There has been fury in the MotoGP paddock at this weekend's German Grand Prix at the circumstances that led to the death of FIM Stock European Championship leader Borja Gomez at Magny-Cours during last weekend's JuniorGP meeting - amid claims that the number of marshals and medical personnel available played a significant contributing factor into the tragedy.
Gomez, 20, died during a free practice session for the 600cc superstock class at the French circuit last Thursday when he was struck by another machine in the gravel trap as he walked away from his own fall.
Track contamination was the cause of multiple crashes at the Nurburgring chicane during the Thursday practice session, according to eyewitnesses who spoke to The Race, with a significant delay between Gomez's initial crash - in which he was not injured - and that of the machine that then fatally struck him.
According to sources who spoke to The Race on condition of anonymity, no flag marshals were present trackside during the event, with signals to riders instead being controlled by race control using the LED light panels installed at the circuit.
"Unfortunately, during the first free training at Magny-Cours, due to an incident we saw three riders involved in a fall," explained Italian racer Filippo Fuligni in a social media post.
"As soon as I realised the situation, I tried to warn other riders about the lack of flags.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything and I felt very helpless in this situation."
According to people in attendance at Magny-Cours who spoke to The Race, there was a delay of up to 10 minutes in the first ambulance reaching the scene, initially leaving the other fallen riders alone with Gomez.
"When I looked around, I saw my friend, my track partner, in very bad condition and I tried to do everything I could to stay by his side for what seemed like an endless amount of time while we waited for help, which was late," Fuligni added.
According to the FIM medical code, "vehicles type A [a vehicle 'equipped for rapid intervention to give the injured immediate assistance for respiratory and cardio-circulatory resuscitation'] are to be placed in such a way and in such numbers that a fallen rider can be reached by them within the minimum of delay from their deployment by race control".
The Stock European Championship was launched by the FIM in 2023 to provide an additional class to the oversubscribed European Moto2 championship, and runs as a support series to the JuniorGP championship organised by MotoGP and WorldSBK promoter Dorna.
JuniorGP's untimed Thursday sessions are run only as quasi-official parts of their seven-round race calendar, with circuits responsible for much of the organisation but with Dorna and FIM officials present to oversee them.
However, by officially classifying the Thursday events not as a part of the JuniorGP race weekend but instead as a pre-event test, it means that organisers then do not have to meet the conditions of their FIM circuit homologation, a document unique to every licensed venue which details things such as the provision of medical vehicles and the number of marshals required for racing.
One of those left furious about the tragic outcome was double MotoGP world champion Pecco Bagnaia, who stressed when he spoke exclusively to The Race about the incident that the events must never be allowed to happen again.
"I was following it because Matteo Gabarrini [son of Bagnaia's MotoGP crew chief Cristian] was racing in it," he explained, "and a friend of mine Filippo Fuligni was racing there and crashed in the same moment as him [Gomez].
"I'm very angry for what happened. I think it's not correct to let these kind of riders, who are super fast, to race in these conditions. They don't have any air fences, they don't have enough marshals to help.
"When Filippo crashed it was 30 seconds later [after Gomez's crash] and he didn't receive any flags. He was the one who started to make the signal that someone had crashed, and then he arrived to Borja to help him and saw that it was a critical situation and no one was there.
"For me, it is unacceptable that they didn't do the same as the race weekend. Many things make me angry for what happened there, and in the future riders must be more protected by the championship they race in. They must not be allowed to race in [just] any situation.
"Magny-Cours is a famous track, but that doesn't matter if safety is not the priority of every track. This is something that must change in the future, and a good example of disorganisation."
When approached by The Race, motorcycle racing's governing body the FIM confirmed that JuniorGP's Thursday sessions fall outside the remit of regular race weekends but that there was a presence from both Dorna and the FIM.
"In the FIM JuniorGP class (and for the support classes), the FIM official event begins on the track on Saturday morning and finishes late Sunday afternoon," a spokesperson explained.
"It has been a habit for several years that teams can familiarise themselves with the track on Thursdays and Fridays for private practice sessions (called testing sessions).
"These testing sessions take place under the supervision of track marshals and with the presence of doctors and of an operational medical service.
"The FIM has decided to provide insurance coverage for such testing sessions. At the same time, FIM and Dorna each send a representative from race direction to the circuit in order to prepare for the FIM JuniorGP World Championship round (and the support classes).
"These testing sessions are therefore enhanced track days but do not constitute official practice sessions."
The FIM also confirmed how many track staff were present at the time of Gomez's accident, with only 24 on-track marshals, two doctors and two paramedics, and two staff in race control operating the 16 LED light panels used in lieu of flags.
There has also been anger from the wider paddock because of the decision to continue with the remainder of the event following Gomez's death, with Italian racer Mathias Tamburini calling it an 'inhumane' move from the organisers.
"I didn't want to race," he told Spanish newspaper Estadio Deportivo, "but they forced us to. It was disrespectful and unacceptable. They only care about money."
This stance was echoed at this weekend's German Grand Prix by Gomez's friend Pedro Acosta, who also hit out at Dorna in the pre-event press conference on Thursday.
"I've known him since we were kids," said the Red Bull KTM racer, "because we lived 30 minutes from each other. It's s**t when you receive this news, and what the championship decided, going on with the race weekend, is the most disrespectful thing I've ever seen in my life.
"I think that many guys leading [running] these championships and making these things should think, if it happened to one of their kids, what they should do. Sometimes we say that the show must go on, but sometimes life is more special than a championship race."
When approached by The Race, Dorna declined to comment on any specifics of the incident, citing ongoing investigations, but echoed the comments of the FIM regarding the status of the series' Thursday track action as tests and not part of the regular race weekend.
"All teams were invited to a meeting late on Thursday afternoon," a spokesperson added, "to discuss whether the race weekend should take place.
"In the meeting, teams were asked to let the organisation know if they did not wish the event to take place, and none did."
Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours had not responded to The Race's request for comment at the time of publication.
