MotoGP’s crash warning system waiting on 2027 GPS ‘revolution’ - Exclusive

Next year’s GPS ‘revolution’ should provide the final piece needed to make MotoGP’s crash warning system fully operational.

The safety system uses onboard sensors and software to automatically detect when a rider crashes.

The timekeeping infrastructure then receives a signal from the fallen machine before alerting following competitors by activating rear ‘rain’ lights on bikes within the ‘danger zone’.

The flashing lights are designed to provide a faster and clearer warning than the current combination of yellow flags, trackside panels and dashboard alerts.

Other warning methods are expected to be added as the system evolves.

The MotoGP regulations already allow the unified rear light to be “remotely automatically switched on/off by the organiser’s crash detection/alarm system”.

The ability to quickly and accurately identify an accident has been achieved, plus the necessary two-way communication between the bikes and Race Direction.

But one last challenge remains, according to MotoGP Director of Technology Corrado Cecchinelli: determining which riders - if any - should receive the warning.

“Once we are confident that we have an accurate and reliable rider location system, we will be able to put the crash warning system in place,” Cecchinelli told Crash.net.

“My guesstimate is 2027. Because in 2027 we are already planning a big revolution in our GPS system.”

MotoGP teams are currently banned from using GPS, which is fitted mainly for media purposes and does not provide the precision needed for the crash warning system.

For example, the current GPS cannot reliably determine if a stationary or slow-moving bike is on the track or an adjacent service road. It might also fail to recognise if a rider is already out of the danger zone in the split-second when an accident occurs.

“The crash warning system is ready to be put in place but the management of it… needs more development,” Cecchinelli explains in the interview below.

“We want it to be very good from the start.”

That means overcoming two main technical issues.

The first is avoiding false positives, which are “almost sorted out”. The second is deciding which riders the warning should go to, “but the current GPS accuracy is not optimal for that.”

“We’ve already done a lot of experimentation,” Cecchinelli adds. “We know that switching on the rear warning light from Race Direction works now. The crash detection software works now, with a few false positives. But it’s acceptable.

“So all the bits are there, except for a precise rider location system.”

That location upgrade is already in the pipeline due to a 2027 rule change that will see GPS data from all riders made available to every team after each session for performance analysis…

Crash.net:
What’s the latest on the crash warning system?

Corrado Cecchinelli:
The crash warning system is ready to be put in place, but the management of it, by the time keeping, needs more development.

We want it to be very good from the start, which means overcoming two main technical issues.

The first is avoiding false positives, which is when you ‘detect’ something that is not actually happening. The opposite is missing, or not detecting in time, something real that has happened.

But the false positives, which we consider worse than not triggering at all, are now almost sorted out. So, they’ve been reduced to a minimum.

The second big issue is how to manage the information from the system so that it is actually effective. In other words, you have to decide which riders you want the ‘crash warning’ to go to and you handle that by locating where each rider is on track.

But the current GPS accuracy is not optimal for that. So, we'll need to see an improvement in the GPS positioning before the introduction of the crash warning system.

My guesstimate is 2027. Because in ‘27, we are already planning a big revolution in our GPS system.

Currently, it is mainly used for media [video] purposes. But it will be significantly improved, and more features will be added. Media content will also be better, but the GPS data will also be given publicly to the teams for performance analysis.

Once we are confident that we have an accurate and reliable rider location system, we will be able to put the crash warning system in place. So, it is ready and waiting for that.

Crash.net:
Could it also be used in situations like Pecco's puncture at Sepang, where a rider slows down but doesn’t actually crash?

Corrado Cecchinelli:
In principle, yes. It depends on what you want to do with it. We have a system in place that basically includes a rear warning light that race direction can activate remotely.

You can have automated crash detection, which we were talking about. But you can also think about someone in race direction checking the live tyre pressure, spotting a rider slowing down and sending a command to switch on the light manually, for instance.

Or you can even implement it into an automatic routine. So if the pressure goes lower than half of what is expected, then it's considered a dangerous situation and the warning light comes on.

It's not on the table now, but it's one of the things you can do.

Once the infrastructure is in place, there are a range of possibilities. You could, in principle, detect a split time that is abnormally slow. That could then be automatically deemed as a potential hazard and the warning light activated.

Crash.net:
Could some basic elements of the system be used before the 2027 GPS update?

Corrado Cecchinelli:
In principle, yes. But you need the GPS to be accurate, so why ‘force’ it with not enough precision? We want to have it working extremely well from the beginning.

We’ve done a lot of things for safety warnings that are already in operation, like repetition of the flags on the dashboard and trackside screens for the flags. So, I don't feel pushed to introduce this.

Imagine there's a slow rider, which may of course be considered as a dangerous situation. But with accurate GPS location, you can detect if they are actually on the track or not. Why alarm the riders if there's a slow bike on the service road!

We would like it to be good from the beginning and then, of course, it will need constant improvement.

We’ve already done a lot of experimentation. We know that switching on the rear warning light from Race Direction works as of now. The crash detection software works as of now, with a few false positives. But it’s acceptable. 

So all the bits are there, except for a precise rider location system [GPS upgrade].