Source: Cycle World
Francesco Bagnaia gained points in the MotoGP championship over his rival, Jorge Martín. (MotoGP/)Last weekend Marc Márquez (Gresini Duc) said this is a championship of two men with a third trying to join in (himself). This time that picture was fractured by the sudden intrusion of Enea Bastianini (Lenovo Duc), who had been third for 17 laps. On lap 21 of 23 he passed Márquez (who said, “I lacked traction in the last corner”) and on the last lap, the last corner came past Jorge Martín (Pramac Duc) for second.“It was a big frustration,” Martín said, “to lose the position at the last corner hurt me quite a lot. But Bastianini did an amazing job at the end.”Out of reach in first was Francesco Bagnaia (factory Duc) who belies his cheery, unfocused manner by planning everything in detail and then carrying out the plan smoothly and without struggle.Although he led every lap, there was drama at the start as he, starting from the middle of row two, had to overcome others whose starts were strong.“To overtake four riders into one corner is incredible. I studied a bit this strategy, and normally it never works. But this time it worked.“I was just trying to run from the outside and brake into corner two to be leading…“I…remained on the outside (in corner one) to be on the inside of corner two. Maverick [Viñales] braked very hard and my strategy was almost ruined. But when I saw he was going wide (as so often befalls late brakers) I just tried to close his line and it was the best decision.“After that, I saw that Jorge didn’t exit corner one strongly, so I just made an advantage of this to overtake him in corner two.Related: Bagnaia Redeems With Catalunya WinBagnaia came from the middle of the second row to jump out in the lead. (MotoGP/)“…from that moment I just started to push and control the race. It was very difficult to remain…constant…every time I tried to do two laps in a row at the same pace, the front tire was moving a lot, was having moments (short-term losses of grip), so I just decided to use this strategy—to push one lap and cool down a lap after. And it worked perfectly.”Racing is about just this: Quickly analyzing one situation after another to reveal a safe path that can lead to success.The top three were close at the end; Bastinaini was just 0.799 second behind Bagnaia, and Martín just 0.125 second behind him. Márquez finished just over two seconds out of first.Why was Márquez not quite in contention? “Today we had the pace, we had the speed. I was there, always fighting and always close to the guys.“I tried many things. I opened a gap, came back, tried to control the front tire pressure but it wasn’t possible.”Frankie Carchedi, Márquez’s crew chief, said, “The front tire…temperatures were super, super, super high.”But who cares about race results when powerful emotions snap, crackle, and pop as Márquez and Martín vied for the open Ducati factory seat? Pedro Acosta, this year’s new hottie (GasGas/KTM), is quick with words: “This Ducati thing is becoming a soap opera. There’s a new episode every weekend.”The resolution? Márquez gets the Ducati seat, while Martín goes to Aprilia to replace retiring Aleix Espargaró.How will Martín fare at Aprilia, a team that shows spikes of strong performance but has yet to evolve its promising design into an airliner, flying scheduled routes, always on-time—like Bagnaia’s mature Ducati?It may present a whole new opportunity. Martín said of Sunday’s race, “We changed our strategy. Normally we don’t touch the bike. We always keep the same setup. [But] normally I like to use a lot of front to turn, [but] here the tire wasn’t supporting the weight. So we [moved] some weight to the rear, and it was the right way.“I think all the riders were struggling a little with the front, but we were much stronger than yesterday.”Because it is so easy to become lost in infinite setup possibilities, it can sometimes be better at times to avoid that trap by adapting rider style to an ever-constant bike.In the end, however, the right changes to setup can make quick lap times much easier for the rider. Think of Mat Mladin, who initially made fun of adapting gearbox ratios to circuits. But when his new technician, Ammar Bazzaz, showed him on the computer screen the lap-time-shrinking power of those and other changes, the two became the irresistible force in AMA Superbike.There was discussion of Michelin’s recent tires. Márquez said, “I’m trying to keep my corner entry—that is one of my strong points. But not lose on the exit. That was basically the main problem with the new [rear] tire…pushing the front.”Marc Márquez says his advantage is in corner entry. (Gresini Ducati/)Too much grip at the rear can overpower front grip, becoming “push.”Marco Bezzecchi (13th) said he had “…understeer (push) in the middle of the corner. Riding like this I immediately destroy the