Francesco Bagnaia: “Utter nonsense” to think MotoGP riders cannot influence Safety Commission

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Attendance at the weekly Safety Commission meetings has declined in recent years, with Bagnaia, Pramac’s Jack Miller and Honda rider Luca Marini the only ones present on a regular basis.

Several riders have questioned the effectiveness of such meetings, with Tech3’s Enea Bastianini admitting in March that he stopped attending due to frustration with a lack of progress on key issues.

However, Bagnaia dismissed suggestions that riders are powerless in influencing decisions related to safety matters, describing their lack of attendance as a “serious” concern.

"How can you think something won't work if you don't even try it? To me, that's utter nonsense,” said the two-time MotoGP champion.

“Last week at Le Mans, there were three of us on the Safety Commission, and it was an important meeting because a rule was added on the fly [the change to pit lane entry procedures]

“I’m one of those who think that if you add a rule, you do it at the end of the year, not in the middle of the season. In the previous race, a rider [Marquez], by doing that, scored 12 points; in the next race, he would have been given a ‘ride-through’ penalty - that’s not right. So we had to push a little.

“There were three of us, and we were all in complete agreement. But it’s a shame. To avoid going to the Safety Commission, some say they don’t have time. Because the reality is that nothing happens. Things just don’t get done. Because if there were many of us, we’d get things done. But the problem is they don’t have time to come to the Safety Commission. Which, to me, is something even more serious.”

While MotoGP has dedicated bodies to represent manufacturers and teams, all previous attempts to create a Grand Prix Drivers Association-style rider union did not come to fruition.

On Thursday, Marini also suggested that riders should consider electing a representative who speaks on their behalf, but admitted that there is a lack of unity among the 2026 grid on major issues.

Asked for his thoughts on the matter, Bagnaia said: "A riders’ representative? For now, let them all come to the commission, because if we say the same thing a union representative might say, what changes? Nothing.

“We’ve already tried that. We tried it a while back with Sylvain Guintoli, but then, unfortunately, things didn’t work out because we weren’t all on the same page. There were riders, like those from KTM, who didn’t want to participate.”

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