Racing incident? Ban? Super licence? MotoGP riders discuss Binder, Foggia clash

After a fairly quiet MotoGP race, the hot topic in Portimao on Sunday evening was a controversial accident that decided the Moto3 World Championship.

Moto3 title rivals Dennis Foggia and Pedro Acosta began the last lap at the front of the field, in the knowledge that victory for Acosta would secure the title one round early, while a win for Foggia would at least take the battle down to next weekend's Valencia finale.

Acosta outbraked Foggia for the lead into the Turn 3 hairpin, his presence on the inside also delaying the Leopard rider's entry to the corner. But just behind them, Darryn Binder dived under Sergio Garcia for third place, running in too hot and slamming into the back of Foggia.

Foggia and Garcia, who tangled with the fallen Leopard machine, were out on the spot. Binder was subsequently disqualified while rookie star Acosta went on to win the race and title.

In MotoGP terms, the incident had added significant because Binder is jumping straight from Moto3 to MotoGP next season.

Questions had already been asked about whether the South African is ready for such a move, especially having failed to finish on the Moto3 podium since the Qatar season-openers.

While some MotoGP riders felt an F1-style super license should be considered, to ensure those arriving in the premier-class have enough experience/success in other categories, others felt pressure on Binder's shoulders to deliver a strong result to justify joining MotoGP had contributed to the accident itself.

Jack Miller, the only previous rider to jump straight from Moto3 to MotoGP, was among those to speak in defence of Binder, believing it had been the kind of racing mistake any rider can make.

The Australian also pointed out there would have been less uproar if a title contender hadn't been involved, while others felt – in the wake of stricter penalties for bad behaviour, notably Deniz Oncu's two race ban in COTA - Binder should have been banned from the Valencia finale.

Binder immediately accepted responsibility and apologised for the incident, although an attempt to speak to Foggia personally saw him sent away from the Leopard pits.

Here are the views of some MotoGP riders, including a post-race conversation between Sunday's MotoGP top three of Francesco Bagnaia, Joan Mir and Miller…

Francesco Bagnaia: "I think that like in the car championship we need a super license, only if you are doing something [good] in your championship can you move up to the next level.

"Today what we saw is the normality I think because we have seen a lot of crashes like this from him [Binder]. I know that it’s not correct to say it about another rider, but this rider next year will be with us and with MotoGP we are faster and I hope that will not happen."

Joan Mir: "Difficult to say something. For sure, this rider [Binder] is not the first time that makes some manoeuvre like this one. What is so important is that now this type of manoeuvre you have to penalise. This is the most important thing. Penalise but I say not for the race, maybe one race out or something like this, or even more. Because if not, it will happen again something.

"Hopefully today nothing happened [injury] to Foggia and Garcia. But [incidents like that] can happen, especially in Moto3. It’s always happening things like this when they are young. I don't know about the super license because normally this is something difficult, but it’s not a bad idea."

Jack Miller: "What can I say? I did the same thing like Darryn."

Francesco Bagnaia: "You were not doing the same things."

Jack Miller: "Yes, I know, but mistakes can happen. Incidents happen, I think as you know. You speak about incidents and this and that. How many times we [Miller and Mir] have hit each other this year?

Joan Mir: "But contact [not causing a crash]…

Jack Miller: "Contact is one thing, I understand. There has to be a margin, for sure. I 100% agree. I think Moto3 and what happened today was not nice for all areas. For Foggia of course because he lost, but also for Pedro because I think it takes away from what he has done this season as a rookie, putting together the season that he has done.

"I felt like he had a lot of margin towards the end of the race and this robbed him of the feeling of fighting really for his championship. It was a strange act today. These things can happen, but am I nervous or am I worried [about Binder in MotoGP next year]? I don't think so.

"It’s a whole different kettle of fish. MotoGP is another level and I don't think we need to be worried about that because today Daz might need to check his eyesight because he went in there a lot quicker than he should have. But I think I can speak on behalf of everybody and say we all make mistakes. We have to wait and see how it is.

Joan Mir: "I agree about what Jack said. It can be also a racing incident, something that can happen of course, but there is also something related and not everything is the fault of Darryn, I think.

