Trackhouse MotoGP boss fumes at Marc Marquez-triggered COTA start delay

Trackhouse MotoGP team boss Davide Brivio was left fuming when the Americas Grand Prix start was delayed, after Ai Ogura made the gamble to go with slicks before the field switched.

Rain prior to the start of Sunday’s race at the Circuit of the Americas saw most head to the grid on wet tyres, though three riders gambled on slicks.

Sixth row starters Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini and Ai Ogura elected to take a risk on dry tyres and would likely have benefitted hugely had the start taken place as scheduled.

But a mass exodus from the grid, triggered by poleman Marc Marquez, just moments before lights out led race direction to delay the start on safety grounds.

At the time, Brivio raged to the MotoGP world feed, saying: “I’m very upset, to be honest, because that’s not the way to manage a start.

“Because we took a gamble, we took the right decision.

“When it was time to start, they stopped everything. The riders that left the grid, they left the grid.

“They made the wrong choice. Why didn’t they allow us to start with the right choice?

“Now everything is gone. We took a risk, we took a gamble, we took the right decision and now everything is… well.”

Read more: COTA MotoGP grid chaos: “Not fair, we need a clear rule”

After the race, his opinion hadn’t changed.

“Of course, we are not happy about the way the start has been managed today because we took a gamble and made the right call with Ai,” he added.

“We were on the right tires but due to the other riders leaving the grid, the start was delayed.

“We took the risk, we did everything right but we couldn’t take advantage of that.”

Ogura said: “I was on slicks before the start, so that was a big chance but, unfortunately, they delayed the start. I’m so sorry for my guys because they made the right choice but it didn’t pay off. It’s a shame, but it is what it is."

Confusion came over the exact wording of the rules.

Following the 2018 Argentina GP, when the entire grid but one left to change tyres prior to lights out, the rules were altered so that if more than 10 riders start from pitlane then a new start procedure is implemented.

Because the COTA exodus happened before the warm-up, the rules on start procedures state that any rider who leaves the grid for a tyre change before must retake their grid position for the start and then serve a ride-through penalty.

Race direction elected to delay the start on safety grounds and no penalties were given, though the rules suggest that shouldn’t have been the case.

Marquez said he knew leaving the grid would trigger more than 10 riders to follow him and was convinced a new start procedure would be initiated.

Despite missing out on utilising his tyre gamble, Ogura still came through from 18th on the grid to finish ninth in a dramatic grand prix.