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

𝔉Fabio 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 champioꦰnship 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 goಞing 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."
There's some crosstown traffic right now! 's fast 🍨lap🐭 gets ruined!
— MotoGP (@MotoGP)
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 h🐽ave been punished with pit-lane starts alr🧸eady this season.
"For me, what the guys do in Mo𒅌to3 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 ꦛa 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 𓆉the middle of the track on the last laps.
"The last laps i♛s where you are really on the limit and you find everyone in the middle of the track, so I think it's not fair an🍒d dangerous."
Ducati's Jack Miller, wಌinner of t🐈he past two rounds, agreed.
The Australian also c🦋alled-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 𝓀factory 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 i🦹s no need for it. They are ju♔st 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 onꦺe 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 ri🥃ders 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 the𒀰 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 t꧒ake the same measures in all the categories.
"It’s not really nice to see a lot of bಞikes 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 r🌱ider 🐎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 [ah🌺ead] 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 𝓰around the track today."
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Vale🎃ntino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.