MotoGP star blames start devices for recent turn one collisions
Pramac Yamaha rider Jack Miller says MotoGP should remove start devices following another huge accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Jack Miller says it’s time MotoGP removes start devices following a series of turn one collisions in Barcelona and Balaton Park.
The Pramac Yamaha rider believes the start device was behind Jorge Martin’s error during Sunday’s Grand Prix in Hungary, which saw five riders wiped out on lap one, including the 2024 MotoGP champion.
In the aftermath of the race, Aprilia Racing CEO, Massimo Rivola, put the collision down to a mistake from the team’s rider. However, Miller seems to disagree with this, saying the bike “jumped” forward after Martin attempted to remove the device.
Miller was one of the riders who benefited most from the collision as it elevated him into fourth place, before he faded to seventh during the second half of the Grand Prix. Speaking about the incident, Miller said:
“Jorge [Martin] tried to get the device out, [but the] bike jumped and then when it starts jumping it's difficult to make it stop. I've been saying all along, since Barcelona, since we saw two crashes at the first corner, the same sort of thing: take them [start devices] off, everybody's at the same level.
“At the end of the day we're making an unnatural manoeuvre, especially here in Balaton where turn one was quite slippery with the new asphalt, that you weren't even really able – without locking the front – to really get that transfer, not enough transfer to unlock the devices.
“So, another device related crash I believe. Everybody's even, we need to, you know, we're all arriving here in Balaton probably an extra 15-20kph faster and then doing an unnatural braking manoeuvre. We take off the front device, it makes everybody's life easier and everybody is in the same boat. We're all in the same boat at the moment, except the boat is going 30kph faster.”
These comments come after MotoGP is reportedly discussing a new start procedure with teams. A change could see MotoGP implement a two-rider-per-row format, rather than three, which has been in place since 2004.
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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.
