MotoGP
Wings may be banned, but MotoGP flying high
Fans are being treated to a genuine rarity in MotoGP. Two races into the new season and the previous years’ champions are behind the power curve. Both Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo left Qatar and Argentina without a podium finish between them. And though the defending champion just took the checkered flag in Austin, Marquez still has some catching up to do. So, what’s going on? As is so often the case, the devil is in the details – or, in this case, in the bikes.
Flashback to 2015: Ducati debuted the latest generation of MotoGP winglets at the Qatar pre-season test that offered superior aerodynamics but raised safety questions. By mid 2016, every manufacturer had a solution in place to increase downforce and reduce wheelies. But the issue of safety remained, not to mention the price tag, and the wings were finally banned for the start of the 2017 season. While some manufacturers can live with the restriction, others have suffered massively as a result – Honda and Ducati among them.
It’s no secret that Ducati’s aerodynamic concept was the best in MotoGP, and it has now been robbed of this advantage. The Desmosedici’s reputation is thus skidding back towards that of the stubborn beast from Borgo Panigale before the wing was introduced. The bike’s steering response, in particular, drove even the greatest champions like Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden to distraction. Now Ducati has landed a new ex-champion in Lorenzo. Yet he is suffering far more than his predecessor from the bike’s shortcomings. Indeed, few other riders require such perfection in a bike as the extremely precise Lorenzo to be truly fast. And right now he doesn’t have that with Ducati.
You won’t see Lorenzo’s trademark precision in Marquez – he has a completely opposite riding style. Instead, the reigning champion willingly throws his bike into wild slides round corners and out again. It’s both incredibly fast and incredibly risky. Marquez needs a bike that isn’t off the charts in terms of safety. He’s taking chances in every turn and needs to beat the odds.
Honda’s RC213V doesn’t appear to be that kind of bike – at least not yet – though Marquez’ fifth straight win in Austin shows it may be getting there fast. The world’s biggest motorbike manufacturer is once again battling the beast under the bodywork. The engine is still a V4, but despite changing the configuration and introducing an irregular firing order in what’s known as a big bang engine, the Honda unit is as brutal as ever. The RC213V riders are certainly battling to control their bikes during acceleration. The now banned wings would be a welcome relief.
The MotoGP world has witnessed the result. Yamaha is celebrating a fantastic start. The shining stars of the new rules sky are Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales, with Vinales clinching the first two Grands Prix of 2017 and Rossi with the overall Champion lead after Austin. But the world championship is still wide open and there is plenty of racing ahead.
One thing’s for sure: MotoGP is flying high again this year – even without the wings.
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