Enea Bastianini criticised MotoGP for its “sh*t” communication after learning the Brazilian race had been shortened from 31 to 23 laps.
MotoGP Sports Entertainment and the IRTA announced with just minutes before the sighting lap that the race was cut by eight laps “due to track degradation.”
Bastianini qualified dead last in an all-KTM final row following Saturday’s qualifying, but he fumed at how he and those at the back of the grid were told at the last minute.
“It was a s**t. It was a s**t. Because, in a world championship, it’s a big mistake,” Bastianini told Crash.net post-race.
“The message to the teams arrived at the end [of the grid] during the last minute. We had no time to change the tyres.
“The team told me ‘we don’t have time to change’ – but the other riders in front of me, they changed the tyre!”
It was later revealed that the lap reduction was due to damage at Turns 11 and 12, where the asphalt had begun to break up, similar to the sinkhole on the start/finish straight that delayed Saturday’s Sprint race.
Enea Bastianini: Many stones on track hit my face and body
The Rimini rider expressed what he felt would have been a fairer solution for those who found out about the race shortening later, before hinting that other riders need to speak up about the situation and the track conditions.
“The good choice was to [delay the start for] five minutes, to wait for the situation to be clear to all the riders.
“During the warm-up lap I received many stones on the face and the body,” he said.
“I thought I would not finish the race because entering Turn 12 on the warm-up lap a stone hit my shoulder. It was very painful at the start.
“It’s happened also [in other tracks] in the past when the tarmac was new. Like I said the previous day, the track does not seem ready to make the GP but with some difficultly we did it.”
“I saw many [organisational] issues during that weekend like this, and, well, I think nothing changes. We talk but nothing changes.”
Bastianini secured the final point scoring position, finishing 15th place, as he and Pedro Acosta finished as KTM’s sole scorers.
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