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/1477536
was the action, the fairing bash- ing or banging bars, the inci- dents that get trackside fans out of their seat? This is no simple coincidence. Let it be said that overtaking has not become extinct. There have been several enjoyable races this year, rich in scrapping and heroic overtakes, such as the Italian GP at Mugello. And there were occasions when riders have made epic comebacks. Alex Rins passed 13 riders on the first FEATURE I MOTOGP TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS P100 seconds faster than the previous year. Similar differences were seen in Argentina (7.4 seconds quicker than the previous race record), Jerez (-5 seconds) and Assen (-9.8 seconds). And that's before we look at Austin (-18.3 seconds), and Le Mans, where the race record was cut by 19 seconds (accepting 2020 and 2021 were affected by rain). Yet speed doesn't always translate to excitement. Anyone with even a passing interest in the sport will also have noted how these faster races have, at times, lacked the thing for which MotoGP has been best known in recent years: Overtaking. And lots of it. A number of races (Jerez, Barcelona, Germany) have been light on this aspect. But the French GP was where the spectacle was at its most concerning. There, five bikes circulated for much of the race within 2.7 seconds. But where lap of the Portuguese GP. Marc Marquez rallied to sixth in Austin despite exiting the first turn last. And, most recently, Aleix Espar- garo never performed better than at Assen, where he recovered from 15th to fourth. But in those instances, each rider had the speed to run in first or second position, only to either qualify badly or endure early mis- fortune. The difference in speed to those riders they were pass- ing was pronounced. It's when margins are finer, and there is no great difference in race pace, it has become more difficult to get by the machine ahead than be- fore. And unsurprisingly, this is intricately linked to the increased capabilities of MotoGP machin- ery and the development direc- tion the class has taken. As Paul Trevathan, crew chief to Red Bull KTM's Miguel Oliveira, states, "If you look at the show, it's a frustrating thing to see the guys not being able to pass like they can. We've made this vicious circle, but we've done it to ourselves. The rules are there, and we've taken them to the maximum." What's Changed? There are a whole host of factors at play. But firstly, it's worth stat- ing that MotoGP has never been as competitive from a mechanical point of view. Currently, there is little to choose between the bikes made by Ducati, Aprilia, Yamaha and Suzuki. Even Honda and KTM have scored podiums this year. And satellite bikes in teams that were once the whipping boys in years gone by can fight for podiums on their day—see Enea Bastianini's three race wins on a year-old satellite Ducati. As New Zealander Paul Trevathan (right), crew chief to Red Bull KTM's Miguel Oliveira (left), says the tech game has moved on enormously since 2020.