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Two of three. These fly-aways, as travel agencies call them, are no joke. From Malaysia to Qatar, it's only seven and a half hours by plane, but everyone arrives just a week after the other Indonesia-Australia-Thailand triple-header, which was no joke. And which in turn had been preceded, after a week's break, by the GPs in India and Japan.
Eight Grands Prix starting September 24 means 16 races in 10 weeks. Hard for the riders, very hard for the technicians and mechanics who work with incredible intensity during this period.
Let’s just forget about the times when, in the evening, we met for dinner in Kuala Lumpur at the Hard Rock café or at Modesto's. Today the teams all have lunch and dinner on the circuit. Nobody moves. And while it is true that in the past there were two-stroke engines that had to be rebuilt and then turned on late at night, the rest of the bikes were much simpler to manage.
MotoGP, too many Grands Prix, too close together, bikes too complex: and the GPs become processions
There were no electronics to set up, there were no strategies to think of and implement. Above all, there weren't two races on the weekend to keep all the team members' pulses racing.
All this for what? The Malaysian Grand Prix, despite the splendid performance of Enea Bastianini and the consistency shown by Alex Marquez, with a revived Pecco Bagnaia author of a textbook overtaking move on Jorge Martin on the outside, was a procession.
The fourth finisher arrived 10” behind, the fifth, a world champion like Quartararo, at +15". A phenomenon like Marquez 13th at +27".
And when two world champions, with undoubted talent like Fabio and Marc, act as supporting players, there is something wrong. Something that is not working.
Riders'' market in November, contracts like wastepaper
Even the fact that we are here at the beginning of November still talking about the riders’ market is a gravitational anomaly. Riders 'expelled' from their planetary system to which they belong - the case of Marquez, but also of Marini - is inexplicable... or not: it is the sign of a system that doesn't work. Carlo Pernat has reasons to spare. Be careful, the following are not criticisms, for as long as journalists are not given the opportunity to influence the status quo, we will only be able to see what is happening before our eyes.
But let's first talk about what is closest to us: our colleagues. Nowadays the political press and even the sports newspapers follow MotoGP marginally. And we cannot forget that at the time of Marco Lucchinelli's title - planetary era 1981 - everyone was there. All the sports newspapers, all the political newspapers, Unità included.
The mainstream media no longer follow motorcycle racing
Today there are just two websites and La Stampa, anyone who is curious should go and read about it there.
The one in 2023, then, is a world championship because it travels the world, but of the 23 riders who took part in the Malaysian GP, 6 are Italian, 11 Spanish, 2 French, one Portuguese, one Japanese, one Australian. Americans: zero. Germans, zero. British: zero.
Oh well, it's easy to say that Dorna has done a great job on the Iberian peninsula and that it has favoured the growth of many champions. But the Federations, with their bellies full thanks to the 'leasing' of the world championship to Dorna, what do they do?
We'll tell you: nothing. Suffice it to say that even the FIM end-of-year party - this year it will be in Liverpool - which should crown the two-wheel champions all dressed up in tuxedos, is spoiled by the party that Dorna organizes on Sunday evening after the last GP of the season in Valencia.
Italy must say thanks to Valentino Rossi's VR46 Academy, not to the FMI
We can add, talk about our home country, that of the six Italians, four come from Valentino Rossi's VR46 Academy, which means that far-sighted and passionate private individuals can create a 'system' and produce talent. Which should be the task of the federations. But hey…whatever.
OK, let's continue. Let's talk about the technical management of the championship. Those who are responsible for it first and foremost. In theory FIM and Dorna, not necessarily in this order because in fact everything is in the hands of Dorna which has entrusted, obviously partially, the management to its technicians, even when in fact they wear a FIM shirt, forgetting that the rules are a political fact, not technical.
As a result, we have witnessed the inevitable arrival of aerodynamics, managed with ridiculous rules that allowed its proliferation. Whoever invented them (the famous box or template, whatever you want to call it, into which the fairing must fit) forgot that downforce is a matter of wing surfaces. The more you create, the more you get. But that’s a long story.
Michelin's problems are caused by out-of-control regulations
The increase in downforce has led to the search for how to obtain even more, and that was how lowering devices came about. Which in turn created tyre problems as a direct consequence, especially on the front. The increase in speed and reduction in braking distance has suggested to brake manufacturers to increase the size of the discs, which has resulted in a further increase in temperatures with 800° radiant masses in close contact with the rims. Then we are moaning about the fact that Clermont-Ferrand manufacturer has asked for a rule for the introduction of minimum pressure. Next year it’ll be great fun with immediate disqualification.
One problem after another. Everything is connected.
And while this was happening in the general regulations there was no rule relating to the possibility of fielding multiple teams with the same bike, but nevertheless some were allowed (Ducati) and others prevented from doing so (KTM). In the futile and useless wait for other manufacturers who are missing and after having witnessed the abandonment of a large Japanese company, Suzuki, to which we owe, starting from the end of the 70s, the diffusion of the 500 class thanks to the production of the Suzuki RG, a fantastic motorbike produced in hundreds of examples for private riders. Not too different from the one available to the official ones and which allowed, just as an example, Franco Uncini to finish 4th in the world championship, before winning it in 1982.
By now this article has taken hold of me. I could continue example after example, indicating some of the many causes behind the stagnation of motorcycle racing as a mass sport.
Pay TV? Of course, it too has had a specific importance, because if you don't see a sporting event, it's difficult for you to become passionate about it.
But there is also responsibility on the part of the manufacturers, because they have invested a lot in technology - and in fact today we have missiles on the track, but also wonderful and very fast production motorcycles - but very little in the way of communication.
And the excuse is that super sports bikes are no longer sold. As if we were all driving F1 cars! (a sport that instead is breaking all audience records)
(to be continued)
