I'm old. Swedish. My English language skills are limited, so please forgive errors in text.
Used to race myself in the 1970-80. Then, bikes were required to have the starting numbers clearly at front and on both sides. Why? Because spectators should be able to identify riders. Quite obvious, right?
When Dorna took over World Motorcycle Roadracing Championships, created MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 (which, btw, was excellent), some claybrains decided that starting numbers wasn't required at the bike's sides, only at front. Meaning that spectators, at site or watching TV, couldn't identify the riders unless they knew the exact colours and patterns of bike, helmet, leather gear, etc.
I'm watching a race on TV. Six riders on red bikes and red leathers are battling. I have no idea who's who since I'm not an expert in exact paint details of bike or helmets. There's no number showing at the bikes' sides. If I'm lucky to get a glimp of the fronts, the numbers are nearly impossible to comprehend. Italic fonts, background and font colour almost the same, etc. Rides/teams can select nearly any font they like.
Meanwhile, riders are exploiting their race number as a trade mark. 46, 93, etc. But only die hard MotoGP enthusiasts can differ these guys from other riders in same team, same colours, etc.
I invited a couple of friends to watch Spanish GP 2024. None of them into motorsports. Both lost their interest after 5-10 minutes as they were unable to identify riders by numbers.
Look at attached images. A rider covered with ads, no starting number visible. Or a rider with starting number visible.
Used to race myself in the 1970-80. Then, bikes were required to have the starting numbers clearly at front and on both sides. Why? Because spectators should be able to identify riders. Quite obvious, right?
When Dorna took over World Motorcycle Roadracing Championships, created MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 (which, btw, was excellent), some claybrains decided that starting numbers wasn't required at the bike's sides, only at front. Meaning that spectators, at site or watching TV, couldn't identify the riders unless they knew the exact colours and patterns of bike, helmet, leather gear, etc.
I'm watching a race on TV. Six riders on red bikes and red leathers are battling. I have no idea who's who since I'm not an expert in exact paint details of bike or helmets. There's no number showing at the bikes' sides. If I'm lucky to get a glimp of the fronts, the numbers are nearly impossible to comprehend. Italic fonts, background and font colour almost the same, etc. Rides/teams can select nearly any font they like.
Meanwhile, riders are exploiting their race number as a trade mark. 46, 93, etc. But only die hard MotoGP enthusiasts can differ these guys from other riders in same team, same colours, etc.
I invited a couple of friends to watch Spanish GP 2024. None of them into motorsports. Both lost their interest after 5-10 minutes as they were unable to identify riders by numbers.
Look at attached images. A rider covered with ads, no starting number visible. Or a rider with starting number visible.
