The way MotoGP covered reigning world champion Pecco Bagnaia’s horrific opening lap fall and subsequent collision with KTM rider Brad Binder at last weekend’s Catalan Grand Prix has triggered mixed reactions from its riders, reigniting a wider debate.
Though Bagnaia was thankfully able to avoid serious injury in the fall and preparing to start this weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix only days later, there was nonetheless considerable concern about his condition in the immediate aftermath of his crash as he received medical assistance from doctors in the middle of the Montmelo circuit.
And while MotoGP was quick to update his condition as ‘conscious’ onscreen in the immediate aftermath of the fall, that came as little solace to many considering that similar information was released following a life-threatening crash for Pol Espargaro at the opening round that left him missing the first half of the season and requiring considerable surgical care.
One notable part of the coverage of both incidents was not just replays of the crash but also of reaction shots from the emotional families of both riders – and from their fellow riders in the garages only minutes before they prepared to head back out onto the circuit and back into full-speed action.
That in particular has drawn considerable ire from many at Misano, with MotoGP champions Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez among the most outspoken about the numerous replays of both Bagnaia’s crash and the one triggered seconds before by his Ducati team-mate Enea Bastianini that were shown on the global TV feed produced by MotoGP and distributed to all their host broadcasters.
“For me it’s unacceptable to show,” said Quartararo. “You can show it once, but in the end all the other guys are starting afterwards. You show it one time, but then you need to think that there’s another 20 riders who are about to start. Already mentally it’s difficult and then you see one big crash.
“In the end the rider is OK, but it could have been much worse. We know when they put ‘rider OK’ we never know if they’ve broken one arm and two legs or nothing. This for me, to have it one time is OK but to have it on replay before our race is not nice.”
Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi also acknowledged in the Misano press conference that seeing those replays before the restart was not optimal.
As for Marquez, he said: “It’s true that for the riders it’s very difficult to see that crash many times, and especially when you need to go out again.
“Pecco was good, and the marshals said he was good. They had information from the ambulance that he was good, that they just needed to check everything.
“It’s part of the show. It’s true that it’s not necessary to show many, many times, but that’s not my decision. In my case, I turned off the TV and was fully concentrated on my job.
“If you check the views on the internet from a crash and a race victory, there’s more on the crash, so if you want to see that, the people who produce the images must show that. But for the riders it’s very difficult.
“Honestly speaking I don’t know how many times they showed, because I turned off the TV.”
Marquez’s comments about the nature of the business of generating clicks on the internet in particular is something that many of his rivals are more than well aware of, with Johann Zarco alluding to the gladiatorial appeal of the sport.
“As what I can notice on the TV,” the Frenchman said, “as soon as you know the rider is alive, they will show the crash. If the rider is dead, they don’t show it at all.
“It’s hard to say. But this is also the reason why people switch on the TV. When we speak about danger and that someone can die, it becomes interesting.
“I don’t know what more to say.”
