Luca Marini Wants Bike/Rider Minimum Weight In MotoGP

mylexicon · May 18, 2022

https://the-race.com/motogp/the-more-fair-rule-example-motogp-must-follow/

“In my opinion, it can be more fair, because in other sports it is like this. It’s like this in other categories of motorsport, for example, Moto2 is like this. It can be more fair. I don’t know if this is the problem or not, but it can be a start.”

I tend to agree with him. The stature of MotoGP riders probably precludes about 95% of the population in the developed world. It's not good for the sport, the industry, or the riding discipline if most people cannot participate.

Definitely don't want to disadvantage smaller riders by making them hit the gym, which leads to arm pump or other problems, but a middle ground needs to be found, imo.

Nitro Nori and Iannone should never have been taking diet pills or anabolic steroids to cut their body fat to unhealthy levels. There is no reason to push riders down that road.

propagandhi · May 18, 2022

Now that Redding is gone : I agree.

ratdeal · May 18, 2022

Marini weighs the same as Mir - 69kg. Mir doesn't seem to have an issue with his weight, nor his competiveness.

Whilst I don't disagree with Luca in principle, many sports have always favoured individuals of a certain stature.

I might sound a little mean, but his weight hasn't hampered him in qualifying, nor was it an issue in Moto2 where you would imagine weight is an even bigger penalty. Honestly I think he just isn't fast enough.

#22 · May 18, 2022

ratdeal said:
Marini weighs the same as Mir - 69kg. Mir doesn't seem to have an issue with his weight, nor his competiveness.

Whilst I don't disagree with Luca in principle, many sports have always favoured individuals of a certain stature.

I might sound a little mean, but his weight hasn't hampered him in qualifying, nor was it an issue in Moto2 where you would imagine weight is an even bigger penalty. Honestly I think he just isn't fast enough.

Can't disagree. He should be walking over his team mate and frankly isn't. If he weren't Rossi's half brother then I doubt he'd be there.

propagandhi · May 18, 2022

"Yes, yes...I know his results don't look that good, but you know, pound for pound wise, sugar cake Crutchlowson is the Goat."

MichaelBolton · May 18, 2022

ratdeal said:
I might sound a little mean, but his weight hasn't hampered him in qualifying, nor was it an issue in Moto2 where you would imagine weight is an even bigger penalty. Honestly I think he just isn't fast enough.

The article says bike+rider weight is taken into account in the lower categories already. If true, it's just another bizarre case of different set of rules between MGP and the other categories for no good reason.

mylexicon · May 18, 2022

MichaelBolton said:
The article says bike+rider weight is taken into account in the lower categories already. If true, it's just another bizarre case of different set of rules between MGP and the other categories for no good reason.

It's true. Bike rider weight limits are also part of World Supersport now.

mylexicon · May 18, 2022

ratdeal said:
Marini weighs the same as Mir - 69kg. Mir doesn't seem to have an issue with his weight, nor his competiveness.

Whilst I don't disagree with Luca in principle, many sports have always favoured individuals of a certain stature.

I might sound a little mean, but his weight hasn't hampered him in qualifying, nor was it an issue in Moto2 where you would imagine weight is an even bigger penalty. Honestly I think he just isn't fast enough.

It's not mean. Every sport has physical selection criteria but they are often related to human performance and skill. A baseball pitcher with big hands and long arms can generally throw pitches with more velocity and break.

I'm not sure being a little pedrobot makes you better at working the controls.

Plus, the sport could move away from small riders just as unfairly as it moved towards them. Dorna could change the fairing dimensions and Michelin could make rock hard tires. Everyone under 75kg would be out of the sport.

Honestly, I'm not sure why they keep dragging their feet regarding bike rider minimum weight regs. Sure, ballast could be an unfair advantage, causing the rule not to work. Maybe, the smaller riders would get arm pump if they chose to bulk up. Whatever, they can tune the rule as they go along to allow more or less variance.

Right now there is no soft minimum so a 50kilo rider has a 20kg advantage over a 70 kilo rider. If they bring down that difference to 15kg and then down to 10kg, and they monitor the health of the participants and the trends in rider size, I don't see a problem.

ratdeal · May 18, 2022

Again, whilst I don't disagree in principle this has only come up again because Marini is slow. It has nothing to do with his weight.

Alex Rins who is a race winner and consistently competitive is 3 kilos heavier than Marini. Luca is just plain wrong that he is impaired due to his size. He just lacks ability.

It should be noted that Pedrosa definitely wasn't advantaged by his size. It would seem it generally evened out. A rocket on the straights, but less capable on the brakes. Not to mention his fragility when it came to injuries.

Of course there is a range at which being excessively heavy negatively impacts performance. Marini isn't even close. The bloke is 6 foot 1 inches and not even the heaviest rider in the grid.

mylexicon · May 18, 2022

ratdeal said:
Again, whilst I don't disagree in principle this has only come up again because Marini is slow. It has nothing to do with his weight.

