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/128372
By IN rHE PADDOCK MICHAEL SCOTT When It Rains, It Pours ,, T he. people who run this sport are morons." The pungent response came from Valentino Rossi's revered crew chief Jerry Burgess, the reason for the expostulation yet another last-minute rule change about what to do if it rains during a race. He was far from alone in this reaction, echoed at all levels, from technicians and riders to top bosses. And not just because of the taint of amateurish botching, after a winter when the schedule had been changed three times, including a surprise, last-minute Istanbul Grand Prix. This rain dance has been going on for years now, and this further pirouette is just another in a series of (by my count five) giddying twists. The latest involves a U-turn in a key point of the new flag-to-flag no-stop racing: Riders will, after all, be able to switch to a spare bike, rather than fretting while mechanics hasten to switch not only wheels but also brake pads, and even calipers, with all the potential for a minor assembly error causing a major accident. One can predict with confidence that it will not be the last change, because once again a more-or-Iess disastrous strategy has been replaced by another one as full of holes as an umbrella girl's fishnet tights. The problems began with the slick tires in the 1970s and were significantly compounded by the arrival of carbon brakes in the following decade. Neither of these works properly on a wet track. The danger is obvious. The first debacle was the infamous British GP of 1978, when some riders pitted to change tires and others splashed on precariously on slicks. Victory was awarded to Kenny Roberts, second to press-on national rider Steve Manship, with Barry Sheene a disgruntled third, insisting that officials had miscounted the laps. Nowadays, TV schedules are of much more concern than mere race results. The turning point in this regard was the Italian GP of 200 I, when weather interruptions screwed up the schedule to such an extent that many countries didn't see the end of the main race. (Alex Barros won, if you're still wondering.) An urgent solution was sought, and to be fair, a number of urgent solutions were found. None of them, however, made enough sense that another urgent solution was not directly required to replace it, sometimes even before it had come into effect. This latest ruling has just the same feel. The first botch took time to brew up, with a number of different proposals put forward in order to restore "flag-to-flag" racing, with no interruptions. These included voluntary or compulsory pit stops, deployment of a pace car for a fixed time to enable tire changes, machine changes, banning slicks or the equally problematic carbon brakes. By the end of the 2002 season, Race Commission - made up of Dorna, the FIM, the manufacturers (MSMA) and teams (IRTA) - had thrashed out an uneasy solution. They would do none of these things but would instead run flag to flag, leaving all decisions on tires and pit stops to riders and teams. A risky and old-fashioned notion, in line with Isle of Man TT thinking, that "the throttle goes both ways." Anyway, it didn't see Christmas. Another year-end meeting thrashed out a new idea altogether: Races would still go flag to flag, but if it rained a pace car would take to the track, ahead of the leader. All riders would then line up behind it, in single file in race order, and he would lead them into the pits. There they could change equipment, line up again behind the car in the same order, then go out again behind him for two slow laps before he pulled into the pits and they set off racing again. This infamous "rolling restart" had many obvious pitfalls, not least the difficulty of getting everyone into position both before and even more after the pit stop. They tried it out anyway at the IRTA preseason test, which showed many other opportunities for confusion. So that notion bit the dust. With the season soon to begin, it was time for another rapid rethink. Radical solution number three introduced the wacky concept of "race neutralization," an idea so alien it reqUired a whole new flag of its own: white, with a diagonal red cross. This flag would call all riders in to the pits and stop the race. Positions would determine only grid places for the rapid-fire restart. The first race had been "neutralized;" a new race for full points would run for however many laps were left, with a minimum of six. Rather hard cheese, you might think, on a rider who led the first part, then got innocently knocked off while leading the second. Zero points. Wouldn't it be fairer to give half points for each leg? Never mind. The season was by now proceeding headlong. And at round four, the French GP, neutralization was used for the first and only time that year. The turnaround was achieved in less than 30 minutes, the restart a brilliant 13-lap sprint, and everybody was happy enough. Neutralization stayed in place to be employed again in Italy in 2004, but was on borrowed time. Dorna wanted proper f1ag-to-flag. Again, debate ranged back and forth, the main argument concerning dangerous midrace brake changes, the favored solution to permit a change of bikes. Until January, anyway, when the GP Commission (Dorna, FIM, IRTA and manufacturers) swerved off in a different direction, banning bike changes and, basically, returning to the old idea of compulsory pit stops, rejected early on in the process. It was rejected again at the Catalunya preseason tests, though at least the bikechange ban was overturned after strong arguments from the riders' own safety commission. And some more tweaking was done, to impose control over racing in pit lane - in the form of a reduced speed limit, down from 50 mph to 37 mph, along with a new rule banning overtaking in pit lane. Sensible on the face of it, stupid when you consider the implications. For instance, as Burgess pointed out, there'd be the opportunity for team members to play tactics - one rider haring off pit lane at 60 kph, or even higher, if he's prepared to pay the fine; his teammate pottering along behind at 20 kph, with nobody allowed to overtake. That's just one scenario. Many others are possible when you allow racing to take place off the racetrack. How to stop it? Common sense dictates that once rain hits, the safest thing to do is to stop the race. Fairness dictates that riders should get half-points for their efforts so far. Allowing machine changes, reassembly on the grid for part two could take place much quicker than before, and another half-points race would complete the action to everybody's satisfaction. Common sense has no part, however, in a rain dance. eN CYCLE NEWS • APRil 6, 2005 83