N
ot quite sure why Dorna chief Carmelo Ez-
peleta chose the far-flung Argentine Grand
Prix to announce his latest plans for yet
more of a dumb-down standardization for Mo-
toGP's future, but as always I suspect conspiracy.
The race in the middle of nowhere and miles
away from anywhere else attracts good num-
bers of race-starved Latinos from all over South
America. But in terms of the international con-
tingent, it's skeleton staff. Non-essential Grand
Prix folk don't go. That includes most of the press
contingent—though it hurts to describe myself
and colleagues as "non-essential."
Anyway, with the hounds absent, it meant that
his diktat would receive very little scrutiny on the
spot, taking it one step closer to fait accompli.
The nub is that all factories have to agree on any
technical developments during the five-year spell.
Which is rather stifling for those factory back-room
boys working in secret, and trying to preserve rac-
ings relevance as a tool of engineering progress.
It is another step in the one-size-fits-all stan-
dardization plans. Make the bikes all the same,
keep them that way, and MotoGP becomes a
sport for riders rather than engineers. Taking the
"motor" out of motorsport.
But there were other portents of change, and
another step towards standardization. This time
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
THE NON-CONFORMIST
P118