"The pressure Darryn has now is unbelievable because he has to show why he’s going to MotoGP next year. For sure, this pressure is something that is not helping him to take good decisions. Under pressure, we all make mistakes like this. For sure, I think that it’s not easy to manage a situation like this one.

"But if you are a MotoGP rider or if you are racing in the world championship, you are supposed to do the right things in the right moment, and if you want to go to MotoGP you probably should also have the level and the capability of making the right choices.

"Don’t you think that they gave two races suspension to Oncu, he [Binder] should have also received some suspension just to make him understand? Because it’s not the first time that he’s been doing this."

Francesco Bagnaia: "I don't know. I’m lucky I'm not the FIM Stewards that decide this type of thing."

Joan Mir: "In a normal situation, this action doesn’t deserve two races out [ban] because what happened today is a mistake that a rider can do. I don’t think that Darryn deserves this. Also, because it was deciding the championship in that moment, we are making it a bit bigger than what happened that was a mistake.

"For sure, if we talk about safety, Darryn must be the [example] for the other riders so that it doesn't happen again. So, I think that he has to be penalised because if we are talking about being more strict about safety, it’s the first step to make the change, I think."

Jack Miller: "It takes more than a Moto3 rider I think to make this mistake. I think everybody can make this mistake. Yes, Darryn is a bit wild or whatever, but like Joan said, and I can say from first-hand experience, the pressure of going from Moto3 to MotoGP directly and how much it puts on you and to be honest, he’s just scratching the surface of what’s to come when it comes to taking on that challenge. I can tell him first hand.

"But we have seen the GOAT, Valentino Rossi, do the same mistake after nine world titles. So, everybody can do it. This is racing. Accidents happen. You need to understand that. Like Joan said, everybody is putting it on him because it’s the championship, but this happens week in, week out with Moto3.

"Something needs to be done. Yes, Oncu, he got sent home for two weeks, for two races, but I don’t agree with that also because I don't think he was the main offender. I think there should have been a couple of them sent home, but that’s another story. If you look to Masia and Migno’s stories and stuff like that on social media, you will understand what is really happening in this lower category.

"I don't think the age rule [being increased from 16 to 18 in 2023] is going to change it because a lot of the guys that are doing the mistakes are well over 18. It’s a matter of common sense and how much you respect the person you’re on track with.

"I think Joan and I have a good relationship. At the end, he’s never knocked me off. We’ve rubbed, we’ve said our pieces but at the end I’m able to sit here and be friendly with him and be cordial. At the end of the day, it’s racing.

"I understand his point of view because I’ve hit plenty of people in my life. So, I’m not going to sit there and batter him because I’ve made mistakes. We’ve all made mistakes. Mistakes happen. It’s life."

Fabio Quartararo: "It's difficult, but you need to be really careful when two guys are playing for the championship, you always keep a little bit of margin. There was no margin there. But it's a shame that it finished like that, also on the last lap. But yeah, I don't really have a clear opinion about that. A big shame, but it's not the first time.

"For me, more than the super licence, Deniz Öncü had two races penalty for what happened in Austin. OK, was a really scary crash, but it's also something similar. So I think they need to be really careful with Moto3."

Valentino Rossi: "What happened in the race I think is not fair for Foggia, because to finish the championship like this is difficult.

"I don’t know for the super license but I think have some riders like for example Binder that are always very, very, very aggressive and sometimes they make some mistakes like this and it's not fair for the others.

"For me it's rider-by-rider more than a super license. For the super license I don’t know sincerely."

Franco Morbidelli: "An unfortunate incident for Foggia. He didn't deserve that for sure, he deserved to fight for the championship until the end of the race. But Moto3 is a crazy category, there are some riders more crazy than others, and sometimes these silly things happen. I mean, last lap, normal Moto3 craziness. Which is not normal, but normal for Moto3.

"[A super licence] might be a good thing, to step up to MotoGP you should have at least some kind of results or some kind of pedigree. That's for sure a good thought and a good point of view that I agree with. Why not?

"But also sometimes, some riders that number-wise don't have a good pedigree or are not on top, can reach MotoGP and do well. We have to look at Fabio for example. He wasn't doing mint when he was in Moto3 and Moto2, and then he steps up to MotoGP and did very well.

"So I wouldn't certainly say that Darryn would be the same rider he is now in Moto3 when he gets to MotoGP. I wouldn't give that for certain."