MotoGP announces two important regulation changes ahead of the French GP following a mid-season consultation with all competing manufacturers.
The first rule that has come into effect from this weekend’s French Grand Prix is to allow injured riders to test before returning to race action.
Permanent MotoGP riders who have missed three or more consecutive events, or who have been unable to participate for 45 days or more since the season started, will be allowed a single day’s running.
The choice of test venue must align with a manufacturer’s testing concessions, while restrictions also apply for circuits still set to host races in the same season.
No additional tyres will be added to the relevant manufacturer’s testing allocation.
This change comes after Aprilia’s bid to allow reigning World Champion Jorge Martin to test MotoGP machinery before a competitive session at a race weekend.
It had initially been expected that the rule would change in 2026, but the manufacturers have now agreed that it will come into effect immediately.
New MotoGP regulation ordered to avoid COTA chaos repeat
Changes have also been made to avoid repeating the startline chaos seen at the recent Grand Prix of the Americas.
The latest regulations state that any rider starting the warm-up lap from the pit lane can take their grid position, but will serve a double long-lap penalty during the race. This applies to Quick Starts as well as regular start procedures.
Any rider on the grid wishing to change bikes after the three-minute board is displayed may push their bike to the pit lane and must be clear of the grid by the one-minute board.
In a wet race or when a white flag is displayed, riders can still enter the pits at the end of the warm-up lap and change bikes. The only penalty in this case will be starting the race from the pit lane.
The start will be cancelled and a Quick Start procedure will apply if more than 10 riders are set to start the race from the pit lane. All riders can then change bikes if needed and take their original grid positions.
There is no limit to the number of riders who can start the warm-up lap from the pit lane, however all will serve the double long-lap penalty.
This means riders remaining on the grid to start the warm-up lap, as Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini and Ai Ogura did in Texas, will have their gamble acknowledged.
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