VOLUME 58 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 P131
back on Yamaha and plumb last,
aged 42 and 35, respectively.
Commentators have been
talking of "the changing of the
guard" all year. It's easy to see
that experience counts for less
and less in MotoGP's frantic new
normal.
It's not so easy to understand
why.
Something similar prevails in
all forms of professional sport,
from tennis onwards, because of
a number of factors.
Most important, better train-
ing. This has come along with a
major social sea-change, itself
driven by both opportunity and
reward, as the financial ben-
efits of sporting success have
doubled and redoubled in the
past couple of decades.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s,
when I first reported on the
World Championships, most
of the riders I interviewed had
started riding motorcycles on the
street. Faster than their friends,
they discovered they had a
knack for it. And took it to the
track.
Hopelessly old-fashioned.
Things started to change
when Americans and the odd
Australian turned up. Beneficia-
ries of the minibike boom of the
1960s they'd cut their teeth on
dirt tracks with other youngsters.
It was a new phenomenon back
then. It is now a basic require-
ment.
Modern grand prix racers start
long before street-legal age,
belting around on minibikes on
go-karts or oval dirt tracks from
the age of six or so, usually with
their excited fathers urging them
on.
Talent is obvious early, and
those who show it then move
up through increasingly well-
supported and well-organized
feeder series, where they are
expertly coached. Dorna has
promoted these assiduously,
worldwide.
When the best of them arrive
at GP level aged 16, they are
already seasoned competitors,
up against rivals they know well.
The Marquez and Espargaro
brothers, Maverick Vinales, Alex
Rins and Joan Mir, for example,
have known and raced against
one another (according to age
overlaps) for years and years.
There's more.
Continual technical develop-
ments reward new techniques.
Chassis technology grows more
sophisticated in small but impor-
tant increments, tires develop
rather faster, while adjustable
geometry such as holeshot
squatting and corner-exit droop
are the latest significant advanc-
es, making major inroads.
Older riders, inevitably set in
their ways, have more trouble
adapting. Something to do with
old dogs and new tricks.
The kids bring fresh attitudes
and new techniques. They can
experiment without even thinking
about it.
Or is it even simpler?
That—vaulting power and
speed notwithstanding—modern
MotoGP bikes are just too easy
to ride.
Switch on the traction control,
engage electronic aids, set the
controls for the checkered flag.
Then open the twistgrip and hold
on tight.
Wouldn't you hate for that to
be true?
CN
Commentators
have been talking
of "the changing of
the guard" all year.
It's easy to see that
experience counts
for less and less in
MotoGP's frantic
new normal.
When the best
of them arrive
at GP level aged
16, they are
already seasoned
competitors, up
against rivals they
know well.
