Carmelo Ezpeleta comments on Argentina MotoGP

Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has commented on the issues surrounding the start of the Argentina MotoGP, which was delayed due to the changing weather conditions before beginning with a bizarre two-part grid.

“The MotoGP race and the other races took place under a very difficult situation due to the weather – Moto2 took place in dry conditions while Moto3 was in wet conditions," he said.

Jack Miller was the only rider to change from wets to slicks in time to stay on the grid, with the other 23 riders departing for pitlane to make the changes.

Those 23 should then have rejoined the track on the warm-up lap and started at the back of the grid, but the numbers involved meant that was impossible.

The start was delayed and a new grid created in the normal qualifying order, but shifted towards the back of the normal grid.

Miller meanwhile was left alone on pole, several rows in front of the rest.

Ezpeleta indicated that the revised procedure - 'the rider who made the right decision and did not move from the grid to start from his original position, while the others start from further back' - had been planned after Sachsenring 2014, when there had been a mass pitlane start after riders pulled in on the warm-up lap.

“We made the decision, shared by the majority of the teams, to start the way we did," said Ezpeleta.

“That decision was taken for safety reasons, and it was the right decision”.

Ezpeleta made no direct comment on the race itself, which saw world champion Marc Marquez penalised no less than three times, but added:

“The situation was very difficult due to weather conditions, there was a dry line on the asphalt. Then what happened is what everyone saw on TV”.

However, Ezpeleta defended the impartiality of the stewards: “Since two years ago Dorna is not involved in the nomination of stewards, they are people nominated by the FIM and by IRTA. They took the decision(s), which I will obviously not judge”.

Nonetheless: “In the next GP Safety Commission with the riders, in Austin, we will discuss this situation and for sure we will take some experience from that”.