Should MotoGP stars face pit-lane starts for 'ridiculous' scenes in FP2?

Fabio Quartararo, Jack Miller and Joan Mir were among those calling for slow-riding in MotoGP sessions to be punished just as severely as in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes, following 'ridiculous' scenes during Free Practice 2 at Mugello.

World championship leader Quartararo was the most obviously affected, the Monster Yamaha rider being forced to angrily abandon one flying lap in the closing minutes as he caught a pack of slow-moving traffic ahead.

"I [finally] made a lap but honestly I don't know how, because there were many [slow] riders in sector 1, sector 3, sector 4," Quartararo said. "We are going so fast here, and it's only FP2. For me it's pointless to do it at that moment. In qualifying I can understand, but not right now."

Riding slowly in search of a tow has been a major safety headache for Race Direction and the FIM Stewards for several years in the Moto2 and especially Moto3 category, where riders have been punished with pit-lane starts already this season.

"For me, what the guys do in Moto3 and Moto2, to start from pit lane, why not in MotoGP?" said Quartararo. "We are all the same. We are all racing in the world championship.

"Yes, MotoGP's a different category, but we are riding faster than them, it's more dangerous, so for me it should be the same as Moto3 and Moto2.

"Every time I'm doing a lap, I'm not disturbing anyone. For me, OK, in qualifying it can happen, but not during FP2, being in the middle of the track on the last laps.

"The last laps is where you are really on the limit and you find everyone in the middle of the track, so I think it's not fair and dangerous."

Ducati's Jack Miller, winner of the past two rounds, agreed.

The Australian also called-out two of the sport's biggest stars, Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi, as being among those that should have known better on Friday.

"We should be the ones to set the example, in MotoGP," Miller said. "I think there were at least eight guys sitting there waiting; the two factory Hondas, a Petronas Yamaha with nine world championships and his brother. There were so many guys in one group.

"In the end I said ‘come on boys, follow me’... There is no need for it. They are just looking for a tow and it's ridiculous.

"If you cannot do the lap time then don’t do it. I understand if there is one of two riders, but a group of eight? That shouldn’t be on, and I think we need to punish and set an example that even in MotoGP they are getting this [pit-lane punishment] as well. It’s not correct."

Suzuki's reigning world champion Mir also felt riders in all categories must be treated the same.

"It’s a shame because I was improving in the first sector quite a lot and then in the second sector I found a lot of riders 'stopped' and had to stop also to avoid a dangerous situation," he said.

"I think we have to take the same measures in all the categories.

"It’s not really nice to see a lot of bikes stopped [in the track]. Maybe they won’t see you because they are a lot slower than you and it’s a dangerous situation for sure."

Morbidelli, who escaped the roadblock by taking a shortcut back to the pits and then re-joining the track, explained why following another rider is extra-beneficial at Mugello.

"Today was tricky to have a clean lap and many people were waiting for some tows, but Mugello is a track that if you have a reference [ahead] you can make a lot of difference," said the Petronas Yamaha rider.

"It's not just about the slipstream, it's about reference and going through a line that you already saw. It can make a lot of difference so maybe for this reason there were many people sitting around the track today."