Marco Bezzecchi
With the recently concluded Brazilian Grand Prix marking the return of MotoGP after 22 years on the sidelines, the race weekend was far from a smooth operation due to the poor quality of the tarmac that was laid in Goiania.
The first conundrum that circuit officials ran into came on Saturday, when a sinkhole appeared to open up on the main pit straight. The Sprint race was delayed by 75 minutes due to it, but a speedy repair saw the issue neutralised for the remainder of the weekend.
A SINKHOLE has been discovered at the Brazilian GP
Is this the wildest thing you've seen during a MotoGP weekend?
However, the track surface continued to throw curveballs for competitors in the form of loose asphalt. Images that circulated online portrayed a disintegrating circuit, which brought down the wrath of MotoGP fans on the organisers of the race.
Marc Marquez also wasn’t happy with the way things unfolded in Goiania. The Ducati rider was furious with the delay to the Sprint, and was just as irate with the track surface after revealing how it ruined his hunt for a podium in the Grand Prix.
- READ MORE: MotoGP cameras caught Davide Tardozzi raging at Carlos Ezpeleta over late Brazilian GP change
MotoGP fans slam the Brazilian Grand Prix for ‘disgraceful’ track surface conditions
After an image of the loose tarmac at the Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna was posted to social media via the official X account of journalist Simon Patterson, MotoGP fans shared their fury with race officials.
One fan shared their frustrations with the first race weekend on Brazilian soil since 2004 being marred by issues with the tarmac, writing, “After more than 20 years since the last GP in Brazil, is this the best the organisers could have done?”
“Embarrassing. How is this even allowed?” wrote another furious spectator.
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Another fan raised concerns over rider safety, commenting, “I understand that the show must go on, but they literally put their lives on the line. The riders should absolutely refuse to run in conditions like these.”
One Reddit user stated, “This cannot be tolerated. Absolutely unacceptable,” while another called it “absolutely disgraceful”.
“I love that MotoGP is back in Brazil, but this weekend was a collection of bad decisions all around,” said another keen fan of the premier class.
- READ MORE: Neil Hodgson has never seen Marc Marquez so ‘annoyed’ after Brazilian GP, ‘he rarely shows that’
Marc Marquez ‘decided not to push too hard’ after having a close call on the loose tarmac
During Marquez’s post-race comments, he detailed just how difficult it was to have confidence in his prototype while racing atop the loose tarmac. The Spaniard suffered a close call at one stricken area of the circuit, effectively ending his desire to push the GP26.
Speaking to journalists via Motosan, the reigning world champion said, “Today, the podium was possible, but unfortunately, I made a mistake in a turn where the asphalt was peeling off. I lost the front end because I pushed too hard.
“The asphalt is coming loose. In general, the conditions allowed us to continue, but if you went over that spot, which was right in the racing line, it became very easy to lose grip. When I hit it, I lost the front end.
“After that mistake, I decided not to push too hard. I knew Di Giannantonio was behind me and would attack me, so it was better to collect points than risk a crash.”
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