary to continue the Grand Prix. But the show must go on, and we don’t decide. But seeing the ambulances on the track, seeing that people are fighting for their lives and [we’re] still racing is not necessary.”
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
