The Sooner Holeshot Devices are Banned the Better After MotoGP Start Dramas

From eight-time world champion Marc Marquez to fellow Ducati rider and 2025 rookie Fermin Aldeguer, start problems were a big issue in the Thai MotoGP test at Buriram which again highlighted the importance of doing away with holeshot devices.

If you kept up to date with the Thai MotoGP test this week, you will know that several MotoGP riders had big problems getting off the start line with any real consistency, and more importantly in a safe manner.

Had it been a race start on a Grand Prix weekend with a grid full of riders setting off at the same time, then we could easily have seen a scenario where riders came into contact as there were big puffs of smoke and black lines left on a few occasions, along with riders veering to one side.

Now, not every bad start during the two-day test can be attributed to the holeshot device, however, one of the reasons for the upcoming ban of the device in 2027 is to make race starts safer.

The holeshot device, which is connected to the front forks, activates when a rider comes to a stop on the grid as a pin locks it into place. Ride-height devices, which lower the bike to the ground, are also part of the start procedure these days although they will also be banned from 2027 onwards.

It's not just safety on race starts that will benefit from the removal of these devices, as the new regulation is also being put in place to allow for better and more exciting racing. Front ride height devices were banned in 2023 while all other systems will be gone in 2027, along with the holeshot device.

What holeshot and ride-height devices have done since becoming part of the race start procedure is put an even bigger emphasis on riders needing to be perfect with every move they make.

If it goes wrong, the outcome could be very dangerous and we’ve already even seen riders nearly collide due to veering from one side of the track to the other.

Another side to this which is based more on performance rather than safety, is that the removal of holeshot and ride-height systems will give every rider the same chance of being able to perform a good start, rather than one brand developing the system more successfully than the others, and thus leading to major gains at the start. 

Again, not to point the finger directly at the holeshot devices, as one of the most dramatic starts we saw in Buriram was mainly as a result of dusty track conditions, as Aldeguer nearly speared into team-mate Alex Marquez.

The young Spaniard said: “It was the first time that I slipped like this, but it’s normal when the track is in this condition and also other riders have the same problem. Not this big, but it’s normal.”

While track conditions can certainly play a role, the fact that many riders were having similar issues also points to the holeshot doing very little to help with safety which is why a ban of the system should help riders in 2027 and beyond.

Then there’s the factory Ducati duo who probably ran into more trouble than anyone else, with MotoGP pit lane reporter Jack Appleyard saying: “A couple of guys on the pitwall that I was speaking to said that Marquez, in particular, they don’t think they’ve seen him do a good start, at all, in preseason testing!

“They were saying they were flabbergasted how, every practice start that Marquez has done, he doesn’t seem to be dialled in. To me, you assume Ducati are searching for extra performance in the GP25 and, at the moment, haven’t got the launch controls fully dialled in.

“Bagnaia was spinning the rear wheel, Marquez was spinning the rear wheel. They just could not get it sorted!”

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