"It's destroying our sport, I'm scared, I hope you don't look me in the face anymore." «He is very smart, he knows everything. He always wants to undermine my morale. "It's ridiculous, I don't know why he runs out of control, I'd say he's dumb." There is no outburst that has not been heard in the MotoGP World Championship in recent years. Marc Márquez against Valentino Rossi ; Valentino Rossi against Jorge Lorenzo ; Jorge Lorenzo against Andrea Dovizioso ; Andrea Dovizioso against Andrea Iannone ... and so many messes, all against all, until the last place of the grid. While Márquez's domain numbs the show on the track, outside of it the disputes attract media attention. In the last race, without going any further, Márquez and Álex Rins had a small crash and the latter, on fire, had to remember the worst moment of his rival's life: «Maybe his accident at Moto2 [suffered an eye injury in 2011 ] made him lose a bit of sight. That way he can't go on. Paddock veterans say that, although there were always clashes, never as many as now and, above all, never as public. Most agree that this is the most belligerent generation in history, but few agree on the answer to the big question: Why? The reasons are several.

«Pilots know it»

The first one is exposed by Efrén Vázquez , former World Cup driver and current KTM tester. According to him, so many fights, in reality, hide another objective: to appear in the media. «It happens as in the weighing of boxing: word wars sell, make people talk about it, generate headlines. Today, the pilots know that every statement they make has a media impact for them and for everyone. Everything is theater. But in the end there is not such a bad atmosphere, go, not even half of what people can assume, ”says who shared a garage with Márquez in the beginning. As he indicates, even if they can ever get out of hand, quarrels are part of the game. An opinion that has some supporters.

Latin heart

In fact, another former pilot now responsible for a World Cup team agrees with Vázquez that the discussions have "some show", but also offers a second reason: the place of birth. «In motor sports, adrenaline soars and most motorcycle riders are warm-blooded. In Formula 1, for example, who wins? A Briton, a German, a Finn, a Dutch ... Here we are mostly Spaniards or Italians, we have another way of dealing with problems », he emphasizes and, although his words are not controversial, he returns the call in half an hour to ask confidentiality because "everything here is misunderstood and it always seems that you are attacking someone." In its optics, the history of MotoGP appears. The World Cup, which was once dominated by British and Americans, is now Italian and especially Spanish, from the current champion to the president of the organization.

«Adrenaline influences»

But you can also go further. It may be that the pilots want to attract attention and they may have been born with the fury inside, but it may also be that they have not worked enough self-control. «I am convinced that motorcycling is much more influenced by adrenaline than in other sports. There is no pilot who is not aware of what is played. What happens is that, although the sport has given a radical change at the image level in recent years, behind the scenes it has not changed so much, ”says Jesús Casado , a pilot psychologist like Julián Simón , and he is right. While in other sports they are essential, in MotoGP almost nobody admits to having worked with a professional and, who does, always emphasizes that it was for a short period. Maverick Viñales , for example, reneged on psychology until the bad results arrived and he had to sit on the couch. “They are young boys, who are eating the world and, as a rule, their environments have them endorsed. So it is easy for them to think that no one can cough them, ”adds Casado and thus opens another reason for so many fights: the environment.

Gods since children

And at this point you have to analyze the life of a pilot. Most began to compete as professionals too soon, at age 14, and shortly after, at 16 or 17, they arrived at the World Cup and began to travel around the planet almost alone as protagonists of that traveling circus that is the paddock. They left behind the school, the friends of the neighborhood and, in some cases, even the parents. Ahead they waited for mechanics attentive to their explanations, representatives or press heads willing to divinize them and fans everywhere. The figure of the friend who accompanies the pilot around the world without concrete work [ Uccio Salucci for Rossi, José Luis Martínez for Márquez ...] does not help them to keep their feet on the ground and calm their spirits. If they spend their lives on a pedestal, each in their own, how are they going to relate to the adversary?

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Valentino Rossi
  • MotoGP
  • Andrea Dovizioso
  • Jorge Lorenzo
  • Maverick Viñales
  • Marc Márquez
  • KTM
  • Alex Rins
  • Andrea Iannone

MotoGPMarc Márquez breaks Mike Doohan's record: 59 poles in MotoGP

Motorcycling Álex Rins stands against Marc Márquez: "He doesn't respect the other drivers"

Motorcycling In MotoGP there is only one doubt: When will Marc Márquez be champion?