Argentina GP 2022: Espargaro bussa col pisello: analisi e pagelline!

Come è andata la gara in Argentina? La gara, bene, ma prima c’è stata un’ennesima figuraccia di Dorna. Potete leggere due articoli interessanti e guardare una live in cui viene spiegato come hanno fatto passare come una grande operazione di recupero, una grossa mancanza di pianificazione.
La storia delle peripezie logistiche che hanno fatto partire il week end in ritardo, la trovate qui sotto, unitamente all’analisi e alle pagelle della gara.

 



A golden parking for Davide Brivio!

You saw him win and you saw him leave.
A world championship that no one would have expected Suzuki to win in a year in which many were distracted by more important things like the pandemic. It is the MotoGP World Championship which, among all, was considered the work of the technician rather than the rider.
Brivio, and we do not know if he did it on purpose, made the most effective move to be remembered and regretted: to go quickly to the higher category which, as far as MotoGP is concerned, is called F1.
Suzuki hasn’t won anymore (and he wouldn’t have won anyway) and Brivio is in everyone’s hearts. Perhaps even rightly, because his abilities are undeniable.
In F1, however, he was not allowed to do anything and his role crumbled in a Renault where Otmar Szaufner now commands, taking no prisoners since the first minute.
De Meo had fallen in love with Brivio perhaps when they were in Yamaha for the collaboration with Abarth and had seen something in him, but he was unable to find a place for him and, above all, he did not give him the time.
In Alpine, a lot of figures that were considered immovable were moved when it went well and sacked when it went badly.

Defenestrated Prost and Budkowski, moved Brivio, which perhaps if he had been fired would have been better.

Now it will go on to take care of Junior Programs and other sports activities such as Endurance and the A110 Cup.
Tell me if this is not a parking-punishment or a ounishing parking which, among other things, still keeps him contractually bound with “alternative” costs that would not make a return to MotoGP profitable for those who hire him.
But the question is: apart from the riders’ regrets, rumors, rumors, does Suzuki management really want him back?
It does not appear that he ever said so and therefore, unless Brivio is waiting for Jarvis to retire in Yamaha, what are we talking about?



 

Il parcheggio dorato di Davide Brivio

Lo avete visto vincere e lo avete visto partire.
Un mondiale che nessuno si sarebbe aspettato che Suzuki vincesse in un anno in cui molti erano distratti da cose forse più importanti come la pandemia. E’ il mondiale di MotoGP che fra tutti è stato ritenuto opera del tecnico piuttosto che del pilota.
Brivio, e non sappiamo se lo abbia fatto apposta, ha fatto la mossa più efficace per essere ricordato e rimpianto: andarsene al volo alla categoria superiore che, per quanto riguarda la MotoGP, si chiama F1.
Suzuki non ha più vinto (e non avrebbe rivinto comunque) e Brivio è nei cuori di tutti. Forse anche giustamente, perché le sua capacità sono innegabili.
In F1, però, non gli è stato fatto fare niente e il suo ruolo si è sgretolato in una Renault ove adesso comanda Otmar Szaufner, che non ha fatto prigionieri dal primo minuto.
De Meo si era innamorato di Brivio forse quando erano in Yamaha per la collaborazione con Abarth e ci aveva visto qualcosa, ma non è riuscito a trovargli una collocazione e, soprattutto, non gli ha dato il tempo.
In Alpine sono stati spostati, quando è andata bene e segati, quando è andata male, un sacco di personaggi ritenuti inamovibili.

Defenestrati Prost e Budkowski, spostato Brivio, che forse se fosse stato silurato sarebbe stato meglio.

Adesso andrà ad occuparsi di Programmi Junior e altre attività sportive come l’Endurance e la A110 Cup.
Ditemi voi se questa non è una punizione-parcheggio o un parcheggio-punizione che fra l’altro lo tiene contrattualmente ancora vincolato con costi “alternativi” che non renderebbero profittevole un ritorno in MotoGP a carico di chi lo assume.
Ma la domanda è: a parte i rimpianti dei piloti, le voci, i rumors, veramente la dirigenza Suzuki lo rivuole?
Non risulta lo abbia mai detto e quindi, a meno che Brivio non aspetti la pensione di Jarvis in Yamaha, di che parliamo?


The lowerer: the tool used to fight Ducati!

