The death of any motorcycle racer raises a lot of questions, all about safety. Moto2's Luis Salom's crash during the 2016 season led to his death, and ultimately a new layout of the track to avoid another such mishap.
Following Salom's crash during free practice, the track layout was changed to include the Formula 1 layout of a chicane instead of a sweeping right-hand turn 12. Now, however, that chicane will also change for MotoGP. It will arrive a little earlier than the F1 corner; it is unclear if the F1 layout will remain the same as this past season's or will switch to the new MotoGP format as well. Also on the changes list is turn 10, which will also follow the F1 layout instead of a fast left hander.
The space limitations of the Catalunya circuit mean that any changes to the circuit that will retain the existing layout and yet offer enough runoff area will be prohibitively expensive. The MotoGP season begins in six weeks' time with a host of riders on new motorcycles - the new circuit at Barcelona will only add to the excitement of the unknown.
Image: Motorcyclenews.com
