A small but costly incident involving a visor tear-off has become a major talking point after the MotoGP race in Jerez, where Marco Bezzecchi saw his race start compromised in unusual circumstances.
Bezzecchi, who arrived at the Spanish Grand Prix as the championship leader, qualified strongly on the front row but suffered an early setback before the race properly settled. A visor tear-off discarded by another rider became lodged on his bike, affecting his start and causing him to drop down the order in the opening moments of the race.
The incident is believed to have been triggered when a tear-off from a rival rider ended up on track during the build-up to the start. It was then picked up by Bezzecchi’s Aprilia, interfering with his launch and forcing him into recovery mode from the very first laps.