COTA MotoGP grid madness was deliberate Marquez tactic
Marc Marquez has owned up to deliberately (and successfully) playing for an aborted start with his sprint off the Austin grid
Ducati MotoGP rider Marc Marquez has owned up to deliberately playing for an aborted start in the Grand Prix of the Americas when he suddenly ran off the grid into the pitlane for a change of bikes.
The MotoGP broadcast had to interrupt its intro as it captured the delirious moments of Marquez abandoning the grid and several riders following suit just as the race was about to head into its warm-up lap.
All but three riders on the grid had been planning to start on wets due to rain pre-race, but with pitlane exit long closed Marquez realised once the choice had already been made that it was the wrong choice.
The three outliers - Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini and Ai Ogura - were due to benefit hugely.
Yet MotoGP has had a rule since it had to navigate similar start chaos back in 2018 in Argentina - when everyone save for Jack Miller rushed to the pits for slicks and the start was aborted - that more than 10 riders starting from the pitlane in a scenario like this requires an aborted start.
"I really know the rules," Marquez told MotoGP.com afterwards. "And how to do, and how to be on the limit all the time.
"And yeah, I asked to [Marco] Rigamonti my chief mechanic, seven minutes before the start, if the second bike was ready. He told me ‘yes’. And then I said to him 'maybe I will leave the grid'. Why? Because I predicted when I will leave - I saw that the rain tyres were [already] not the correct strategy - and I predicted that when I will leave, more than 10 riders will follow me and then they'll stop the race. And that's what happened."
The decision was set to reward Marquez with a win - only for him to crash out from a commanding lead.
...but his calculation was wrong
The ironic caveat in the situation is that Marquez was actually wrong in his assessment of how many riders would follow him - yet still got the result he wanted.
Exactly 10 riders abandoned their grid slots for a change of bike - as Luca Marini in seventh, Fabio Quartararo in 11th and every rider from 13th down remained in their spots.
Under the MotoGP regulations, this does not necessitate an aborted start as prescribed in Article 1.18.1 - which specifies "more than 10 riders".
However, with much movement in the pitlane and Maverick Vinales puzzlingly running down the grid without a bike, race direction called off the start.
It led to a strong reaction from a "very upset" Davide Brivio, Ogura's team boss at Trackhouse, who felt race direction had mismanaged the start and cost his rider an extremely advantageous position.
Race director Mike Webb explained in a statement: “We called for a delay and then quick start procedure due to safety concerns. Given the number of riders, bikes and pit staff on the grid and in the pitlane area, it was impossible to start the warm-up lap.
"A new race start was the safest way to respond to the unprecedented circumstances at the start of the grand prix.
"We will analyse the situation together with the teams and revisit the regulations.”
