Source: Cycle World
Francesco Bagnaia and Ducati were once again the package to beat at Assen. (MotoGP/)Francesco Bagnaia won comprehensively at Assen. He arrived with a setup that worked from FP1 and he was on top the whole weekend. His overall race time on Sunday was a remarkable 30 seconds quicker than last year, and he was nine-tenths of a second quicker in qualifying.On Sunday, Jorge Martín was second by 3.7 seconds, Enea Bastianini third by 7.1, and Marc Márquez fourth by 7.9 seconds (before a rules penalty demoted him to 10th).Other riders saw Bagnaia as having “something extra.” Martín (second in the sprint and on Sunday), who brilliantly achieved a large point lead in the early races, has seen that lead eroded by Bagnaia’s calm and confidence. Martín said, “He was on another level,” while Álex Márquez described Bagnaia as “two steps ahead.” Marc Márquez said it was “difficult to reach his level.” Bastianini added, “Pecco was out of my reach,” and “I see him winning tomorrow.”Jorge Martín couldn’t quite match Bagnaia’s pace in the sprint or Sunday’s race but finished a comfortable second in both instances, limiting damage to his championship bid. He now leads Bagnaia by 10 points, and Marc Márquez by 58. (MotoGP/)How can we account for this? Like Valentino Rossi in his great years, Bagnaia is able to lead races at lower cost to himself and his tires than riders behind him, which is to say that he keeps a margin. He is not up against the place where each 10th of a second quicker drives the rider deeper into a zone of growing mistakes. No one wants to inhabit that zone!How can this be? His crew chief, Cristian Gabbarrini, gave us real information: “Every time you start with a new bike and a different rear tire there can be variables that create havoc. Here at Assen, we were very good.“I see that Bagnaia is calm and aware of his capabilities.“Looking at his performance, I think Pecco didn’t give it his all, but that’s the real Bagnaia.”It was a weekend to forget for Aleix Espargaró, who crashed on Friday and again during the sprint. He withdrew from the event Sunday morning with a right hand injury. (MotoGP/)The top riders—Gabbarini mentioned Bagnaia and Martín specifically—and their teams have overcome the “havoc” to the greatest extent. Bagnaia explained: “Understanding the new tires was important. In Qatar (in March), in the sprint, we had some shocking vibrations (in the old lingo, chatter). It took us a while, but having eight bikes on the track helps find your direction. At that point, I worked on my style, and the team on setup and electronics.”Something similar happened in 2006, when Michelin supplied a new, low-pressure, large-footprint rear tire that Honda had requested (remember, this was back in the days of tire competition—no spec tire). Honda promptly ran into chatter but was able to get it under control early. Not so at Yamaha—Rossi’s early race results were up and down until the chatter was better understood. He was not champion that year.Bear in mind that Ducati has data sharing, so other riders on Ducati were free to draw their own conclusions just as Bagnaia and Gabbarini did.Gabbarini continued: “The difference is being made by Pecco and Jorge, in comparison with the other riders, without obviously taking anything away from anyone else. The bike (2024) is slightly better and I think this is all due to the work carried out. But Bagnaia and Martín are the two fastest and they’re doing the bulk of the work.”Brad Binder showed speed early on Sunday thanks to a soft rear tire option, but didn’t have the tire to challenge the bulk of the Ducatis. He finished seventh, but was promoted to sixth after Marc Márquez’s penalty. (MotoGP/)Also useful to know is that this kind of tire-and-motorcycle interaction is very old. Harley-Davidson’s race manager Dick O’Brien told me in 1969, “Just as we get our bike handling half-decent, along comes more tire grip and we have to do it all over again.”Race teams have long benefited from such simple ideas as test sequencing. When confronted with a problem that stands in the way of quicker lap times, something very like a computer program is needed—a way of reaching a solution in a minimum number of steps, and minimum time.The bike is configured as a question, and the rider makes enough laps to provide an answer. Based on that, another configuration is tested. This is a rational process and it is definitely work. We’ve all seen the impressive numbers of laps run at tests, both preseason and in season. Riders and teams who do this well get earlier, more useful answers.Mick Doohan was understandably critical of riders who just “roll around the circuit” (as he put it) in practice. The practices and tests are precious, so each lap must be put to best use.The field saw a lot of Bagnaia’s tailsection at Assen. (MotoGP/)There are still riders facing the problem of having good race pace but qualifying far from the front and having to chew past many bikes to reach good finish positions. Some of those riders can be pretty chewy. Back in 2003, before Yamaha had called upon the skills of Rossi and Masao Furusawa, it was unable to get any benefit from the sticky qualifying tires that were then in use. In speaking with team people it seemed this was a great mystery, but later, I was to hear Michelin techs joking about it. To them it was simple: The extra grip of the Q rear was taking weight off the front, resulting in “push,” or running wide.This is why it is normal to have slightly different setups for qualifying and race. In qualifying, new softs will be used, but most of the race will take place on well-worn tires, quite often medium or occasionally hard.Fabio Di Giannantonio said on Saturday, “Not a great day. The feeling is good but I missed access to Q2. We were very fast with used tires, but with new tires, I struggle more. Also, just when I put the tires on for the flying lap, I had some problems.”On the other hand, Martín said, “I was in danger of losing the front a lot in turn 6, and when you do that at [190 mph] it’s not a great feeling.”Maverick Viñales was the top-finishing non-Ducati rider on Sunday, in fifth. Fabio Di Giannantonio was fourth. (MotoGP/)When asked if that might have to do with the grip of a new rear pushing the front, he replied, “It may be so. It is a problem. But this morning I was on the track with a soft rear and a used front and this problem was not there.”No easy answers. “Necessary many testing,” as a long-ago technician put it.Fabio Quartararo had to explain that, while Yamaha’s new engine is making a bit more power, that power couldn’t make a difference at Assen. On other tracks, perhaps. He was seventh in the sprint, 11 seconds back, and 12th on Sunday.Johann Zarco was highest-finishing Honda, in 13th, with the other two last and next-to-last.In brand terms, the top five finishers were on Ducati, followed by an Aprilia (that of Maverick Viñales) and a KTM (Brad Binder’s).The whine of straight-cut gears can be heard from those who want greater diversity in race finishes. Did they complain when the great Marc Márquez won the MotoGP championship year after year? This is the nature of racing. Every team suffers periods of being uncompetitive: Honda from 2004 to mid-2010 (with the exception of Nicky Hayden’s 2006), Ducati from 2008 until quite recently. Both KTM and Aprilia show the ability to win but so far without consistency.Winning in MotoGP is not easy. At Sachsenring next weekend, fresh dice will be rolled.
