Restricted Electronics

MotoGP organisers have hinted that they plan to restrict the use of bike electronics in a bid to improve racing, see here, going the same way as Formula One.

What do you think?

Personally, I agree with it, but I don't think they should start going backwards. After all, if MotoGP is the pinnacle of motorcycle racing, then surely it should be at the pinnacle of technology?

You could say the same for F1 and make the rich kids richer and the poor teams too far off the pace and budget to survive. Racing isn't about being the pinnacle, its about being competitive. Why have a race series when only one team wins due to the advantage of money and backing from sponsors?

If they restrict the Electronics or further take off TC at least, will expect the return of Nicky Hayden back on form as everyone will then be sliding, and Nicky loves the bike to slide as thats his only way of riding ever since he came out of dirt tracking.

I certainly think it'd lead to riders coming of more often and separate the men from the boys.

Like looking at Stoner in 2006 where all he did was fall off on highsides.

I'm against it, personally. "Bids to improve the spectacle"? That's like Bernie complaining that Hamilton needing 5th place was dull.

MotoGP riders are, in essence, the rider, two narrow wheels, and a powerful engine under the crotch. They're about as controllable as '60s F1 cars - overpowered, underweight, and undertyred. They need every help they can get.

Furthermore, it's quite different to TC on road cars. While traction-control on a road car will, at best, improve consistency, it won't increase speeds. In MotoGP, traction-control added a challenge - it pushed the limits of grip and cornering-speeds. Also unlike a roadcar's TC, the rider still can't apply power mid-corner, but still has to balance it.



A huge problem that I see lately with racing-series is the trend of stopping designers from innovating and progressing, "for the sake of racing". Formula 1, MotoGP and Le Mans/GT Racing are an engineering competition first, driving-competition second. Yes, money is a deal - so restrict budgets. Want to see everyone on the same equipment? Go see feeder-series.
And MotoGP doesn't even need it. In F1, the best and worst drivers in the field wouldn't be more than a second apart. In MotoGP, teammates are often a second or more apart! Ducati had a superior engine in 2007, good electronics, and a driver who could use them to their fullest - and Stoner won. Where was his teammate? The early-season Jorge Lorenzo was the only one who really matched teammate, in the top-3 teams. MotoGP and road bikes are still very connected (unlike F1) - Ducati actually offered a road-legalized version of their 2006 bike! That's like Renault selling you an R26 with the "Megane" bit. Honda's, Ducati's, Kawasakie's, Yamaha's and Suzuki's bikes are very much related to their racing cousins, and their development goes together. ABS, traction control and super-powerful engines all come from MotoGP.

Its a case of if you want a Pinnacle of Motorsport technology and innovation, a fair series or just an entertaining series and striking a balance is something which doesn't often happen. You make it a Pinnacle its usually the best funded teams who will only get richer by winning, make it fair its the equivalent to A1GP, make it entertaining is just restricting some things and limiting others. I'm not saying a fair or 'go an innovate' series isn't entertaining its just highly unlikely
So which would you like to see?

I'm a cold-hearted mathematician and physicist at heart, so I'm going with pinnacle of Motorsport tech and innovation.

In this case, electronics aren't a case of money. Developing the system is relatively easy and cheap - it's adapting it to the driver, and vice-versa, which is so hard. That's something a driver and engineer can do - regardless of the bike.

Apart from huge skill-differences, the bikes themselves are radically different: Look at the raw power of the Ducati engines which are coupled with a nervous chassis, and compare them to the Yamaha, which handles sublimely but lacks that extra punch. And those are top-teams: The Kawasakis are underpowered and handle badly, and that's not something an electronics ban will cure.

As for how to regulate and equalize, I think we need another thread for this.