Joined Jun 2006
2K Posts | 20+
south wales UK
After watching the latest MotoGP procession, at Brno, 500cc legend Randy Mamola has pleaded for an end to the complex electronics that many believe have killed the once spectacular MotoGP show.
Hats off to Jorge Lorenzo for another master class in Brno. Despite not having the best qualifying session, as soon as the lights went out in the race he was perfect and fully deserved his seventh win of the season.
Apart from Jorge though, I am not sure if there was anyone else in the paddock at Brno who was excited at what they saw, the race wasn’t one to remember and as much as I love the sport there comes a time when you have to say to yourself ‘enough is enough’ and realize something needs to change. While there is no magic bullet which can pull us out of this rut, I think with just one change we can take a big step in the right direction.
Electronics. It’s a bit of a dirty word to some race fans, particularly those of you who have been following GP’s for a long time and enjoyed seeing the riders taking all kinds of lines in and out of the corners. People ask ‘Why can’t we just ditch the electronics altogether’ and I totally agree – let’s get rid of traction control and make it all about the riders!
Though MotoGP has the best riders in the world fighting it out, the continued development of electronics has caused problems; the racing as a spectacle has suffered, costs have increased dramatically and the bikes have become so razor sharp that by Sunday if a rider hasn’t found the perfect setup he can’t use his skill to ride around it effectively.
At Brno I talked to Mike Leitner, Dani Pedrosa’s crew chief and he was a bit bewildered as Dani was complaining about a lack of rear grip, even though he was almost matching Lorenzo’s pace and the data didn’t show anything was wrong. Dani was still on the gas where he should have been but the digital connection between his right wrist and the rear tire wasn’t quite right. This goes to show that even the best riders have a hard time trying to get these ultra-sophisticated bikes working like they should.
When I am trackside as a spectator, it is really easy to hear the traction control at work. As the electronics step in to cut ignition on the way out of the corner it gives that distinctive popping sound and it’s a good indicator to see how the different bikes are setup. As the race goes on and the tires degrade the riders are still going full throttle at the same point in the corner, but the electronics are what sort out how much drive goes to the back wheel. Is this good for fast lap times? Absolutely. Too bad the racing has suffered as a result.
Now if the riders were saying ‘No way man, I’m not going near my bike without traction control’ then I could understand the teams persisting with it, but the riders are actually saying ‘Give the control back to us’. I just wish the regulations were in place to let the guys go at it, they are the best in the world so let them prove it. If a rider complains about his engine being too peaky, let his team work on tuning the power delivery instead of throwing some electronics around it to numb the whole thing down.
I won’t name names but I know that one of the MotoGP teams tested their bike without any electronics and after 15 laps they were only about one second a lap slower than normal. Hey, who cares! I don’t think fans will care if the lap times are a bit down if the flip side is they get more exciting racing and get to see the riders backing it in to the corners.
And don’t tell me the electronics are about safety, we can’t hide behind that argument any more. We’ve had a lot of highsides and numerous broken bones in MotoGP this year so we can’t get any worse there. Moto2 isn’t using TC so let’s change the way we approach developing engines in MotoGP to make them more tractable and do away with electronics altogether.
Racing should all be about man versus machine. Though many riders - myself included - have worked long and hard to improve circuit safety over the years, the fact is riding will always have an element of risk yet traction control is not part of the solution. As I said before the electronics are just there to improve lap times but this is GP racing not a time trial.
I am so fired up about this – we can’t keep going in this direction any longer. MotoGP is the greatest show on Earth; it brings a smile to the face of everyone who throws a leg over a motorcycle – that’s how great this sport is. I don’t have all the answers but we all need to work together to make MotoGP a better place to play for the riders, a fairer fight for the teams and give the fans the awesome show they deserve.
So what if we drop the electronics for 2012? We will get rid of one of the most expensive elements in the garage which should make it cheaper to develop and maintain a competitive GP bike. This way we might also give the satellite teams a fighting chance of winning a race.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. We need to listen to the fans as they are the payer of our debts. I hope that the powers that be take heed of what the fans are saying for the long term interest of our sport.
