Roland Berger has a long career linked to the world of two wheels. And currently, he holds the position of Director of the FIM Technical Commission. He assumed this role in 2023 and will serve for at least four years. That is, until the next major change to the MotoGP regulations takes place. Many challenges ahead. The most important: trying to return the spectacle to MotoGP through overtaking. Berger was asked about this matter in Speedweek. “We have considerably increased performance, which means that we can finally run at a speed of 366km/h. It is of no use to anyone, because no spectator sees the difference. Now aerodynamics comes into play, which goes hand in hand with the chassis. If you want to go twice as fast, you have to have four times as much power. And aerodynamics also became a problem when braking,” said the Austrian.
Berger explained how aerodynamics has affected the current MotoGP. “When the driver brakes at 360 km/h, he is happy to have more contact pressure on the front wheel. However, there was a disadvantage in the corner: when leaning, the wing pushed the bike outwards. “In order for this understeer to occur uniformly, the rear wings were used,” he said. And he continues on this topic. “Before, drivers only had one way to compensate for that push to the outside of the corner, and that was to accelerate. Which, as we know, didn't always work well. In any case, the aerodynamic packages have been getting better and better.” As a consequence of all this aerodynamics, MotoGP riders also have to fight against 'dirty air'. “You arrive and you can't get close to the driver in front of you. However, if you go over the limit, you are suddenly dragged forward. As this usually happens just before the braking point, overtaking has become quite complicated. Cornering speeds are the same as before, but the braking points are later due to the wings. This has not made overtaking easier. The result is a series that is technically fascinating, but no longer offers the action that he once did.”
For Berger, the solution to this problem is quite clear. “We remove the wings. Or, at least, all the ones behind the fuel cap. The front wings, at least, have some relevance as standard. They work from 50 km/h. We eliminate 'holeshot' devices. And we may have to reduce the power,” he assures. However, to see all this in MotoGP we will still have to wait. In principle, until 2027. “It is rumored that, from then on, it will be 850 c.c., which means 15% less power and between 10% and 12% less maximum speed,” explained Berger. However, that does not mean that there cannot be excitement in MotoGP until the regulations are changed. “It has always been the case that a manufacturer has achieved some genius here and there. Then it took two or three years for the competition to catch up. Ducati is a clear case: 87 victories in MotoGP, 14 of which were by customer teams in recent years. KTM made the biggest leap in 2023, but it simply wasn't enough. The closer they get to the leaders, and they will, the more interesting the races will be,” he assures.
www.motosan.es
