Joined Feb 2007
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Burgess: MotoGP Control Tyre Rule a “Big Mistake”
Rossi crew chief and Eurosport anchor join debate on opposite sides
The deliberations surrounding MotoGP’s decision to switch to a Bridgestone control tyre in 2009 have continued to grow, with prominent voices speaking up for both sides of the argument. Valentino Rossi’s crew chief, Jerry Burgess, told the Italian magazine, Motosprint, that there was no need for the introduction of a new rule and that teams should be able to make up their own minds.
Burgess
However Tony Carter, the MotoGP presenter on Eurosport, writes in his online article on 11 November, “As a race fan, all I want to see is rider against rider, machine against machine. I like the idea of a proper scrap where lesser factors like which type of a particular niche rubber compound by any of three or four manufacturers don't come into it.” The issue is currently the subject of Tyrepress.com’s Question of the Month, provoking similar levels of debate among tyre industry readers
Carter: Tyre rule great for MotoGP
There has been some debate over this one-make tyre rule coming into MotoGP next season, and to be honest I can't really understand why.
It would be fair enough if this was a new concept for two wheels, like when the idea first came in for the World Superbike championship a few years back. But does anyone out there actually think it's a bad thing for the blue-riband class?
As a race fan, all I want to see is rider against rider, machine against machine. I like the idea of a proper scrap where lesser factors like which type of a particular niche rubber compound by any of three or four manufacturers don't come into it.
So this season, with all the speculation going on long before the worst-kept secret in racing was made official, we were subjected to a few racing pundits bemoaning the idea. Some were even on record as saying it was a bad idea because it would mean the series wouldn't be as competitive.
What absolute rubbish.
It might not be as competitive from a marketing point of view, it might not be as interesting to anoraks who can tell you which intermediate compound is right for the two-minute window expected around lap 17 and it might not be as beneficial to anyone not on the right make and grade of tyre that's working better than the rest for any particular session.
But to think like that is, quite frankly, missing the point. By putting all the racers on the rubber it means one thing: close competition.
I admit that when I was first told of the idea of a single tyre rule coming into WSB I also wrote and said that it was going to be a bad idea - but I was very wrong.
What the move gave us was amazingly close racing for the majority of the pack; once the thought of everyone being on the same rubber lost its initial surprise factor and the lap times started coming down, we all realised that one-make tyre rules do make for fine action and close racing.
And while the most anorak of race fans won't like it, another strong factor in why the one-make tyre rule works is one of simplicity. It's easier for the general public to understand what's going on.
Rather than seeing the race from a Bridgestone point of view, or Michelin, or Dunlop, or Chen Shing or whoever, they now see a rider and a bike racing against those around them. All on the same rubber, dealing with the conditions on an equal footing and proving definitively who is best.
Quite why anyone would argue against the move is baffling, especially if it gives us what we want - closer racing in the premier class.
Tony Carter / Eurosport
some good comments are on Carters article
still think personally the one tyre rule is going to hurt MOTOGP and the changes over recent years in MOTOGP give it a F1 feel to me too many peeps meddling in it
THOUGHTS ?
Carter
Rossi crew chief and Eurosport anchor join debate on opposite sides
The deliberations surrounding MotoGP’s decision to switch to a Bridgestone control tyre in 2009 have continued to grow, with prominent voices speaking up for both sides of the argument. Valentino Rossi’s crew chief, Jerry Burgess, told the Italian magazine, Motosprint, that there was no need for the introduction of a new rule and that teams should be able to make up their own minds.
Burgess
However Tony Carter, the MotoGP presenter on Eurosport, writes in his online article on 11 November, “As a race fan, all I want to see is rider against rider, machine against machine. I like the idea of a proper scrap where lesser factors like which type of a particular niche rubber compound by any of three or four manufacturers don't come into it.” The issue is currently the subject of Tyrepress.com’s Question of the Month, provoking similar levels of debate among tyre industry readers
Carter: Tyre rule great for MotoGP
There has been some debate over this one-make tyre rule coming into MotoGP next season, and to be honest I can't really understand why.
It would be fair enough if this was a new concept for two wheels, like when the idea first came in for the World Superbike championship a few years back. But does anyone out there actually think it's a bad thing for the blue-riband class?
As a race fan, all I want to see is rider against rider, machine against machine. I like the idea of a proper scrap where lesser factors like which type of a particular niche rubber compound by any of three or four manufacturers don't come into it.
So this season, with all the speculation going on long before the worst-kept secret in racing was made official, we were subjected to a few racing pundits bemoaning the idea. Some were even on record as saying it was a bad idea because it would mean the series wouldn't be as competitive.
What absolute rubbish.
It might not be as competitive from a marketing point of view, it might not be as interesting to anoraks who can tell you which intermediate compound is right for the two-minute window expected around lap 17 and it might not be as beneficial to anyone not on the right make and grade of tyre that's working better than the rest for any particular session.
But to think like that is, quite frankly, missing the point. By putting all the racers on the rubber it means one thing: close competition.
I admit that when I was first told of the idea of a single tyre rule coming into WSB I also wrote and said that it was going to be a bad idea - but I was very wrong.
What the move gave us was amazingly close racing for the majority of the pack; once the thought of everyone being on the same rubber lost its initial surprise factor and the lap times started coming down, we all realised that one-make tyre rules do make for fine action and close racing.
And while the most anorak of race fans won't like it, another strong factor in why the one-make tyre rule works is one of simplicity. It's easier for the general public to understand what's going on.
Rather than seeing the race from a Bridgestone point of view, or Michelin, or Dunlop, or Chen Shing or whoever, they now see a rider and a bike racing against those around them. All on the same rubber, dealing with the conditions on an equal footing and proving definitively who is best.
Quite why anyone would argue against the move is baffling, especially if it gives us what we want - closer racing in the premier class.
Tony Carter / Eurosport
some good comments are on Carters article
still think personally the one tyre rule is going to hurt MOTOGP and the changes over recent years in MOTOGP give it a F1 feel to me too many peeps meddling in it
THOUGHTS ?
Carter