Randy
LINKY: http://alpinestarsinc.com/mamola-97
Hats off to Jorge Lorenzo for another master class in Brno. Despite not having the best qualifying session, as soon as the lights went out in the race he was perfect and fully deserved his seventh win of the season.
Apart from Jorge though, I am not sure if there was anyone else in the paddock at Brno who was excited at what they saw, the race wasn’t one to remember and as much as I love the sport there comes a time when you have to say to yourself ‘enough is enough’ and realize something needs to change. While there is no magic bullet which can pull us out of this rut, I think with just one change we can take a big step in the right direction.
Electronics. It’s a bit of a dirty word to some race fans, particularly those of you who have been following GP’s for a long time and enjoyed seeing the riders taking all kinds of lines in and out of the corners. People ask ‘Why can’t we just ditch the electronics altogether’ and I totally agree – let’s get rid of traction control and make it all about the riders!
Though MotoGP has the best riders in the world fighting it out, the continued development of electronics has caused problems; the racing as a spectacle has suffered, costs have increased dramatically and the bikes have become so razor sharp that by Sunday if a rider hasn’t found the perfect setup he can’t use his skill to ride around it effectively.
At Brno I talked to Mike Leitner, Dani Pedrosa’s crew chief and he was a bit bewildered as Dani was complaining about a lack of rear grip, even though he was almost matching Lorenzo’s pace and the data didn’t show anything was wrong. Dani was still on the gas where he should have been but the digital connection between his right wrist and the rear tire wasn’t quite right. This goes to show that even the best riders have a hard time trying to get these ultra-sophisticated bikes working like they should.
When I am trackside as a spectator, it is really easy to hear the traction control at work. As the electronics step in to cut ignition on the way out of the corner it gives that distinctive popping sound and it’s a good indicator to see how the different bikes are setup. As the race goes on and the tires degrade the riders are still going full throttle at the same point in the corner, but the electronics are what sort out how much drive goes to the back wheel. Is this good for fast lap times? Absolutely. Too bad the racing has suffered as a result.
Now if the riders were saying ‘No way man, I’m not going near my bike without traction control’ then I could understand the teams persisting with it, but the riders are actually saying ‘Give the control back to us’. I just wish the regulations were in place to let the guys go at it, they are the best in the world so let them prove it. If a rider complains about his engine being too peaky, let his team work on tuning the power delivery instead of throwing some electronics around it to numb the whole thing down.
I won’t name names but I know that one of the MotoGP teams tested their bike without any electronics and after 15 laps they were only about one second a lap slower than normal. Hey, who cares! I don’t think fans will care if the lap times are a bit down if the flip side is they get more exciting racing and get to see the riders backing it in to the corners.
And don’t tell me the electronics are about safety, we can’t hide behind that argument any more. We’ve had a lot of highsides and numerous broken bones in MotoGP this year so we can’t get any worse there. Moto2 isn’t using TC so let’s change the way we approach developing engines in MotoGP to make them more tractable and do away with electronics altogether.
Racing should all be about man versus machine. Though many riders - myself included - have worked long and hard to improve circuit safety over the years, the fact is riding will always have an element of risk yet traction control is not part of the solution. As I said before the electronics are just there to improve lap times but this is GP racing not a time trial.
I am so fired up about this – we can’t keep going in this direction any longer. MotoGP is the greatest show on Earth; it brings a smile to the face of everyone who throws a leg over a motorcycle – that’s how great this sport is. I don’t have all the answers but we all need to work together to make MotoGP a better place to play for the riders, a fairer fight for the teams and give the fans the awesome show they deserve.
So what if we drop the electronics for 2012? We will get rid of one of the most expensive elements in the garage which should make it cheaper to develop and maintain a competitive GP bike. This way we might also give the satellite teams a fighting chance of winning a race.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. We need to listen to the fans as they are the payer of our debts. I hope that the powers that be take heed of what the fans are saying for the long term interest of our sport.
Randy
LINKY: http://alpinestarsinc.com/mamola-97
