Pedro Acosta disagrees with Joan Mir and Inea Bastianini that moving the starting line could prevent Johan Zarco’s “serious” crash at the 2026 Catalan Grand Prix.
LCR Honda rider Zarco At the first restart of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday, he suffered a number of injuries when his left leg got caught in Francesco Bagnaia’s Ducati. Zarco was dropped from behind by Luca Marini’s Honda in Race 1 before collecting Bagnaia.
Race control has red flagged Catalan GP For the second time, Zarco was distracted in the gravel trap at Turn 1 before being taken to hospital. The Catalan GP stopped once after the Gresini runner Alex Marquez He had a big conflict with. Acosta.
Márquez could not avoid crashing into Acosta in Barcelona Last Sunday, after the KTM rider’s engine suddenly cut off on the back straight. Marquez will need surgery on his right shoulder to insert a plate to stabilize the fracture and has a small C7 vertebra fracture.
Was it right to restart the Catalan GP after two major accidents?
Pedro Acosta does not agree that changing Barcelona’s starting line-up will help them avoid a repeat of the Johan Zarco disaster.
Zarco has been diagnosed with ligament damage in his knee along with a small fracture under the left fibula following his injury in the Catalan GP. Zarco and Márquez will both be sidelined as they both recover from injuries.
Read more: Fabio Di Giannantonio wins the 2026 Catalan Grand Prix after two red flags.
honda ace Mr and Tech3 rider Bastianini He pointed out that MotoGP may avoid repetition Zarco’s failure during the Catalan GP Closing the straight to Turn 1 at Barcelona, Barcelona is one of the longest races at 600 meters from pole to Turn 1.
But Acosta disagreed with the idea that moving the starting line to Turn 1 would be the solution, as the heavy braking zone in the right-hand corner could still cause the kind of accident Zarco experienced, with riders braking too often and tagging the rival’s bike.
“What a solution…” Acosta said, in quotes Motorsport.com: “If the start is close to the first corner and you brake too late, the same thing will happen to you as it did in Hungary. I don’t think that is the solution.”
Also, as he did immediately after the race, Acosta is clear that the Catalan GP should not have been restarted. for the third time. The KTM runner insisted it was a “bit of a test of fate” to try to get the MotoGP race restarted after two “such serious accidents” in a row.
Should Ai Ogura have been fined for taking out Pedro Acosta?
Ogura was handed a three-second penalty for a collision in the final corner on the final lap.
“Zarco’s accident was really unlucky,” Acosta added. It’s unlikely that what happened to him could happen to you, his leg caught in a Peco bike. It’s really bad luck. Same goes for Alex.
“It’s true that bikes end up in the wall at turn 2. It’s the same at turn 12, where Jorge Martin crashed on Friday. But in general, I think everything here in Barcelona is fine.
“There are districts in the worst situation. Here you can at least move the ancestral lands back and create escape routes.
“For example, if you crash at turn 7 in Jerez, like I did in my first year in MotoGP, you can’t move the grandstand back, because the last corner is on the other side.”
Aprilia rider Martin endured an accident-plagued weekend at the 2026 Catalan GP, with the 2024 champion crashing out in FP1, practice, qualifying, the Sprint Race and Monday’s season test. Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez crashed Martin during the Catalan GP.
Acosta cited Martin’s crashes at Turn 12 and Turn 2 in FP1 during practice last Friday as examples of bikes finding barriers. Also, Martin followed his bike into the T12 barrier after the crash, during which he said “think about Luis Salom”, who died in the 2016 Moto2 race in Barcelona, as he went into the barrier at Turn 13 following his bike.
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