Marco Bezzecchi
Peter Bom and Mat Oxley believe MotoGP has stalled on making a big rule change, and the disaster at the Catalan Grand Prix was proof.
Alex Marquez’s horrifying crash at Montmelo forced a red flag during the Catalan Grand Prix. The restart of the race was similarly disastrous, as Johann Zarco’s collision with Luca Marini forced a second red flag.
Zarco sustained a knee injury and had to be taken to a local hospital for further examination after the crash, which could have been avoided had the race not been restarted.
Amidst the red flags, some amazing performances at the Catalan Grand Prix. But which rider stood out the most to you?
But even beyond the decision to restart the race, Peter Bom and Mat Oxley believe that the crashes at Barcelona came down to one rule change that MotoGP have dragged their heels on for some time.
In particular, it is the holeshot devices, which are being banned heading into the 2027 season, that are to blame for yesterday’s events, according to both Bom and Oxley.
READ MORE: Pedro Acosta says it wasn’t ‘necessary’ to restart Catalan Grand Prix after two red flags
Peter Bom suggests holeshot devices should have been removed to avoid Catalan GP disaster
Speaking on the Oxley Bom podcast, both Peter Bom and Mat Oxley criticised the use of holeshot devices and the role they played in the crashes at the Catalan Grand Prix.
Oxley explained how the speed boost these devices give lead to dangerous situations, while Bom called out MotoGP management for delaying the banning of these devices for so long.
Peter Bom: “The right high devices, the holeshot devices, are easier to remove from the whole system than everything else. And there’s no reason why manufacturers didn’t want them removed…
“It’s actually completely puzzling 120% why Dorna never called for the safety card and said, ’Okay, let’s get rid of it because it is clearly making all the stars always more dangerous.
“And then more so in Barcelona, where the guys reach fifth gear, and they’re over 200 km/h, and with all the errors, then that’s just an accident waiting to happen.
“One out of three or four starts, there is a disaster. And it was this time again. This time it was Zarco, but it’s not always that somebody keeps just laying there…”
Mat Oxley: “We’ve been saying this for ages. Once everybody has got holeshot devices, what’s the point? We all know they make the first corner more dangerous everywhere, because it means everybody gets a good start and they all arrive at the same time with a higher speed…”
Given that the Catalan Grand Prix circuit has a history of dangerous starts, both Oxley and Bom raise salient points about MotoGP officials not acting sooner to prevent a situation like the one we saw yesterday.
READ MORE: Neil Hodgson suspects veteran rider might be ‘done’ with MotoGP after seeing Catalan GP crashes
What safety changes, if any, do you want to see after the Catalan Grand Prix red flags?
Peter Bom claims MotoGP secretly ‘love’ the ‘spectacle’ of Catalan GP crashes
Speaking further during the podcast, Bom noted that riders must be more united when addressing these matters, as MotoGP officials reap the benefits of crashes like yesterday due to how much attention they garner.
“They don’t unite. They just think about the situations like free one and qualifying like 10 minutes ahead in their life. That’s the farthest they can think. They need a representative. They need to make a union because it costs money. Changes always cost money. Dorna isn’t going to be happy for that.
“Internally, they say, ‘Nobody died yet.’ It’s not bad publicity, small or relatively small crashes where nobody dies is actually good because the images we have from this weekend will be all over the world for the next couple of weeks, because it’s a spectacle. They love it. They won’t say it. But they love it.
“But the riders have to unite and say, ‘Come on!’ There’s not enough Luca Marinis. We need more Luca Marinis, more intelligence in the riders’ union, with an intelligent approach. But here we are.”
The crash yesterday must force Liberty Media to address MotoGP’s future plans, as it was not a good look for the sport to see the race resume twice despite very dangerous crashes.
Even with Alex Marquez avoiding long-term damage and injuries, there has to be a more careful approach from officials going forward.
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