Thursday, 22 December 2016
Superprestigio Conspiracy Theories
I explained how surprised I was that my cast iron tip for Baker to win the Superprestigio didn't come to fruition, well it seems there wasn't a level playing field, or so paddock insiders believe. They say both Marquez and Elias (a former Honda MotoGP rider and Moto2 champ on a Honda-powered bike) had electronic traction control systems fitted to their HRC Honda CRF450s. They were the only two riders to beat Baker.
Traction control is banned from all levels of flat tracks, so if this is true it's pretty sad. This is supposed to be a fun race, I thought. I guess if you're at Marquez's level, losing is bad for your image. I'm not accusing Marquez or Elias of cheating, because I'm sure there is nothing written into the Superprestigio rules to stop this technology. It's Marquez's event after all.
The last time I went to the Superprestigio, MotoGP racewinner Scott Redding explained he'd brought a knife to a gunfight, when he turned up with his stock 450. He was amazed by the level of tuning and technology HRC had put into Marquez's bike. It's racing, it's about winning, I get that, but it also kills what could be a cool event for real fans, not just Marquez fans. G
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6 comments:
Dang...
I thought it looked like Brad's bike didn't work nearly as well as Marquez's. I had chalked it up to GP-level tuning by HRC. If this is true about TC, then that kinda sucks.
If TC was being used then it will only be a matter of time before the technology finds it's way down to other forms of racing using dirt bikes. In my opinion this would be very bad for two wheeled racing sport. One of the great things about flat track and other forms of racing utilizing dirt bikes is that a stock bike is somewhat competitive at even the expert/pro level. Look at how much more elite Moto GP bikes have become since the common use of TC and other electronic aids. Better racing on XR100 mini bikes. As with many contradicting things in racing; Less is more.
Agreed 100% Sir!
Well said. What ever happened to attaining top level skill through hard work and dedication. There goes the fun factor.
Marc had a hotrod CRF that had several maps that he was choosing from during the heats. a few times he was on the straight reaching over to the right bar with his left hand changing settings on the bike. The commentators on Fanschoice.tv pointed it out a few times, wondering what he was doing, then saying he had multiple engine maps to choose from, and his bike was being worked on by his MotoGP engineers. Brad (if I heard him right while the commentators talked over him)[edit- just read a Crash.net post with him saying that he really messed up tire selection, so yeah, I heard him right] though did mention he missed the tire setup for the last race and had no traction.
Also, the bikes don't look to have the needed wiring for TC to be used. Speed sensors for both wheels would be needed or some other way to judge bike speed vs wheel speed/spin. I'd bet it wasn't the TC that was the advantage, but the engine controls where he had a selection. TC also tends to have a particular sound when on a bike without a fly-by-wire throttle because it isn't able to shut the butterflies, so it uses ignition and dropping spark. But. if you start losing traction, and can select a different ignition and EFI map to soften the engine, et viola. Marc was the only one I saw doing that during a race. Big advantage, anyhow.
Elias wasn't on a Honda and was out to lunch until getting setup help from his old MGP mechanic, and Jared Meese via phone calls. So saying him also having TC was because he won Moto2 on a honda engined is a bit of a reach. I doubt Yoshimira Suzuki or Catalan Suzuki (Who Elias said were all faster than him thursday) gave him a TC setup from Honda.
Did Brad send a bike this time, or was it provided to him?
Rossi's farm with colin edwards & nicky hayden...(plus some current AMA , DTRA , moto3 racers)...would be ...interesting...
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