Cycle News

Cycle News Issue 32 August 14

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1014374

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P136 CN III IN THE PADDOCK BY MICHAEL SCOTT W ho says racing lacks humor? Dorna has a way of addressing any such perception. Each year at Brno, after the summer break, they lay on a very subtle exercise in comedy, a show for connois- seurs of understated wit. It is the "group technical briefing," where each MotoGP manufacturer sends a delegate to face probing questions from an unwisely optimistic press. As if any one of them is go- ing to voluntarily reveal technical secrets, let alone when sitting alongside all his rivals. Once there was a time when race engineers were proud of their innovations and ideas and they happily talked about them. Especially with the old two-strokes, which would often respond better to the input of a lone eccentric in a shed than a whole open-plan roomful of draw- ing boards and fresh university students (the late Helmut Fath a prime example). These days, like the two-strokes, are gone. The Japanese companies have long been famous for secrecy beyond the call of duty, often achieved by pretended incom- prehension. Nothing defeats curiosity like a well-constructed language barrier. There is much to be lost in miss-translation. But Ducati has taken it to new SILENCE IS GOLDEN, EVEN WHEN YOU'RE TALKING

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