Cycle News

IN THE WIND P46 Crutchlow's Punishment Fit The Crime? L egendary champion Freddie Spencer's new role as chairman of the new FIM Stewards Panel, formed to relieve race direction of having to police race offenses, got off to a shaky start at round two of the 2019 MotoGP Championship in Argentina, March 30-31, when he was comprehensively slammed by a furious Cal Crutchlow, insisting his punishment for a jump start had been grotesquely unfair. The 2018 race winner had quali- fied on the second row of the grid and had his eye on a second suc- cessive podium finish, only to have his chances wrecked when he was ordered to serve a ride-through penalty. Crutchlow set second-fastest lap as he charged through from last to 13th place, then stormed straight to race direction to complain. Later, before everyone had the chance to see a video in which his bike had moved forward minutely, clearly gaining no advantage, he explained it happened when he had moved his balance onto his toes. Crutchlow singled Spencer out for criticism in a voluble debrief session, adding that he didn't think Marquez, Rossi or Dovizioso would have been punished in the same way. The Riders' Safety Commission had asked for somebody that un- derstood racing, he said, to show "discretion and understanding of the rules, and what is unfairly gain- ing and what is not." He felt Spencer should have understood that no advantage had been gained. "I'm not saying give me the benefit of the doubt, be- cause I did nothing wrong." When other riders could see the video at the next Safety Commission meet- ing, they would laugh, "and they will lose respect for him as well." Crutchlow concluded that Spen- cer had said nothing in response to his complaint. "He just stood there with his arms folded." Team owner Lucio Cecchinello added his condemnation. "The penalty was tremendously hard, and his movement at the start was irrelevant, really irrelevant—one, five or two centimeters. At the next committee meeting, we will put forward our opinion that the penalty for this kind of infringement is far too hard. There is no relation between the potential gain of a couple of centimeters compared with the 30-second penalty of a ride-through." Michael Scott Ducati Aero Swingarm Deemed Legal W ith the mass protest against Ducati's swingarm aero device comprehensively defeated at the FIM Court of Appeal, it seemed that the protesters—Aprilia, Honda, KTM and Suzuki—were left with egg on their faces. But as the MotoGP weekend unfolded in Argentina, there was a different complexion on the affair, with the spotlight falling on Technical Director Danny Aldridge, facing criticism for wording on a guideline to the rules that left a loophole in their interpretation. The role of the under-suspension chin-piece has now been re- vealed. It is there to cool the rear tire, with Ducati chief Gigi Dall'Igna telling press that it can make a difference of as much as seven degrees. It does also generate a small amount of downforce… but The little piece that caused all this trouble attached to Dovi's swingarm is now officially legal. And others are about to copy it.

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