For sheer excitement, it would be hard to beat the Austrian MotoGP race of 2021, which ended with a nail-biting final lap as Brad Binder skated to victory wearing slicks on a wet track with wet-tyred rivals catching him hand over fist.
If 2022’s race was never going to match 2021 – and, indeed, it didn’t – that’s not to say it wasn’t a good race. Perhaps not the most overtaking or close fighting but enough to keep things interesting for 28 laps, including one of the most audacious overtakes of the season when Fabio Quartararo got past Jack Miller’s Ducati at the new chicane on the curving uphill section after turn one.
A Yamaha challenging a Ducati for second place in Spielberg was something no one could have predicted; a rider overtaking another between the two corners that comprise the chicane, as opposed to under braking for the first corner of the chicane was something else altogether. It was simply astonishing, all the more so when you consider that the next Yamaha was languishing down in 13th position (Morbidelli, whose dreadful season continued when he crashed out at the same chicane where Quartararo showed his genius.)
It was such a topsy turvy race. If a Ducati victory was almost guaranteed and Bagnaia subsequently made it look easy, that hid an awful lot of ups and downs, crashes, run-offs and retirements, all of which affected the final result more than overtaking.
For too long now, overtaking has been increasingly difficult as riders are on the ragged edge of front tyre performance. Michelin has come under constant criticism for the performance of the front tyre for a long time now but it would be unfair to lay all the blame at their door.
The Michelin front tyre was designed for a certain set of load parameters but developments in downforce aero technology have overloaded the front tyre. That means that when a rider gets close to the bike in front in order to attempt an overtaking manoeuvre, the front tyre overheats and loses grip as the pressure rises inside the tyre and the rider simply has nothing left with which to make a pass. Look at what happened to Jorge Martin when he tried to out-brake Jack Miller into turn one after following him closely for a lap or two: he just lost the front end and slid off the track, luckily not taking Miller with him.
“When you have a control-tyre championship, then the manufacturers have to design their motorcycles around the tyres,” Piero Taramasso, Michelin Motor Sport Manager said. “But by adding all the aero and the devices, then they aren’t designing their motorcycles around the tyres.”
So, for riders to complain that the tyre doesn’t match the motorcycle is a little unfair as the motorcycle has been developed out of all recognition to the motorcycle the tyre was designed for.
One temporary solution is to try and make a tyre that can run at lower pressures. Michelin is working to reduce the minimum tyre pressure than can be run on the current front tyre.
“I’d like to say that next year you can go to 1.8 or 1.7 bar with the tyre we use at the moment,” revealed Taramasso. “But we cannot go lower than this. When we started using this tyre five years ago the minimum pressure was 2.1 bar, then we went to 2.0 and then to 1.9…
“The goal (for the brand new tyre that might appear in 2024) is 1.7 bar and to make the tyre less sensitive to temperature and pressure changes,” said Taramasso. “The tyre will be very different, with a new profile and it will be made with different materials.”
It’s not going to be an instant fix but at least the problem is being addressed.
Another bombshell was dropped by Dorna in Austria. From 2023, MotoGP will follow other motorsport categories – Formula One, World Superbike, Touring Cars – in including Saturday sprint races over the MotoGP weekend. These would take the form of roughly half race-distance races, offering half points to the top nine finishers: 12 points for first, nine for second, seven for third, six for fourth, five for fifth, four for sixth, three for seventh, two for eighth and one for ninth.
Where will the sprint race fit into the overall schedule and how will both riders and machinery be able to stand the extra strain and pressure?
The two Friday practice sessions will now decide who has to qualify in Q1 and who will go straight through to Q2. Saturday’s early morning Q3 session now becomes like the current free practice 4, which is the race-pace session directly before qualifying where the rider can further fine-tune the race set-up rather than the out-and-out qualifying speed set-up.
Q1 and Q2 will take place earlier on Saturday, with the sprint race starting at 3 pm on Saturday. Overall track time will remain the same as in current race meetings so no extra strain will be put on engines or affect tyre allocations.
What might the concerns be? Well, it could be argued that having a practice session, two qualifying sessions and a race on the same day is a bit much but the great god television likes the idea of more coverage to keep people watching and looking at the advertising hoardings, let alone getting more people through the gates at the track on the Saturday.
Also, while the race start is one of the most exciting moments of any race, it is also one of the more dangerous moments and no one wants to be ruled out of the main race (or, worse, for a few races) because of another rider’s mistake in the sprint race.
Naturally, there are dissenting voices in the paddock, with some riders hating the idea and others loving it.
Aleix Espargaro: “I want to believe that the management of the championship thinks that this is the best thing for the sport, for the show, for the popularity of the championship. I don’t share this idea, but it’s just my opinion.
“I think it’s not the solution because I think the risk is going to be too high. I think that 42 starts (assuming a sprint race at every round in the championship, currently 21 races) in a season is too many. Dorna says that we will have the same track time, so nothing changes, but this is bullshit because there’s a big difference (in risk) between FP4 and a race, where they give points for the championship.
“But they choose what they want and we have to adapt. Let’s try, maybe it’s a good solution…”
Jack Miller was one of the voices that were unequivocally up for the idea:
“I’m a massive fan – it’s another chance of a bonus! Why not try it? I’ll enjoy it – it’ll be all or nothing. As a rider, it’ll make you want to risk more, but you won’t have to worry about tyres, fuel, or physical condition because in a lot of races you can’t push yourself to the absolute maximum the whole time, but for half-race distance, you should be able to. For sure it will increase the risk but at the end of the day we race motorcycles, we don’t do ballet. Why not (try sprint races)? Give it a crack and reassess at the end of the year.”
While the likes of Formula One currently has sprint races at selected races in a season, it looks as if Dorna is intending their system to be a permanent part of every race weekend. If that is the case, then the only thing to do is try it and reassess at the end of the season, as Miller suggests.
Personally, I think we are just going to have to wait and see if it is a good thing. The current system of one race on Sunday has been in place since the championship started way back in 1949. Change is inevitable but we have to be careful it is not solely driven by commercial pressures and that it is good for the sport as a whole.
It is no good being a stick-in-the-mud traditionalist as much good has come in the past from shaking up the status quo and it’s not as if Dorna is suggesting a change to the race-day protocol.
Perhaps more racing to enjoy is what many fans want. As long as the teams and riders can cope and it doesn’t dilute the Sunday action, then why not give it a go?