Premesso che holeshot e abbassatore dinamico non sono la stessa cosa, nessuno vuole sminuire uno strumento che ormai hanno in molti ma che Ducati ha evoluto in maniera molto vicina ai limiti del regolamento. Il tema è un altro. Holeshot e abbassatore dinamico sono solo strumenti di un contenzioso molto più ampio. E’ un modo per discutere Ducati perché sta creando altri “problemi” politici.

Questa storia dell’holeshot/abbassatore dinamico, ci sta sfuggendo di mano.
E non spiegherò tecnicismi già trattati perché non è questo il vero pomo della discordia.
Ok la stampa ci marcia perché non sembra vero che ci sia una novità tecnica di cui parlare, ma credetemi, non è rilevante.
E soprattutto non è la causa della guerra fra Ducati e le altre case, perché invece è solo lo strumento.

Diciamoci la verità, il motomondiale è un circus, nel senso che è proprio uno spettacolo itinerante che per sopravvivere deve cambiare equilibri e soddisfare requisiti politici e di mercato. Altrimenti non si correrebbe in posti assurdi come Rio Hondo e Mandalika. Non ci prendiamo in giro.
Il motomondiale fa questo per sopravvivere. Ok i protagonisti, anche prolungati come Rossi e Marquez, che però sono anomalie personali, ok gli antagonisti di successo come Lorenzo, ok gli underdog, ossia gli inaspettati come Mir in un’annata al 100% atipica, ma questo non è l’andamento normale. Non vi devo svegliare io in merito al fatto che molto spesso, guarda caso, le gare locali hanno come protagonisti i beniamini locali, oppure gli stessi title sponsor vedano vincere i loro piloti nei GP intitolati. Davvero è perché il tal pilota ha girato di più in quella pista oppure lo sponsor è venuto personalmente a incoraggiare il suo team nel GP ad esso intitolato?
Ma allora è tutto falso? Assolutamente no, ma ci sono delle esigenze da rispettare.
Ma allora le gare sono truccate? Assolutamente no. Ma spesso, e non è la prima volta, vengono create determinate condizioni. E questo succede tramite lo sviluppo degli pneumatici o alcune concessioni regolamentari.
E quando la creazione di determinate condizioni è troppo marcata, qualcuno si ribella. Ma anche questo fa parte del gioco. Perché tutti sanno che sono ribellioni rumorose ma che non vanno oltre il rendere pubblica una insoddisfazione che fa sembrare tutto più vero.
Ogni casa è lì per ottenere quello per cui ha pagato e lo sa.
E lo sa anche Dorna. I regali inaspettati e immeritati si contano sulla punta delle dita.

L’holeshot e l’abbassatore dinamico sono “fregni” che fanno andare più forte in un campionato in cui si va già troppo forte. Quindi non sono strettamente necessari.
Se andare veramente più forte come velocità di punta servisse a vincere, Ducati avrebbe vinto gli ultimi cinque campionati del mondo. E invece è andata diversamente perché è mancato qualcosa dal punto di vista umano. Non si vince senza moto ma non si vince senza pilota.

Però per Ducati è il momento di incassare e quindi la si lascia lavorare sui suoi punti forti. Due dei quali sono potenza e velocità di punta.
Ma non sono i soli. Ducati ha sempre avuto come punto di forza quello di allargarsi in griglia.
E quest’anno ha ripetuto il record delle otto moto.
Davvero pensate che siano l’holeshot e l’abbassatore a fare fastidio e non le otto moto in griglia?
Davvero qualcuno pensa che a dar fastidio di Ducati sia l’abbassatore e non il fatto che l’anno prossimo avrà otto moto in griglia e un’intera griglia di moto elettriche?
La verità è che privilegi simili li ha avuti anche KTM, che si è allargata con trofei, classi minori, vivai spaventosi, tre marchi diversi per finta, un dominio nelle classi junior e concessioni tecniche, il tutto ben innaffiato da Red Bull, che tramite sponsorizzazione controlla KTM e ha le mani su metà griglia piloti oltre che su metà della stampa europea. Tali privilegi però KTM non è riuscita a sfruttarli. Ha ottenuto meno di Ducati, spendendo però più del doppio. Ed è questo che brucia.
E Aprilia non ha avuto concessioni quando per anni è stata considerata un povero team privato nonostante fosse, di fatto, presente in forma ufficiale?
La verità è che dell’abbassatore in se non interessa a nessuno. E forse non lo ha nemmeno inventato Ducati, dato che Aprilia lo aveva già testato con Baiocco nel 2017 (chiedere a Piaggio) per poi mollare.
Avete letto bene. Matteo Baiocco.
E davvero pensate, senza nulla togliere a Ducati, che Honda e Yamaha non potrebbero sviluppare un loro abbassatore nel tempo libero, se veramente fosse la killer application per vincere le gare? E che Suzuki, che ha vinto un mondiale di fresco, si metta a protestare seriamente quando è già a posto per qualche anno?
Salvo assurdità esotiche di tipo personalistico (vedi ritorno di Marquez o passi falsi di Bagnaia &Co), Ducati è destinata a vincere il mondiale piloti. E’ da troppo tempo che aspetta, ci è andata vicino troppe volte e il fatto che non vi sia riuscita è solo un anomalia. Per cui l’abbassatore non c’entra.
Sono altre le cose che fanno incazzare e su cui si discute,
Però se volete parliamo di un “aggeggio” che abbassava la moto di dietro in partenza, e adesso anche davanti in qualunque momento, come se fosse quello da cui tutto dipende anche se, vedrete, in caso di vittoria Ducati, sarà la scusa per chi non accetta di perdere.



