P110
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
T
he more things change, the
more they stay the same, so
the saying goes. But is the
opposite also true: the more things
stay the same (or are made to be the
same), the more they change?
That has been the case with Dorna
at the helm of MotoGP, directing
technical regulations that are effec-
tively stagnant, but for minor refine-
ments year on year.
The dumbing down, or more accu-
rately saming down—for 2019 is the
introduction of a control inertia plat-
form. This is yet another one-size-fits-
all electronic component designed
to deny any advantage to the bigger
spenders. An approach that has been
very effective by the example of the
control ECU and software, at least in
making the racing closer—though not
in stopping Honda from winning.
Electronics is a topic both abstruse
and tedious. Suffice it to say (as far
as my own understanding and inter-
est goes), an inertial platform (IMU)
is one of a range of sensors feed-
ing information to the ECU. But the
UNIFICATION
– THAT'S THE NAME
OF THE GAME
By Dorna trying to
keep the playing
field on equal foot-
ing when it comes
to electronics, it's
clear that the show
is more important
than the go.
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
