Luca Marini suggests ‘renegotiating’ MotoGP’s qualifying format

Luca Marini believes MotoGP should consider revising its current qualifying format, claiming the existing system places a “huge handicap” on riders who fail to reach Q2.

Most places for the Q2 pole position shootout are determined by finishing inside the top ten in Friday afternoon Practice. 

The remaining riders then compete in Qualifying 1 on Saturday morning for the last two Q2 transfer spots.

Those who miss out start 13th or lower (in Q1 order) with the same grid used for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, effectively punishing a poor qualifying twice.

“With the current level [of MotoGP], not making it into Q2 is a huge handicap,” Marini told GPone.com.

“It would be nice to try to renegotiate the format with all teams and riders.

“If you get screwed by a crash or a yellow flag [cancelling your best lap], it’s a shame to throw away the entire weekend.

“Now there are two starts, and qualifying has become even more important.”

Marini proposed a simple modification: Allowing more riders to progress from Q1 to Q2, as already happens in Moto2 and Moto3, where four riders advance. 

“It would also be good to simply increase the number of riders who make it from Q1 to Q2, so if someone [is] in Q1 but has the pace to win the race, they can have more opportunities,” he said.

The smaller classes also allow 14 riders to receive direct Qualifying 2 access on a Friday afternoon, meaning a total of 18 riders fighting for pole position rather than the 12 seen in MotoGP.

“However, that’s how it is now and we need to get better at being in the mix right from [Friday]," Marini continued.

"The problem is that starting 13th [Marini’s position at Sepang] requires a miracle at the first corner.”

Some of the biggest comeback podiums of this season - all achieved by riders within Qualifying 2 - include Marco Bezzecchi’s win from 10th at Silverstone, Francesco Bagnaia’s second place from 11th in Qatar, Fabio di Giannantonio’s 10th-to-2nd feat in Phillip Island and Enea Bastianini’s 11th-to-3rd in the Brno Sprint. 

Meanwhile, Marini, currently 14th in the BMW Best Qualifier Award standings, stopped short of calling qualifying the RC213V’s last real weakness.

But he admitted Honda's rivals can exploit the rear tyre better over one lap.

“The others can extract more potential from the rear tyre for the first lap. They have more grip.

“This is something that we need to understand, because also Yamaha, that is always slower than us [in races], in qualifying is able to find good potential. And KTM that sometimes in races struggle a lot, but in qualifying is amazing... Ducati and Aprilia are the bikes with more balance.

“We just need to do a step in the time attack so all the riders on a Honda can start more in front and then we can fight for the podium.”

Marini crashed while trying to pass Pol Espargaro for eighth place in the Malaysian Sprint but recovered to finish eighth in Sunday’s Grand Prix.