Drama at MotoGP Americas Starting Grid due to Unstable Weather Conditions

According to Motorsport.com, MotoGP race direction provided an in-depth analysis of the chaotic situation at the Americas GP starting grid — unstable weather conditions being the main cause.

The situation in Austin required quick decision-making when the track began drying but light drizzle persisted. Fabio Quartararo crashed during the warm-up session, while only Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini, and Ai Ogura dared to choose slick tires from the sixth row of the grid.

Marc Marquez triggered chaos when deciding to return to the pit to switch his bike to the GP24 — a decision that proved incorrect as it required him to take a ride-through penalty, not start from the back as he had assumed.

“The red flag was shown for safety reasons. When Marc ran to his box, nearly half the grid followed him. In those conditions, with so many people and bikes moving around the grid and pitlane, it simply wasn’t safe to start the race,” explained Mike Webb, race director.

After a 10-minute delay, the race finally began with a quick-start procedure. Francesco Bagnaia secured his first victory of the season, while Alex Marquez took over the championship lead after finishing second.

Race direction concluded that the Austin incident will lead to a review of regulations — primarily to simplify rules for better understanding by all parties.