Several riders have called for MotoGP to address the problem of dangerous race starts after both Pecco Bagnaia and Fermin Aldeguer lost traction as the lights went out in the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race, sending them into the path of the pack behind.
Both were lucky to escape what could have been a huge pile-up thanks only to the quick reactions of those around them, but it was not the first time in 2025 that such events have occurred at the start of races.
Synchronized start spin by @pecco63 and @Aldeguer54 🚥#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/1nGSI5poFt
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 16, 2025
It is something that Honda rider Luca Marini, one of those forced to take avoiding action, said needs now to be addressed.
"F***, that was quite dangerous," he said afterwards. "Everybody was super lucky. We need to also talk about this topic in the safety commission.
"Because on Thursday they asked us to not put the [visor] tear-offs on the grid, to try to avoid this kind of things [wild starts] - but also we need a little bit of effort from them, from the track, to try to clean the grid position.
"It's something really common in the last two years, that the bike starts now to spin a lot in the first part of acceleration. So, can be dangerous and we need to try to avoid this.
"When we try the practice start, if we stay out of the line, every time it's easy to spin a lot. But OK, if it's in practice, everybody is more careful and it's OK. But in the grid it's something really dangerous. And we can try to have a little bit more safety also in this kind of situation."
Marini said that the ride height devices allowing MotoGP bikes to put more power to the ground quicker at the start were part of the problem, as was the fact that the Red Bull Ring layout allowed teams to set up their bikes to go very low to the ground during the start.
"On some tracks you have to start with the bike higher, like at Le Mans, but here you can go full down, and then you can put full torque also in second gear - and maybe first for some manufacturers."
He did not disagree that this could justify banning ride height devices - ahead of their confirmed removal under the new rules in 2027 - in-season on safety grounds, but said: "For me it's no problem to take out tomorrow. No problem. But we have to discuss, it's not just a rider question. It's also for the manufacturers, all the teams, everybody needs to agree, many people that need to talk."
Marini's sentiment was echoed by another of those taking avoiding action, Franco Morbidelli, who explained that while he saw what was happening immediately in front of him as the lights went out, it was the fact both Aldeguer and Bagnaia in front of him hit trouble that made the situation much more dangerous.
"I saw that Fermin had that moment," said Morbidelli. "I said, 'OK, I'm going to try and avoid him', and I was paying attention to him. I was going to the left, and as soon as I understood that everything was going to be fine with him, I looked straight and there is [Enea] Bastianini and Pecco standing in the middle of my start.
"I had to shut the throttle, and miss them by really a little. If you check out the images again, it's close. We were lucky.
"It's becoming more frequent. I don't know what we can do, but for sure it's not ideal to have people standing still in the middle of the starts. It's definitely not ideal."
For his part, rookie Aldegeur admitted that he was confused by exactly what had happened, and wasn't completely convinced that he had been caught out by the dirty track - even starting, as he did, on the outside portion of the Red Bull Ring grid, an area where normally little action regularly happens.
"I think the track [wasn't clean there]," he said. "At the end I practiced starts, and I didn't do the slide, the mistake. Also Pecco did this start. I don't know. It's difficult to understand because it happens sometimes, other times no.
"The first thing that you think when you are on the bike is that the tyre is not good. But I tried in the race to not think about this, tried to do my pace with calm, and lap by lap I was going better."
Aldeguer confirmed that he had never practiced starts during the weekend from that side of the track.
"Where the space is, you put [the bike for a practice start]. You don't know on Friday morning whether you start fifth, sixth or 20th.
"For Marc, Alex and Pecco it's very easy, they know so well where is their grid position! For me sometimes it's 18th, another time sixth."
While Aldeguer might not have believed that he had a bad tyre, double world champion Bagnaia was less convinced.
He said he'd struggled with the feeling from his bike even before the race had started, and was quite clear in his explanation of what had gone wrong - even if he, like all riders on the grid, is banned from directly criticising single tyre manufacturer Michelin.
"I'm just waiting that the engineers explain to me what happened, because honestly it's quite strange," said Bagnaia, who pulled into the pits before the end of the race.
The day is done for @peccobagnaia ❌#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/EwmApbqbcb
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 16, 2025
"I started super bad, but already in the warm-up lap I felt very strange rear grip. I started the race, I slid a lot, and after three laps I had finished the rear tyre. I had a lot of shaking on the straights, and I arrived in corner one without brakes because the shaking made the pads open.
"So then I decided to stop, because it was already too much. Really strange, because I was expecting to have the pace enough to fight for the podium. But unfortunately nothing worked, so let's see if I can do something more tomorrow. But like I said before, I need some explanation to know better what to do.
"Maybe we started on the dirty part of the track, and it was already not the greatest part of the track, but already exiting from corner three on the warm-up lap I knew that something was strange because the bike started to spin a lot, also when I was on the straight.
"This is something that must not happen, but sometimes it does."