front tire, and on tracks like this and Barcelona, where the [front] tire is already under pressure, I suffer a lot.”Márquez reviewed the current state of tires: “We are faster every time,” noting,”…the Michelin rear has improved a lot. It has a lot more grip, even in the maximum lean angle, and this is one of those aspects that we benefit a lot from in qualifying.”Think of the number of riders in the past several years who have identified low rear grip as a significant problem. Many.Márquez continued, “As for the front, I don’t really like the direction they are going, in fact the front tire was not liked by many riders.”Remember that the present lower limit on front tire pressure of 1.8 bar (26.5 psi) has been identified by numerous riders as limiting tire footprint enough to make front locking a more common problem. Slipstreaming is tempting for riders of underpowered bikes, but the heat streaming back from the leading bike elevates front tire temperature, often enough to significantly reduce front grip (because higher temperature raises tire pressure, reducing the tire’s footprint area and its grip).Bagnaia, Martín, and Bastianini all spoke of MotoGP’s level continuing to rise. Viñales said, “…the problem is that we are all very fast, and we have practically the same pace and that makes it much more difficult to overtake.”Martín chose other words for the same situation: “…it’s one thing to be close. It’s another to be close enough to attack.”Yet as we’ve seen in recent races, experienced riders are able to start far back and still arrive in the front group.The winning rider does not embrace risk. He understands risk and manages it. That is consistency—the ability to set a winning pace while keeping a margin—a distance from the zone in which further pushing leads to mistakes of escalating seriousness. This requires a refined understanding between rider and team.Bagnaia one by 1.77 seconds, not a big gap but a comfortable one. (MotoGP/)Notice the small margins of victory in recent races—often less than a second. This is a natural result of high levels of rider skill and equipment. It also underlines the principle of “winning at the lowest possible speed.” With all the forces tending to push the tires past their limits, the leader goes just fast enough to remain out of striking distance of pursuers.The Dutch TT at Assen, the “Cathedral of Racing,” is coming on 28–30 June.
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Francesco Bagnaia gained points in the MotoGP championship over his rival, Jorge Martín. (MotoGP/)
Last weekend Marc Márquez (Gresini Duc) said this is a championship of two men with a third trying to join in (himself). This time that picture was fractured by the sudden intrusion of Enea Bastianini (Lenovo Duc), who had been third for 17 laps. On lap 21 of 23 he passed Márquez (who said, “I lacked traction in the last corner”) and on the last lap, the last corner came past Jorge Martín (Pramac Duc) for second.
“It was a big frustration,” Martín said, “to lose the position at the last corner hurt me quite a lot. But Bastianini did an amazing job at the end.”
Out of reach in first was Francesco Bagnaia (factory Duc) who belies his cheery, unfocused manner by planning everything in detail and then carrying out the plan smoothly and without struggle.
Although he led every lap, there was drama at the start as he, starting from the middle of row two, had to overcome others whose starts were strong.
“To overtake four riders into one corner is incredible. I studied a bit this strategy, and normally it never works. But this time it worked.
“I was just trying to run from the outside and brake into corner two to be leading…
“I…remained on the outside (in corner one) to be on the inside of corner two. Maverick [Viñales] braked very hard and my strategy was almost ruined. But when I saw he was going wide (as so often befalls late brakers) I just tried to close his line and it was the best decision.
“After that, I saw that Jorge didn’t exit corner one strongly, so I just made an advantage of this to overtake him in corner two.
Related: Bagnaia Redeems With Catalunya Win
Bagnaia came from the middle of the second row to jump out in the lead. (MotoGP/)
“…from that moment I just started to push and control the race. It was very difficult to remain…constant…every time I tried to do two laps in a row at the same pace, the front tire was moving a lot, was having moments (short-term losses of grip), so I just decided to use this strategy—to push one lap and cool down a lap after. And it worked perfectly.”
Racing is about just this: Quickly analyzing one situation after another to reveal a safe path that can lead to success.
The top three were close at the end; Bastinaini was just 0.799 second behind Bagnaia, and Martín just 0.125 second behind him. Márquez finished just over two seconds out of first.