Alex Rins who is a race winner and consistently competitive is 3 kilos heavier than Marini. Luca is just plain wrong that he is impaired due to his size. He just lacks ability.

It should be noted that Pedrosa definitely wasn't advantaged by his size. It would seem it generally evened out. A rocket on the straights, but less capable on the brakes. Not to mention his fragility when it came to injuries.

Of course there is a range at which being excessively heavy negatively impacts performance. Marini isn't even close. The bloke is 6 foot 1 inches and not even the heaviest rider in the grid.

It's a fair data point to compare Mir and Marini. There is an outside possibility that the issue is the Ducati not tolerating weight well. If we affirm the consequent, maybe that's why Bastianini is so fast?

Unsure if MotoGP should be meddling with bike-rider minimum weights to address manufacturer specific issues.

evo9 · May 18, 2022

ratdeal said:
Marini weighs the same as Mir - 69kg. Mir doesn't seem to have an issue with his weight, nor his competiveness.

I might sound a little mean, but his weight hasn't hampered him in qualifying, nor was it an issue in Moto2 where you would imagine weight is an even bigger penalty. Honestly I think he just isn't fast enough.

Nail square on the head right there!

Barbedwirebikerr · May 19, 2022

I don't think a combined minimum weight is the way to go, are they going to do a weigh in before fp3? Then have riders cut weight like fighters do?
What happens if a rider gets delhi belly or the Thai equivalent in lead up to race day/weekend, Do teams have to hastily add weight to bike? Do they run over the scales after the race, no more burnouts and riders throwing gear to the crowds.

Bring your best bike, with your best setup, with your best rider.

propagandhi · May 19, 2022

I'm going to propose a bit of sacrilege here.
light rider = weight advantage
heavy rider = strength advantage
longer race = less time at the inlaws

you catch my drift.

Edit: + added revenue for financing binders soy milk

Barbedwirebikerr · May 19, 2022

propagandhi said:
I'm going to propose a bit of sacrilege here.
light rider = weight advantage
heavy rider = strength advantage
longer race = less time at the inlaws

you catch my drift.

Edit: + added revenue for financing binders soy milk

Unless your Marc, that boy is light and strong as an ox. Defeats all arguments.

Crippled Marc, evens the field, makes everyone racing for places look competitive.

In-laws. Meh.

#22 · May 19, 2022

propagandhi said:
"Yes, yes...I know his results don't look that good, but you know, pound for pound wise, sugar cake Crutchlowson is the Goat."

To be fair, Crutchlow won some races...

propagandhi said:
I'm going to propose a bit of sacrilege here.
light rider = weight advantage
heavy rider = strength advantage
longer race = less time at the inlaws

you catch my drift.

Edit: + added revenue for financing binders soy milk

It's been a problem in years with Karting. Higher and higher weights in junior and senior classes to the point where at one time, I was having to run over 30kg (75lbs) of lead to meet the minimum weight limit. The problem with that is:

1. WHERE do you put that much ballast safely on a kart?
2. Dead weight is different to body weight, ESPECIALLY on a bike. 2 bikes with rider combos that weight the same, one with 50lb of lead and the other not, will not perform the same because the heavier rider can move his bodyweight around, unlike the lighter rider.

Also as Prop alluded to, a heavier rider will have an advantage with strength but also in cornering they will have slightly more grip. Why do you think Dani was so bad in the wet in GP? He didn't have the weight to get the tyre temps up.

propagandhi · May 20, 2022

My thinking is very non-scientific , but as long as these guys can have that speed advantage by starving/being too short for the theme park ride without breaking a proper sweat, then imo we need to make it harder(physically) to even the playing field.
Heavier bikes are not the answer , I think we all agree here. But a longer race? It will never be perfectly fair in terms of fuel/tyre usage, but you know, if 5 added laps helped I wouldnt complain.
It could on average spare me 2-4 Borscht servings per season

propagandhi · May 20, 2022

#22 said:
To be fair, Crutchlow won some races...

just taking the piss. I wanted to make that joke about bradl but he's basically the kraut hornswoggle. krautswoggle.
Now, JRea on the ...... ok I stop.

Mick D · May 20, 2022

LM should give his head a shake. Baz is way bigger and although he may not be the best rider in the world, he has proven he is competitive on MGP and WSBK bikes.

propagandhi · May 20, 2022

Mick D said:
LM should give his head a shake. Baz is way bigger and although he may not be the best rider in the world, he has proven he is competitive on MGP and WSBK bikes.

Well Baz is Bozz.

Can anyone find that pic of him on the podium next to sykes?

#22 · May 23, 2022

propagandhi said:
Well Baz is Bozz.

Can anyone find that pic of him on the podium next to sykes?

Sykes fookin hates Baz...

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