MotoGP is moving to overhaul the way races begin after a third major first-corner pile-up in the space of a few rounds, fast-tracking a ban on ride-height devices and trialling a more spread-out starting grid.
The latest flashpoint came at Balaton Park, where Jorge Martin lost control under braking for Turn 1 and collected his Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi, with Trackhouse's Raul Fernandez, VR46's Fabio Di Giannantonio and Gresini's Fermin Aldeguer also caught up in the chaos. It followed Johann Zarco's heavy crash at Barcelona, which left the Frenchman in a neck brace with damaged knee ligaments. Martin has been handed a double long-lap penalty to serve at the Czech Grand Prix.
For several riders, the lowering devices fitted to the bikes are central to the problem. Maverick Vinales argued the issue is less about the extra acceleration than the erratic braking the systems provoke.
"For me, the devices play a big role, because to disengage the front you need to brake really hard," Vinales said. "And sometimes [if it doesn't work] you need to release the brake, then go a little bit more and brake again. So, just by removing the devices, I think we will improve quite a lot."
Ride-height devices were already outlawed for 2027, but the ban has now been pulled forward to the British Grand Prix on August 9, the first race after the summer break, and broadened from a handful of circuits to every venue.
Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola, whose riders triggered the Balaton crash, backed the direction of travel but warned against a knee-jerk response. "We are speaking with MotoGP to see what is good to improve the safety. Historically I'm against any kind of devices, but I don't like to overreact," Rivola said. "I think we should do things properly, because if before the race we banned the device and you still saw this kind of crash, we start saying, 'ah, the device was safer!' So we need to be careful."
The second strand is the grid itself. Chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta confirmed the championship is widening the spacing between rows, with the gap set to grow by three metres from the German Grand Prix onward and a first test planned at Brno. A more radical switch to a two-by-two, Formula 1-style grid is also under discussion. "We're studying a different starting grid layout with more space between riders," Ezpeleta said. "Changing the grid is a very, very big change in the championship."
Di Giannantonio, taken out at Balaton but able to recover to 10th, delivered the most pointed verdict on the run of incidents. "I think it's crazy that I have to pray before the race, not to do a good race, but to be safe after the first corner," he said. "We are not risking just to crash or lose the front, we are risking to put the lives of other riders in danger. Today could be again much, much worse."
He added that wider spacing would change the maths of those opening-lap lunges. "If we arrive with much more distance between us, then you risk a lot for just two places. Maybe it isn't worth it. And maybe you don't do it," he said.
The changes still require Grand Prix Commission approval before they are written into the regulations.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/motogp-fast-tracks-ride-height-ban-as-crash-crisis-grows). Visit for full coverage.*