 

Dynamic lowering: the tool used to fight Ducati

Given that holeshot and dynamic lowering are not the same thing, nobody wants to belittle a tool that many now have but that Ducati has evolved very close to the limits of the regulation. The theme is another. Holeshot or dynamic lowering are just tools of a much larger litigation. It is a way to discuss Ducati because it is creating other political “problems”.

This holeshot/dynamic lowering thing is getting out of hand.
And I will not explain the technicalities already covered because this is not the real bone of contention.
Ok the press marches on us because it doesn’t seem true that there is a technical innovation to talk about, but believe me, it is not relevant.
And above all it is not the cause of the war between Ducati and the other manufacturers, because instead it is only the weapon.

Let’s face it, the world championship is a circus, in the sense that it is a traveling show that must change balance and satisfy political and market requirements in order to survive. Otherwise we wouldn’t be racing in absurd places like Rio Hondo and Mandalika. Let’s not fool ourselves.
The world championship does this to survive. Ok the protagonists, even prolonged ones like Rossi and Marquez, which however are personal anomalies, ok the successful antagonists like Lorenzo, ok the underdogs, unexpected ones like Mir in a 100% atypical season, but this is not the normal trend.
I don’t have to wake you up to the fact that very often, coincidentally, local riders win their homeraces, or the title sponsors themselves see their riders win in the titled GPs. Is it really because that rider has lapped more on that track or did the sponsor come personally to encourage his team in the GP named after him?
But is it all fixed then? Absolutely not, but there are needs to be respected.
So are the races rigged? Absolutely not. But often, and it is not the first time, certain conditions are created. And this happens through tire development or some regulatory concessions.
And when the creation of certain conditions is too strong, someone rebels. But that’s also part of the game. Because everyone knows that they are noisy rebellions but that they do not go beyond making public a dissatisfaction that makes everything seem more real.
Every factory is there for what it paid for and knows it.
And Dorna knows it too. Unexpected and undeserved gifts can be counted on the fingertips.

The holeshot/dynamic lowering is a “thing” that makes you go faster in a championship where you are already too fast. So it’s not strictly necessary.
If really going faster in top speed was “the factor”, Ducati would have won the last five world championships. But it went differently because something was missing from the human side.
You can’t win without a bike but you can’t win without a rider.

