Although the first ever
MotoGP bike swaps, held under full racing conditions, passed without major incident at Phillip Island on Sunday, some riders felt that more should be done to minimise the risk of a pit lane accident or obstruction.
The bike changes were triggered by heavy rainfall five laps into the Australian Grand Prix which, prior to 2005, would have seen the race stopped and restarted. However, new rules state that the race will continue uninterrupted with riders instead allowed to pull into the pits and change to their spare bike, fitted with wet weather tyres, as and when they see fit.
"When we came into the pit-lane to change bikes the pit-lane was full and there were plenty of people who didn't need to be there and I can't really understand why," stated Repsol Honda's
Dani Pedrosa, who was eighth before the pit stops but 13th afterwards. "I lost some time and after I changed bikes many of the riders who were behind me before were in front."
"It was a strange situation, like when you play on the Playstation, because there were a lot of people in the pit-lane and it was hard to get to your own box," stated race winner
Marco Melandri, whose Fortuna Honda team-mate
Toni Elias was one of the riders who narrowly avoided a collision:
"I nearly came together with Vermeulen as I went to change on to my second bike," confirmed the Spaniard.
