Holeshot device ban proposed at Le Mans MotoGP

Among the topics raised by riders in Friday’s Safety Commission meeting at Le Mans was a ban on the use of holeshot devices for race starts at several tracks this season.

The circuits in question - Le Mans, Silverstone and Phillip Island - all feature a fast first turn, creating difficulties in releasing the single-use front and rear holeshot devices.

Holeshot or start devices drop the rear of the machines even lower than the normal ride-height settings.

For the start only, a front system is also used, lowering the centre of gravity further and helping to avoid wheelies.

Both the front and rear devices are then disengaged by the braking force generated at Turn 1.

However, the lack of braking for a fast first corner increases the chance of the bike being stuck in a fully lowered position.

Alternatively, if a rider brakes unnaturally hard at Turn 1, to ensure the holeshot system releases, they risk being hit by riders behind.

Riders have the option of not activating their holeshot devices, but would then face the prospect of losing ground to rivals off the line.

Following Friday’s Safety Commission meeting with riders, a proposal was submitted to ban all holeshot devices for the race starts at Le Mans, Silverstone and Phillip Island.

The use of normal ride-height devices, after the first corner, would not be affected.

An extra practice start session was planned to allow teams to tune their bikes without the devices.

However, nothing will change for this weekend's French MotoGP due to a lack of unanimous agreement among the manufacturers.

Sylvain Guintoli explained on TNT Sports: “There were a lot of issues last year at the start here, and also Phillip Island and Silverstone.

“All those Turn 1s do not have very harsh braking zones. But to unlock their front and rear ride-height devices, riders need to transfer a lot onto the front end of the bike.

“They have to be very aggressive to be able to do that. And if they can't unlock it, then you become sort of a passenger. 

"The bike handles completely differently. It's essentially a chopper. The bike is super long, super low, and you can't turn or slow down as much as you want.

“That creates a massive risk when you've got 22 riders trying to fit into the same piece of tarmac. 

"So to me it makes a lot of sense to stop using them on those tracks."

It remains to be seen if a holeshot ban will be put in place for Silverstone (August) and Phillip Island (October).

“This was discussed last year already, when Bastianini bumped into Pecco Bagnaia here, so why did they not anticipate it?” Guintoli added.

All forms of holeshot/ride-height devices will be prohibited from the start of the 2027 season.