Sadly, Sunday’s horrific Moto3 accident at Sepang was of a kind known only too well in motorcycle racing: one bike moving slowly, for whatever reason, rammed by another moving at high speed.
Similar accidents ended the careers of American star Bubba Shobert, during the 1989 US Grand Prix, 250cc ace Reinhold Roth, during the 1990 Yugoslav GP, and killed TT winner Norman Brown and Swiss privateer Peter Huber during the 1983 British GP.
More recently, Marc Márquez and Ratthapark Wilairot were incredibly lucky to avoid serious injury when the Spaniard clattered into the back of Wilairot during the 2011 Australian GP.
There is nothing more dangerous in racing than collisions involving a big speed differential. During Sunday’s Moto3 sighting lap, Noah Dettwiler was riding at low speed, apparently with a technical issue, when José Antonio Rueda rode into him at high speed.
Rueda escaped with a hand fracture and other lesser injuries, while Dettwiler is in a serious condition, currently undergoing multiple surgeries in Kuala Lumpur.
What can be done to avoid further accidents of this kind? The contributing factors were Dettwiler’s likely technical issue and possibly a moment’s inattention by Rueda, who may have been checking his dash, making sure that all was well with his bike as he made his way to the grid.
The most obvious answer is to reinstate Sunday morning warm-up sessions for the Moto3 and Moto2 classes. These were axed at the start of 2023 to accommodate the MotoGP riders’ parade, as part of rights-holder Dorna’s push to improve the fan experience.
Many paddock people opposed this move at the time, because the primary reason for Sunday warm-up sessions is safety. Most teams strip their motorcycles, fully or partially, following Saturday qualifying, so it’s important to allow riders and teams the chance to check that their machines are running correctly before the race.
Noah Dettwiler is undergoing multiple surgeries in Kuala Lumpur
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This is true for every motorcycle, but especially for those that may have been damaged in crashes during Saturday qualifying. Currently, Moto3 or Moto2 riders who ended their Saturday with a crash go to the grid unsure whether their motorcycles are 100% ready to race. This is obviously a ridiculous situation.
Moto2 and Moto3 warm-ups should be reinstated immediately, because safety should never be compromised for commercial reasons.
Should Sunday’s Moto3 race have gone ahead after the Rueda/Dettwiler accident? Many riders thought not, including Pecco Bagnaia.
“For me, letting young riders race after seeing helicopters taking two of them away isn’t the perfect way,” said the twice MotoGP champion. “I will never understand [it].”
Dorna, its parent company the Formula One Group, and its parent company Liberty Media need to take a long, hard look at themselves because there are other reasons they need to reconsider their attitude to safety.
So far this year there have been only two MotoGP races that have started with the grid featuring all 22 full-time riders – Barcelona and Misano. In 2023, the first season of sprint races, there wasn’t a single grand prix that started with a full grid. This is no coincidence.
The sprint format has made MotoGP more dangerous by overheating the weekend: riders are already in maximum-risk qualifying mode in the second practice session, which is crazy, then they continue at maximum risk through the Q1 and Q2 qualifying sessions, before facing two race starts, which are the most dangerous moments of any race.
And the start and opening laps of a MotoGP race have never been riskier than they are now, because riders know that this is when races are won or lost, due to the championship’s current technical situation.
The start of Sunday’s Malaysian MotoGP race
Dorna/MotoGP
First, they charge towards the first corner with their bikes in drag-race mode, with the suspension locked down, which makes bikes very difficult to steer, then they must brake for the first corner in a particular way, not only to reduce speed but also to disengage their holeshot devices.
If they make it through the first corner, the first two laps are insane, because it’s vital to barge your way to the front if you don’t want to destroy your race due to tyre-pressure issues and the difficulty of overtaking, thanks to big aero, ride-height devices and so on.
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Thus, riders have no choice but to take big risks if they want a good result, which, of course, they all do.
MotoGP is currently without its 2024 champion Jorge Martín and its reigning champion Marc Márquez because both injured in lap-one crashes, in the Japanese and Indonesian GPs. Again, this isn’t coincidence.
Dorna’s and Liberty’s main aim is to grow MotoGP, but how do you grow the championship when its biggest stars are in hospital? This surely isn’t that hard to work out.
Liberty only recently completed its acquisition of Dorna and MotoGP, but hopefully, it’s already becoming aware of the fact that MotoGP riders don’t have F1-style safety cells protecting them.
The 2027 rules, which ban holeshot devices, ride-height devices and reduce downforce aero, can’t come soon enough. Hopefully, these changes will make the opening laps less desperate, but of course we won’t know until we get there.
Motor Sport extends its best wishes to Noah Dettwiler, José Antonio Rueda and their loved ones at this difficult time.