Why was Márquez not quite in contention? “Today we had the pace, we had the speed. I was there, always fighting and always close to the guys.
“I tried many things. I opened a gap, came back, tried to control the front tire pressure but it wasn’t possible.”
Frankie Carchedi, Márquez’s crew chief, said, “The front tire…temperatures were super, super, super high.”
But who cares about race results when powerful emotions snap, crackle, and pop as Márquez and Martín vied for the open Ducati factory seat? Pedro Acosta, this year’s new hottie (GasGas/KTM), is quick with words: “This Ducati thing is becoming a soap opera. There’s a new episode every weekend.”
The resolution? Márquez gets the Ducati seat, while Martín goes to Aprilia to replace retiring Aleix Espargaró.
How will Martín fare at Aprilia, a team that shows spikes of strong performance but has yet to evolve its promising design into an airliner, flying scheduled routes, always on-time—like Bagnaia’s mature Ducati?
It may present a whole new opportunity. Martín said of Sunday’s race, “We changed our strategy. Normally we don’t touch the bike. We always keep the same setup. [But] normally I like to use a lot of front to turn, [but] here the tire wasn’t supporting the weight. So we [moved] some weight to the rear, and it was the right way.
“I think all the riders were struggling a little with the front, but we were much stronger than yesterday.”
Because it is so easy to become lost in infinite setup possibilities, it can sometimes be better at times to avoid that trap by adapting rider style to an ever-constant bike.
In the end, however, the right changes to setup can make quick lap times much easier for the rider. Think of Mat Mladin, who initially made fun of adapting gearbox ratios to circuits. But when his new technician, Ammar Bazzaz, showed him on the computer screen the lap-time-shrinking power of those and other changes, the two became the irresistible force in AMA Superbike.
There was discussion of Michelin’s recent tires. Márquez said, “I’m trying to keep my corner entry—that is one of my strong points. But not lose on the exit. That was basically the main problem with the new [rear] tire…pushing the front.”
Marc Márquez says his advantage is in corner entry. (Gresini Ducati/)
Too much grip at the rear can overpower front grip, becoming “push.”
Marco Bezzecchi (13th) said he had “…understeer (push) in the middle of the corner. Riding like this I immediately destroy the front tire, and on tracks like this and Barcelona, where the [front] tire is already under pressure, I suffer a lot.”
Márquez reviewed the current state of tires: “We are faster every time,” noting,”…the Michelin rear has improved a lot. It has a lot more grip, even in the maximum lean angle, and this is one of those aspects that we benefit a lot from in qualifying.”
Think of the number of riders in the past several years who have identified low rear grip as a significant problem. Many.
Márquez continued, “As for the front, I don’t really like the direction they are going, in fact the front tire was not liked by many riders.”
Remember that the present lower limit on front tire pressure of 1.8 bar (26.5 psi) has been identified by numerous riders as limiting tire footprint enough to make front locking a more common problem. Slipstreaming is tempting for riders of underpowered bikes, but the heat streaming back from the leading bike elevates front tire temperature, often enough to significantly reduce front grip (because higher temperature raises tire pressure, reducing the tire’s footprint area and its grip).
Bagnaia, Martín, and Bastianini all spoke of MotoGP’s level continuing to rise. Viñales said, “…the problem is that we are all very fast, and we have practically the same pace and that makes it much more difficult to overtake.”
Martín chose other words for the same situation: “…it’s one thing to be close. It’s another to be close enough to attack.”
Yet as we’ve seen in recent races, experienced riders are able to start far back and still arrive in the front group.
The winning rider does not embrace risk. He understands risk and manages it. That is consistency—the ability to set a winning pace while keeping a margin—a distance from the zone in which further pushing leads to mistakes of escalating seriousness. This requires a refined understanding between rider and team.
Bagnaia one by 1.77 seconds, not a big gap but a comfortable one. (MotoGP/)
Notice the small margins of victory in recent races—often less than a second. This is a natural result of high levels of rider skill and equipment. It also underlines the principle of “winning at the lowest possible speed.” With all the forces tending to push the tires past their limits, the leader goes just fast enough to remain out of striking distance of pursuers.
The Dutch TT at Assen, the “Cathedral of Racing,” is coming on 28–30 June.