But it’s time for Ducati to cash in and so they let it work on its strong points. Two of which are power and top speed.
But they are not the only ones. Ducati has always had the strong point of expanding itself on the grid.
And this year he repeated the record of eight bikes.
Do you really think that it is the holeshot/dynamic lowering that is annoying and not the eight bikes on the grid?
Does anyone really think that it is the holeshot/dynamic lowering that bothers  and not the fact that next year Ducati will have eight bikes on the grid and an entire grid of electric bikes?
The truth is that KTM has also had similar privileges, which has expanded with trophies, minor classes, scary bunches of young talents, three different brands, a domination in the junior classes and technical concessions, all well watered by Red Bull, which through sponsorship controls KTM and has its hands on half the riders grid as well as half of the European press. However, KTM has not been able to exploit these privileges. He got less than Ducati, but spent more than double. And that’s what burns.
And can’t we say that Aprilia had no concessions when for years it was considered a poor private team despite being, in fact, present in an factory form?
The truth is that nobody really cares about the holeshot/dynamic lowering issue itself. And maybe Ducati didn’t even invent it, given that Aprilia had already tested it with Baiocco in 2017 (ask Piaggio) and then gave up. You read that right. Matteo Baiocco.
And do you really think, without taking anything away from Ducati, that Honda and Yamaha could not develop their own lowering device in their free time, if it was really the killer application to win races? And that Suzuki, who has recently won a world championship, will seriously protest when it is already ok for a few years?
Except for exotic personalistic absurdities (see Marquez’s return or Bagnaia & Co’s missteps), Ducati is destined to win the riders’ championship. It has been waiting for too long, it has come close too many times and the fact that it has not succeeded is just an anomaly. So the holeshot/dynamic lowering teme has nothing to do with it.
There are other things that piss off and cause controversies.
But if you want, let’s talk about a  “tool” that lowered the bike from behind at the start, and now also in front, anytime, as if it was the one on which everything depends even if, you will see, in case of victory, it will be the excuse for those who do not agree to lose.

 

 



MotoGP: Aprilia and Marquez have some Made in Italy in common!

SC

At first glance, they are very normal test photos showing the bike in a non-definitive configuration.
In reality there is an absolutely innovative technical element to start taking into consideration.
In the 2022 season, the SC-Project exhaust for the Aprilia RS-GP22 of Espargaró and Vinales will have Italian technology of the highest level. This is a new valve that chokes the exhaust gases and is managed by the motorcycle’s electronics. These valves are already used in MotoGP but that of SC-Project is done differently.
This valve, made entirely from solid titanium, helps – with the engine brake – to give the rider a particular feeling when entering and mid-corner.
On opening, however, the valve opens completely to give the maximum passage of the exhaust gases.

The collaboration between SC-Project and Aprilia, in fact, should come from over a year of studies through the development of the exhaust for the RS 250 SP, for the RS 660 Trofeo and for the RSV4 of the Nuova M2 racing Team that competes at the CIV, to arrive , in 2021, to the development of the exhaust for the RS-GP 2022.

At first glance we notice that this configuration is slightly different (for obvious technical reasons), from the valve that appeared on Stefan Bradl's , a component marked SC-Project very similar to that of the RS-GP. Will this valve also appear on the exhaust of the Honda of Marc Marquez and Pol Espargarò? Probably yes, we will see it in a few days.
Here is the made in Italy that unites two teams and four completely different riders.
You can see it in the enlarged detail on the bike used today by Lorenzo Savadori, in the tests!



MotoGP: Aprilia and Marquez 's Honda have one particular Made in Italy in common!

SC

A prima vista sono normalissime foto di test in cui si vede la moto in configurazione non definitiva.
In realtà c’è un elemento tecnico assolutamente innovativo da iniziare a prendere in considerazione.
Nella stagione 2022 lo scarico SC-Project per le Aprilia RS-GP22 di Espargaró e Vinales avrà una tecnologia italiana di altissimo livello. Si tratta di una nuova valvola che parzializza i gas di scarico ed è gestita dall’elettronica della moto. Già le valvole sono utilizzate in MotoGP ma quella di SC-Project è fatta diversamente.
Questa valvola, realizzata in titanio totalmente dal pieno, aiuta – con il freno motore – a dare feeling al pilota in entrata e centro curva.
All’apertura, invece, la valvola si apre totalmente per dare il massimo passaggio dei gas di scarico.

The collaboration between SC-Project and Aprilia, in fact, would stem from more than a year of studies through the development of the exhaust for the RS 250 SP, for the RS 660 Trofeo and for the RSV4s of the Nuova M2 racing Team that compete in the CIV, to arrive, in 2021, at the development of the exhaust for the 2022 RS-GPs.

At first glance we notice that this configuration is slightly different (for obvious technical reasons), from the valve that appeared on Stefan Bradl's bike, an SC-Project branded component very similar to that of the RS-GPs. Will this valve also appear on the exhaust of Marc Marquez and Pol Espargarò's Honda ? Probably yes, we will see in a few days
Here is the made in Italy that unites two teams and four completely different riders.
You can see it in magnified detail on the bike used today by Lorenzo Savadori, in testing!


Watch the video or listen to the podcast!



What happens to the old MotoGP REALLY? But really eh!

