Quartararo leads calls for action on Mandalika gravel traps
Fabio Quartararo has called for changes to be made to the Mandalika circuit's gravel traps in the wake of his crash during MotoGP practice at the Indonesian Grand Prix.
The Yamaha rider fell through Turn 8, the left-hand part of the circuit's fast Esses section, and was pitched into a sequence of rolls as he hit the gravel, which does not sit level with the runoff area in that section of the track.
It was reminiscent of Marc Marquez's tumble through the gravel at the preceding Turn 7 in last year's race, when he was wiped out by Marco Bezzecchi - an incident that left Marquez injured and forced him to miss the final four rounds of that season.
The consequences were not as severe for Quartararo, who was able to rejoin the session and went on to set the seventh-fastest time, securing a Q2 spot in the process, but he nevertheless insisted changes needed to be made.
"['I'm] a bit sore on the left side - the crash was fast but it was not a big one, just entering the gravel was the worst part," said Quartararo.
"But luckily nothing is broken, just some muscle things in the thumb, so we could go back to the bike, but tomorrow I will wake up a bit sore."
Asked by The Race about his impact with the gravel, he added: "For me it’s the same as last year, [with] Marc.
"Last year there is no gravel or better place, he goes out without nothing, and today I was lucky because the crash was nothing spectacular, but just when you hit the gravel it’s bad, so they have to do something on this area."
And asked what could be changed, Quartararo - who acknowledged he had been trying a different line through Turn 7, "one of my worst corners" on the calendar, before he crashed - said: "I think we need to put at least in the same height as the Tarmac, because I think it’s a bit higher, so when you arrive you just bump in the air - so I think it's too high."
Marquez said he felt it would be diligent for MotoGP were the gravel traps to be reassessed because it would reduce the risk of damage (and the associated financial impact) to both the riders and their bikes.
"Honestly speaking, I'm fighting for a championship and I didn't check how was the gravel," he said, when asked by The Race about Quartararo's crash.
"We always complain. It's true that it's not good for the safety of the riders, it's not good even for the bikes. Because they are always trying to adjust the budget but the best way to save budget is to try to save the riders and the bikes from this kind of crashes.
"That area, as we know, is super-fast. And when you go in the gravel with that high speed, the damage is there.
"I didn't see Fabio's crash very well. The thing is that the riders, we cannot check, corner-by-corner. [There are] people that are working for that. So just try to ride without thinking on that kind of thing."
