MOTOGP CHIEF DOCTOR ANGEL CHARTE OUTLINES NEW ONLINE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT FOR RIDERS

MotoGP’s chief doctor, Dr. Angel Charte, says the next step in improving riders’ mental health will focus on structured support that can actually be delivered in a sport where it’s hard to gather everyone in person. Speaking in an interview with SPEEDWEEK, Charte explained that the impetus for change traces back to the way medical care on track evolved after Marco Simoncelli’s crash in 2011, and that the future plan extends beyond physical treatment to include psychological wellbeing.

Charte addressed a key question about why earlier attempts to introduce mental-health protocols did not work as intended. In his view, it wasn’t that the concept failed outright; rather, the practical requirements did. “The problem is that every protocol you introduce needs personnel to implement it,” he said. Because it is difficult to provide that kind of on-site staffing consistently, the approach would instead be moved online. Charte said he would be able to speak with riders regardless of where they are, allowing them to describe fears and personal feelings—things they may not share with anyone else, including how they relate to their team, which he described as “often not simple,” and what they are aiming to achieve.

A central goal of the support system is to understand what riders want and what they need, particularly when they are returning from injury. Charte said the team must know “what they want to achieve,” whether they plan to come back after an injury, “under what conditions,” and “what needs they have.” He also pointed to stress situations that can significantly affect performance and wellbeing, noting that he has “experienced difficult situations with riders” over many years in the sport.

To respond to those challenges, Charte said he wants to bring in a group of specialists that can function like a continuous conference. The purpose would be to analyze how a rider’s condition and mental health evolve, and how their relationships develop—not only with teammates, but also with family. He believes this structure can give riders a sense of security. While he acknowledged that it is not the same as telling “the most intimate problems” to a doctor through a screen, he argued that riders can still communicate important pressures at home, family issues, or what they are going through at a given moment. With that information, he said, “means are available” to try to address the problem, and the overall aim is to provide riders with “an additional measure of safety” when they ride.

Charte stressed that the initiative is not about psychiatry. “No,” he said. “We’re talking about mental health.” He pointed to examples from other sports, saying that similar approaches are already used in Spanish football teams and in NBA organizations. In the past, he explained, players might have gone individually to a psychiatrist or psychologist. Now, he said, teams are building different units and support systems.

In MotoGP, he said, it is difficult to bring all riders together “at a table,” but individualized care is still possible. He offered a concrete example: a rider might be at home on a Tuesday, and a member of the department could call to ask how things are going—encouraging conversation about the race and what happened. That kind of contact, he said, helps keep the connection alive.

Charte also reflected on whether riders would open up, given how reserved many of them can be. He said he finds it hard to imagine that riders who are naturally guarded would fully disclose their problems. Still, he referenced the saying that “the doctor is like a priest,” explaining that it reflects the long-standing role of doctors as people to whom others “scrape out their soul.” He said he does not know if every rider will open “one hundred percent,” but he believes it would help greatly.

Finally, Charte said he does not have enough data to confirm whether nationality affects how riders respond to the idea, though he noted a possibility that some riders might be “cooler” in their approach. He added that riders he has spoken with found the proposal very interesting and that the plan will be tested.

The interview concluded with Charte indicating there would be more to come, as the discussion moves forward from the concept of online, specialist-supported mental health care toward how it will be implemented across MotoGP.