MotoGP riders react to new starting grid rules after German Grand Prix Sprint

The change was made after several crashes at the Catalan Grand Prix, where Johann Zarco suffered a serious knee injury during a race restart. Riders are now four metres apart instead of three, and there is also more space between each row on the grid.

The new layout was first used at the Sachsenring during the Sprint race. Although the extra space is designed to make starts safer, some riders believe it also makes it much harder to overtake when the race begins.

Alex Marquez was one of the riders who noticed the difference straight away. He started from second place and wanted to challenge his brother, Marc Marquez, who was on pole position. However, Marc made a clean start and stayed in the lead without any problems.

Alex said that the larger gaps between riders made it almost impossible to gain places at the start unless another rider made a big mistake. He explained that it was very difficult even to get alongside another bike before the first corner.

There were only a few position changes in the opening corners. Ai Ogura briefly moved ahead of Fabio di Giannantonio, while Jorge Martin passed Francesco Bagnaia later on the first lap. After that, the race quickly settled down, and there were very few overtaking moves.

Marc Marquez stayed in control from start to finish and won the Sprint race. Alex Marquez finished second, while Fabio di Giannantonio stayed close behind in third. Although Di Giannantonio put pressure on Alex in the final lap, he never got close enough to make a serious attack.

Di Giannantonio said that the Sachsenring circuit was one of the hardest tracks for overtaking. He explained that when riders follow another bike too closely, the front tyre becomes too hot. This reduces grip and makes it difficult to keep the same speed through the corners. Because of this, trying to overtake becomes much riskier.

He also said that he felt fast enough to ride quicker, but staying behind another rider made it impossible to use his full pace. At one point, he even dropped back slightly to get clean air and help cool his front tyre before trying to close the gap again.

The Italian rider added that following another bike for most of the lap puts a lot of pressure on the front tyre. Riders can change their racing lines to protect the rear tyre, but this often causes more wear on the front tyre instead. As a result, keeping the bike stable becomes much more difficult.

Some riders also believe that Marc Marquez was controlling the race rather than pushing at his maximum speed. Even so, the riders behind could not get close enough to challenge him because of the difficult track layout and the effect of dirty air.

The new starting grid layout is expected to remain in use for the rest of the MotoGP season. While safety is the main reason for the change, the first race with the new system has already started discussions about how it affects racing and overtaking. Riders will continue to adapt to the new rules as the championship moves on.