Factoid

Every once in a while talking to some reader or some colleague, some cliché comes up, which is either partly true but not 100% true or, as in this case, more of a factoid than a fact.

factoid

What really happens to the MotoGP of years past?

There are differences, someone will say, who knows, in the sense that while Japanese motorcycles at the end of their life are pressed and have a shorter life cycle, in the case of Ducati there is really a rental system at various round-trip levels that puts the material back into circulation and there are various circulating evolutionary steps. In short, the bikes last a while and then-and then...and then....
Actually, if you have also heard the story about Japanese motorcycles being pressed, know that it is an urban legend.
It's been done publicly on a couple of occasions just to stop certain trades and say, if you find it out there, know it's fake because we press them. Do you see that we press it? We press a couple of them on a couple of occasions.
Of course you know how our press does investigations, and having seen that they pressed one, they thought that it always happens that way, and the Japanese like to believe that. And the press is pleased to please.
But know, that this is not the case. Jap motorcycles are made to disappear. In the sense that they have a shorter life cycle and then they end up in certified places like some official museums of the houses, some important factories like the Honda plant in Atessa and things like that. So you understand from you that if there are some of them in some places, obviously they are not pressed. At most they are withdrawn. But so if you find a Japanese gp bike for sale, then maybe it's real? 99.9% no.

If you notice, even official Japanese motorcycles are there, but the ones that are there date back to the mid-1980s at most. Then there was a stop. Because of course there was an exaggerated trade as with the relics of saints, and collectors are often the victims of pricks. The entanglements we did in Italy and nord Europe with motogp and others, tarred, especially some special parts, remain in the "annals" of collecting.
I mean, no one presses millions of euros, quiet though you can't even find them around, these bikes. They just don't show you where they put them. Rightly so.

Listen to the podcast or watch the video!

 



How much do MotoGP cost? Who pays for them? What is included in the price?

MotoGP Bikes

Everyone talks about budgets, money to make MotoGP and the "cost" differences between different bikes.
But how does the mechanism work, in MotoGP? How much do the bikes cost?
How are they bought, rented, and most importantly, who pays for them to whom?
It works like this.
The bikes, of course, are built by the manufacturers and deployed on the track in the factory team and then given to the customer teams.

I used the term concede and it is not a random term. The bikes are not sold.
But how do the teams pay for them?
Actually, the teams do not pay for them, rather they are "provided" by a sugar daddy who makes a dedicated contribution on their behalf.
All teams that field bikes on the track, receive a contribution from Dorna, and in the case of customer teams it happens without seeing any money. This is because the contract, although there are the guarantees of the teams with various levels of access to more or less up-to-date material, is between Dorna and the houses. It is Dorna that guarantees so that the houses get the money, and to make that happen, the teams only see the money go through according to the supply contract.

The contribution, for both customer and private teams, is five million euros, for two bikes for which the bikes are almost always all paid for and sometimes even a little something left over.

A house, let's take an example, Yamaha, that fields a customer team, then receives another three million.
So the amount that Yamaha, but also KTM receives is five million to the factory team, five million to the customer team, and another three million to the house that fields a customer team.
But so does Ducati, which fields four teams receive thirty-two million?
No. Each Ducati team receives five million plus three million for a private team. This contribution is paid only once beyond the number of private teams fielded.

But how much are the bikes actually worth, or rather what is their price?
It depends. The houses in the motorcycle package also include services such as the track engineer and the electronic and other engineers whose value is high anyway, since we are talking about so many races plus so many tests and the man days of these engineers are not cheap. These packages are there in standard, reduced or extended versions. So Dorna 's counter buto provides, in addition to the bike, a certain number of spare parts and technical personnel.

So on the one hand, those who race Ducati have slightly higher costs while on the other hand, in the case of Japanese motorcycles, they might have something left over. It could, because the houses try to go as far as charging for services until the budget is closed, this is to make the most of the subsidy given. Often of goes well beyond that.

Can it be skimmed?
That is another matter. Here is a legend that says Razali last year thought the bikes cost 8 million and therefore had to allocate more money, which then generated some scazzo son the other managerial figure on his team when he found out that instead the price was a little more than half. But that is another story....

 

 



Poll: Where would you like Quartararo?

Quartararo

Fabio Quartararo, così dicono le voci, è tentato di lasciare Yamaha.
Dove lo vedreste meglio? Dove lo vorreste?