After an incident in the pit lane between Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia and Suzuki's Andrea Iannone, the rules for swapping bikes in a flag-to-flag race have been amended.
Espargaro pulled out just as Iannone was pulling into his pit, making him brake really hard. The latter was on a drain cover when he braked, putting him on the floor. Not only this, he slid into the bike of teammate Alex Rins, making it doubly bad for the Suzuki team. Espargaro was penalised three places in the race for the incident but a new system was required. So during practice at the next race, the British GP, the riders tried a new bike swap procedure. The rider is guided by tape markers, and a pit crew member will signal the rider to his pit. He has to enter his pit at a 45 degree angle, jump off his bike and onto the second bike which will also be waiting at 45 degrees to the pit - meaning both bikes have a 90 degree angle between them. There is also now a 'lollipop man' with a sign just like there is in Formula 1.
Opinion among the riders is divided about the new system. Some feel that it is safer, while others have pointed out that to enter the correct pit, you've to focus on the tapes on the floor, then also look for your mechanic at the same time - remember, everyone except LCR Honda has two riders in their team, so the tapes will have the same colours for both riders. Then there's the lollipop man - his judgement will be critical in avoiding a collision. The entry to the pit also poses a hazard - if a bike with slick tyres pulls in during pouring rain, it might just slip and fall anyway - and it will be heading in to the pit at that point.
There is no ideal solution for incidents like this, but at least Dorna is experimenting with different solutions. Let us hope they come to an agreeable solution soon.
