P114
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
W
e all know what GP
racing means. It's the
pinnacle of achieve-
ment in every sphere. The
riding, of course, but also the
machines, tires, fuel, oil, etc.,
and circuits. It is an aspiration
towards excellence. Progress
must always strive towards per-
fection.
Thus it was a bit surprising
to see the changes at Sepang.
A major revamp included a fine
new surface, better safety with
paved run-offs and revised gravel
traps, and improved drainage for
the tropical cloudbursts. Plus, a
final hairpin that had been given
a significant range of adverse
camber. In other words, banked
the wrong way, with the greatest
new elevation right at the clip-
ping point just after the apex.
The opposite of what you might
think of as an improvement.
There were two reasons for
this, according to track re-
designers Dromo. One was to
cut speed onto the front straight
and thence into the first corner,
which has limited run-off. Given
the way a MotoGP bike acceler-
ates, especially if it is a Ducati,
that's pretty marginal—an opinion
shared by 2017 Ducati recruit
Lorenzo. When a slower corner
was introduced at Catalunya this
year after Salom's fatal crash, it
actually led to higher speed by
WHEN IS WORSE BETTER?
