Everyone gets 22L and Michelin tires next year. The GPC should probably remove concessions for everyone until they can determine the performance of the teams.
Homologation rules are getting ridiculous. Three different engine specs can be declared at the beginning of the season. Only non-factory riders can run different specs, while the factory riders must run the same spec. Where do they come up with this stuff?
The GPC is a bit ridiculous. They freeze the rules for 5 years to stabilize the sport, and then they bicker amongst themselves to change homologation rules and concessions.
Homologation rules are getting ridiculous. Three different engine specs can be declared at the beginning of the season. Only non-factory riders can run different specs, while the factory riders must run the same spec. Where do they come up with this stuff?
The GPC is a bit ridiculous. They freeze the rules for 5 years to stabilize the sport, and then they bicker amongst themselves to change homologation rules and concessions.
Joined Apr 2015
6K Posts | 5K+
NJ
That's what happens when something like Dorna runs a sport.
For entertainment purposes the gaps have to be closed because god forbid anyone gets out ahead of the rest of the teams.
It's why F1 turned to ...., there's this mistaken belief that forcing small gaps by way of rewriting the technical rules all the time turns the rules into a unintelligible mess. All rules freezes do is impose a form of socialism on motor sport that quickly renders it unwatchable because mediocrity is rewarded, and improvement no longer exists. It's amusing initially, but once the novelty wears off, you're left with the stark reality that nothing unique occurs any longer.
Yes, I have virtually no interest in F1 now, something I had followed since 1979.
Things are not looking so good for Ducati, they seem to have been left behind again now even with the concessions, and are back to where they were last year ie relying on qualifying to be towards the front early in races. I guess Dovi remains a journeyman, but Iannone I had thought was at least fast though, so maybe Yamaha and Honda have stepped it up further.
Joined Apr 2015
6K Posts | 5K+
NJ
Kind of makes you wonder about the timing of the announcement since Ducati has been slowly slipping back each race.
We'll see where things stand at the end of the season, but it does start to make you wonder how well developed the GP15 actually is, or if their riders are just not the guys to be on the bike. Both are talented, but I don't see them as the future for winning races as has been discussed in the Ducati alien topic.
Granted I don't think Assen was going to be a great track for them, but I am not sure they've improved enough.
Market-based exchange is the system of competition, and all market-based systems have provisions to stop monopoly, duopoly and trust. Attempting to close the gaps in the MotoGP field by adding factories or making the sport more difficult for the front runners isn't a problem.
Competitive balance is a complex, inexact science. Ambiguity doesn't sell to private equity firms and TV companies. The rules-makers abolish competition to make the sport more stable ala NASCAR. Risk-averse business people happily purchase a shoddy product they can easily sell to their investors and their customers (advertisers, sponsors, etc).
The rules changes are a bit sickening, but motorcycle racing has a silver lining--the 80/20 rule. Unlike auto racing, an overwhelming majority of motorcycle racing is controlled by the rider. If, in this rules melee, Dorna does manage to seize more control for the riders, the sport might actually improve, despite the terrible technical regulations. Human competition is much less sterile than corporate competition. People get old. They carry injuries. They want to relax and go fishing. These uniquely human endeavors provide natural self-correcting competition. Usain Bolt needs no ankle weights.
I don't like the current direction of the technical regulations, but the riders will probably bail out Dorna's treachery. Will the riders get 50% of the commercial rights money? (rhetorical)
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