Martin avoids penalty: MotoGP’s compulsory safety equipment

The MotoGP rules state that specified safety equipment “must be worn, correctly fastened, at all times during on-track activity.”

Fortunately for the Pramac Ducati rider - who appears not to have correctly ‘locked’ the zip of his leathers in place before the start of the race - he was able to rezip them himself before being black-flagged and thus avoid the fate of Fabio Quartararo at Catalunya 2021.

The Yamaha rider received a three-second post-race penalty for riding with the zip of his leathers wide open (and did not rezip them until after the finish) having also discarded his chest protector.

The complete list of compulsory MotoGP safety equipment and rules regarding their use is as follows:

‘It is compulsory that each contracted rider must begin each race event with at least two complete sets of undamaged safety equipment. A complete set of safety equipment shall contain:

• Helmet
• Leather Suit, 1-piece
• Gloves
• Boots
• Back Protector
• Chest Protector

‘The equipment must be worn, correctly fastened, at all times during on-track activity.

‘The only purpose of any part of the rider’s race suit, boots and gloves should be to protect the rider in an incident. Therefore, any part of these items of equipment that is deemed to be solely for the purpose of aiding the rider’s aerodynamic effect will not be permitted. The decision of the Technical Director will be final in determining what constitutes an item solely for aerodynamic effect.’

Quartararo came close to snatching second place off an exhausted Martin on Sunday, the title contender losing time while rezipping his leathers and then running wide on the final lap.

But Martin clung on with a brave re-pass on Quartararo and heads into this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix just 13 points factory Ducati star Francesco Bagnaia, who crashed out.

Had Martin received the same three-second penalty given to Quartararo in 2021, he would have dropped to third place on Sunday.