MotoGP announces 2027 regulations

mylexicon said:

The window into HRC's inner workings has been the interviews and press releases. Those are few and far between these days. The last gold nugget out of the HRC garage was Repsol claiming that maybe Michelin had a hand in building the legend of Rossi. Since then, the veil surrounding HRC has become quite opaque. I'm unsure of their plans, though pundits have suggested that Honda value the first and last season of any formula. They got the job done in 2006 and they didn't let up in 2011. However, I sense that GP and SBK are not aligning with Honda's values, and they don't have the motivation to push for victory in 2026. Maybe the 214V is the best use of their time?



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Yes, the engineering philosophy thing rings true, they are purists sometimes to a fault, and we know they don’t think bikes should have aero on bikes for one thing.

mylexicon said:

In my layperson’s opinion the best engines are only gaining 1-2 peak hp with each major revision. The 1-hp-per-year is achieved by improving piston rings, cylinder treatments, lubricants, etc.

Imo, bigger gains can be made playing around with intake tuning, combustion chamber shape, etc to gain 1-2hp throughout the rpm range.

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So a drop in 25-30hp should see the bikes not getting more powerful than they are right up until the end of ICE racing

mikesbytes said:

So a drop in 25-30hp should see the bikes not getting more powerful than they are right up until the end of ICE racing

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Yes, in my opinion, though lap times are a different story. Dall’Igna thinks it will only take 5 years of 850cc racing to equal the 1000cc lap times.

mylexicon said:

Yes, in my opinion, though lap times are a different story. Dall’Igna thinks it will only take 5 years of 850cc racing to equal the 1000cc lap times.

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I wouldn't be surprised if it was less than that. 800cc were beating 990's by halfway through the 2007 as you well know.

mylexicon said:

Yes, in my opinion, though lap times are a different story. Dall’Igna thinks it will only take 5 years of

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mylexicon said:

850cc racing to equal the 1000cc lap times.

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Seems reasonable but could be even less as things like tyres improve

I'm wondering about the aero changes which appears to be largely a narrower total width and a little shorter. Would it just result in more foils to get the same downforce? Like what's happened in F1

mikesbytes said:

Seems reasonable but could be even less as things like tyres improve

I'm wondering about the aero changes which appears to be largely a narrower total width and a little shorter. Would it just result in more foils to get the same downforce? Like what's happened in F1

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Possibly. In F1, the aero working group is known for its Machiavellian dealings and continuous harm to the sport.

I have barely a rudimentary understanding of aero, but shortening the nose cone should have a profound impact on the manufacturers' ability to steer the air through the nose wings and over the bodywork. Narrowing the maximum width will make it more difficult still to guide air through the wings and over the rear body work. It reduces surface area that can be used to drag in the braking zones.

My only concern is that abnormally narrow riders don't become a thing. Hopefully, they have min dimensions for the rear bodywork on the front fairing. We'll see. The shorter nose and lower trap/terminal speeds might render these things less important. Unclear what the RHD ban will do. Make aero less influential because no variable wing attack angles? or more influential because bad wings cannot be stalled in a straight line anymore? Who knows?

mylexicon said:

Possibly. In F1, the aero working group is known for its Machiavellian dealings and continuous harm to the sport.

I have barely a rudimentary understanding of aero, but shortening the nose cone should have a profound impact on the manufacturers' ability to steer the air through the nose wings and over the bodywork. Narrowing the maximum width will make it more difficult still to guide air through the wings and over the rear body work. It reduces surface area that can be used to drag in the braking zones.

My only concern is that abnormally narrow riders don't become a thing. Hopefully, they have min dimensions for the rear bodywork on the front fairing. We'll see. The shorter nose and lower trap/terminal speeds might render these things less important. Unclear what the RHD ban will do. Make aero less influential because no variable wing attack angles? or more influential because bad wings cannot be stalled in a straight line anymore? Who knows?

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I recall that kind of concern was happening in F1 that they would end up with midget racing so they changed the rules around weight. Back in the 80’s in Australia there was a midget who use to race, he did alright but it did seem to be a disadvantage. I attended an endurance race, might of been 6 hours, somehow they managed to get the bike to work with both the midget and his normal height teammate with minimal delay in changeover

I wouldn’t call Buster Saunders a midget,,,,,, maybe just height impaired?

Havey said:

I wouldn’t call Buster Saunders a midget,,,,,, maybe just height impaired?

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Your got a good memory, I’d forgotten his nick name

mikesbytes said:

Your got a good memory, I’d forgotten his nick name

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His team mate was Will Hagon, twice his size.

I guess they might take something away from Moto2

In regards to Moto2 engine size we need to take into consideration that it’s a souped up road engine

mikesbytes said:

I guess they might take something away from Moto2

In regards to Moto2 engine size we need to take into consideration that it’s a souped up road engine

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From my understanding the engines would still be night and day even if the same cc value.

I only started following MotoGP 4 years ago, so don't know all the history. Why was the 800cc area so bad? I'm also not the most mechanically minded person in the world

Saffa said:

I only started following MotoGP 4 years ago, so don't know all the history. Why was the 800cc area so bad? I'm also not the most mechanically minded person in the world

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It's complicated, and a historical recounting of events would not really recreate the zeitgeist of the era.

The 990s were well received by most fans, and the competitive landscape strengthened continuously, leading to one of the most entertaining and dramatic seasons in 2006.

For 2007 the GPC made changes against the wishes of fans. These changes were technically dysfunctional, and they were made on the precipice of the global financial crisis. This caused Dorna to assess the MSMA as incompetent. Dorna formed an alliance with IRTA to gain control over the GPC, and they stopped collectively bargaining with the manufacturers. The tire war disintegrated. Cost controls were introduce. Kawasaki withdrew. Suzuki stopped caring. Ducati made some missteps.

The political strain on MotoGP, and the financial strain on Dorna led to questionable decision-making as the sport emerged from the global financial crisis. Five manufacturers had 800cc engines and Ilmor had built an 800cc engine as well. In my opinion, the tech regs and tires just needed to be stabilized. The CRT concept or Open concept could have been done with the Ilmor engine playing the role of DFV. Unfortunately, Dorna wanted to feed red meat to the rabid fan base, and they were still haunted by World Superbike. Dorna opted for a clean sheet 1000cc formula with CRT satellite teams and concession and much more. The following year, Bridgepoint acquired World Superbike, and Dorna no longer needed to worry about Superbike performance comparisons.

All of the discord, abject failure and unpopular changes in MotoGP were blamed on engine displacement. That's why fans are generally spooked about the 850cc formula. Anything that starts with an 8 is suspect. But the total dysfunction from 2007 to 2014 or so was obviously more complicated than cc's.

Regarding 800cc racing, the beginning of the 800cc era was decent. Stoner won easily in 2007, but Rossi took a few signature wins, and there was good back-and-forth between Bridgestone and Michelin. Suzuki were competitive for the first time since the 500s, and Kawasaki were also improved. Unfortunately, the excessive tire performance and the impending financial crisis would crush the 800cc era. The smaller teams withdrew or stopped caring. The races became processional snooze fests.