“Unacceptable conditions” - Alex Rins, Alex Marquez…

Alex Rins and Alex Marquez say they were struck by flying pieces of asphalt amid what they described as “unacceptable conditions” during the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Following the sinkhole disruption ahead of Saturday’s sprint, MotoGP’s return to Brazil was impacted by another major controversy on Sunday as the grand prix had to be cut short by eight laps due to what was officially described as ‘track degradation’.

While the championship and the FIM are yet to elaborate on what forced them to reduce the race distance just five minutes before the start, MotoGP’s official tyre supplier Michelin said that the track surface was “breaking down and degrading” at Turn 11 following the Moto2 and Moto3 races.

Yamaha rider Rins revealed that his finger was hurt after a piece of broken asphalt was sent in his direction on the opening lap.

“What I felt is a really, really low grip,” the Spaniard told the media including Motorsport.com. “I think it's due to the Moto2 race, about the Moto2 rubber.

“I didn't see any piece of tarmac missing on the track. But what is true is that one piece of tarmac hits my finger. You can see.

Speaking to Spanish broadcaster DAZN, he added: “Ask my finger if you could feel the stones flying up in turns 11 and 12 - one hit me. It happened at the start of the race. It didn’t stop me from going faster, but it bothered me because I brake with that finger.”

Alex Rins, Yamaha Factory Racing (Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images)

Gresini rider Alex Marquez also reported issues after 23 of racing at the resurfaced Goiania circuit, describing the conditions on Sunday as "unacceptable."

“It was really strange, with less laps, and not easy conditions,” he said during his post-race scrum.

“Between corners 10, 11, all the asphalt was going out, with all the stones, all this.

“So, quite unacceptable the conditions that we have today, honestly speaking. But it's like it is, we raced and it was a great show.”

Speaking to DAZN, he added: "It didn’t go badly, but there were two corners where the asphalt was peeling up, and when there were riders in front of you, they’d kick up stones - it felt more like motocross than a speed race. Otherwise, it didn’t go badly.

“The riders were talking about how the track got bumpier as the weekend went on; they’ll have to look into that for next year. They’ve also had bad luck with the rain, but as the sessions went on, there were more potholes. I think Rins’s finger is in worse shape than my arm.”

Marquez revealed that he spoke to Gresini sporting director Michele Masini on the grid in a bid to delay the start of the race.

“There were four minutes left before the warm-up lap, and that’s when they told me about the change. We didn’t have any information,” he recalled.

“I told Michele Masini to ask for a delayed start so we could check the electronics and tyres, but they decided it wasn’t worth it.

Ducati’s Marc Marquez was also affected by the conditions, losing third place to VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio after running wide at Turn 11 - one of the areas where the surface was breaking up.