Enea Bastianini frustrated by MotoGP safety inaction; Fabio Quartararo highlights rider divide

Tech3 rider Enea Bastianini says he has stopped attending MotoGP Safety Commission meetings due to his frustration over a lack of progress on key issues.

The Safety Commission meets on Fridays during grand prix weekends, providing riders with a forum to raise concerns with officials and push for improvements.

Rider safety was thrust back into the spotlight at last month’s returning Brazilian Grand Prix, where track surface issues, including a sinkhole and asphalt degradation, dominated talks.

MotoGP is also set to race at a bona fide street circuit for the first time in the modern era, with Adelaide set to replace Phillip Island as the host venue for the Australian Grand Prix in 2027.

Against that backdrop, Bastianini expressed his disappointment about the Safety Commission, saying such meetings don’t always lead to positive outcomes.

“We have the Safety Commission. It's very difficult to talk in the Safety Commission,” he said. “I'm trying to be satisfied for the future.

“We talk a lot about safety. Every time we talk about safety, but not every time something changes. I'm a bit disappointed about it.

“This year, I've never stayed in the Safety Commission because I haven't seen a lot of difference, to be honest.”

Bastianini hurt his back after being hit by Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo on MotoGP’s maiden visit to Balaton Park last year.

While the circuit received generally positive reviews, Bastianini warned that the layout posed a “dangerous” situation for riders on the opening lap.

The Italian said he is eager to see whether changes have been made ahead of MotoGP’s return to the Hungarian GP venue in June.

“I'm very curious to see how it will be in Balaton - the corner where I crashed,” he said.
“I'm so curious to see how it will be this year. If it will be the same, what can we do?

“We can talk. But we need to resolve the problem, not talk.”

Asfalto do Autódromo Ayrton Senna após a corrida da MotoGP

Photo by: Guilherme Longo

Does MotoGP need a rider union?

MotoGP doesn’t have an equivalent to Formula 1’s Grand Prix Driver Association (GPDA), with previous talks over a similar rider union in 2023 coming to nought.

Bastianini believes riders would benefit from having a formal association, particularly with teams and manufacturers already represented by IRTA and the MSMA respectively.

“We need to do something different. Also, before we had talks two years ago to start something new for the riders,” he said.

“There is the IRTA for the teams, but nothing for the riders. But not all the riders were complaining about the situation. It was difficult to understand.

“But it's for safety, first of all, for me, and also for many other things. I hope in the future to have it, because for us it will be a whole other world.”

Quartararo: Lack of unity the bigger issue

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Much like Bastianini, 2021 champion Quartararo said he doesn’t regularly attend Safety Commission meetings, where rider participation is not mandatory.

However, the Frenchman believes the bigger problem lies in a lack of unity among riders themselves, recalling how unexpected rain during the inaugural Indian GP weekend led to some disagreement over whether the track was safe to ride at.

“They [F1] are years in front of us,” he said. “But like in India, when it was raining, even between the riders, it was difficult to all agree [on the same thing]. 

“So, in India, we say, ‘if it's raining, we're not riding, the walls are really close’.

“But suddenly two riders say, ‘we're going to ride’. So then if two riders are going to ride, there are two more, two more, and at the end, we all end up riding. So, more [important] than the association is for all of us to agree, but I think it's too far away.

“That's why I'm not going to the Safety Commission. If it's something really big, I'm going, but it happens one or two times per year.”