Fire breaks out at Japanese MotoGP; teams unite to tame the blaze

Moto2 team Marc VDS say the fire started because rain leaked through the roof of its garage, causing a short in the charger for one of its bike starter motors.

Colleagues from Suzuki and Aprilia, whose garages neighbour Marc VDS’ at the Motegi circuit, plus swift work from fire fighters meant the damage was kept to a minimum.

Marc VDS confirmed none of their crew or their bikes were damaged.

"After extinguishing the fire in the garage, proper inspections showed that the fire started when some rain water entered the garage, and got onto the floor where it caused a short cut in a charger,” the team said.

"That in turn let off some sparks, which then quickly grew into a fire.

"Fortunately, due to the amazing job done by all the paddock people that were there, the circuit security and circuit firemen, damages were thankfully kept to a minimum.

"The Elf Marc VDS Team wants to publicly thank the work and huge help provided by all our paddock colleagues, with a special mention to the Suzuki MotoGP team who worked with us to clean and rebuild the garage as if it was their own.

"With all our team members safe and the garage rebuilt, we are ready to start the Japanese GP tomorrow."

Fabio Quartararo enters the race leading the 2022 MotoGP standings.

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