Full Text:
Francesco Bagnaia and Ducati were once again the package to beat at Assen. (MotoGP/)
Francesco Bagnaia won comprehensively at Assen. He arrived with a setup that worked from FP1 and he was on top the whole weekend. His overall race time on Sunday was a remarkable 30 seconds quicker than last year, and he was nine-tenths of a second quicker in qualifying.
On Sunday, Jorge Martín was second by 3.7 seconds, Enea Bastianini third by 7.1, and Marc Márquez fourth by 7.9 seconds (before a rules penalty demoted him to 10th).
Other riders saw Bagnaia as having “something extra.” Martín (second in the sprint and on Sunday), who brilliantly achieved a large point lead in the early races, has seen that lead eroded by Bagnaia’s calm and confidence. Martín said, “He was on another level,” while Álex Márquez described Bagnaia as “two steps ahead.” Marc Márquez said it was “difficult to reach his level.” Bastianini added, “Pecco was out of my reach,” and “I see him winning tomorrow.”
Jorge Martín couldn’t quite match Bagnaia’s pace in the sprint or Sunday’s race but finished a comfortable second in both instances, limiting damage to his championship bid. He now leads Bagnaia by 10 points, and Marc Márquez by 58. (MotoGP/)
How can we account for this? Like Valentino Rossi in his great years, Bagnaia is able to lead races at lower cost to himself and his tires than riders behind him, which is to say that he keeps a margin. He is not up against the place where each 10th of a second quicker drives the rider deeper into a zone of growing mistakes. No one wants to inhabit that zone!
How can this be? His crew chief, Cristian Gabbarrini, gave us real information: “Every time you start with a new bike and a different rear tire there can be variables that create havoc. Here at Assen, we were very good.
“I see that Bagnaia is calm and aware of his capabilities.
“Looking at his performance, I think Pecco didn’t give it his all, but that’s the real Bagnaia.”
It was a weekend to forget for Aleix Espargaró, who crashed on Friday and again during the sprint. He withdrew from the event Sunday morning with a right hand injury. (MotoGP/)
The top riders—Gabbarini mentioned Bagnaia and Martín specifically—and their teams have overcome the “havoc” to the greatest extent. Bagnaia explained: “Understanding the new tires was important. In Qatar (in March), in the sprint, we had some shocking vibrations (in the old lingo, chatter). It took us a while, but having eight bikes on the track helps find your direction. At that point, I worked on my style, and the team on setup and electronics.”
Something similar happened in 2006, when Michelin supplied a new, low-pressure, large-footprint rear tire that Honda had requested (remember, this was back in the days of tire competition—no spec tire). Honda promptly ran into chatter but was able to get it under control early. Not so at Yamaha—Rossi’s early race results were up and down until the chatter was better understood. He was not champion that year.
Bear in mind that Ducati has data sharing, so other riders on Ducati were free to draw their own conclusions just as Bagnaia and Gabbarini did.
Gabbarini continued: “The difference is being made by Pecco and Jorge, in comparison with the other riders, without obviously taking anything away from anyone else. The bike (2024) is slightly better and I think this is all due to the work carried out. But Bagnaia and Martín are the two fastest and they’re doing the bulk of the work.”
Brad Binder showed speed early on Sunday thanks to a soft rear tire option, but didn’t have the tire to challenge the bulk of the Ducatis. He finished seventh, but was promoted to sixth after Marc Márquez’s penalty. (MotoGP/)
Also useful to know is that this kind of tire-and-motorcycle interaction is very old. Harley-Davidson’s race manager Dick O’Brien told me in 1969, “Just as we get our bike handling half-decent, along comes more tire grip and we have to do it all over again.”
Race teams have long benefited from such simple ideas as test sequencing. When confronted with a problem that stands in the way of quicker lap times, something very like a computer program is needed—a way of reaching a solution in a minimum number of steps, and minimum time.
The bike is configured as a question, and the rider makes enough laps to provide an answer. Based on that, another configuration is tested. This is a rational process and it is definitely work. We’ve all seen the impressive numbers of laps run at tests, both preseason and in season. Riders and teams who do this well get earlier, more useful answers.
Mick Doohan was understandably critical of riders who just “roll around the circuit” (as he put it) in practice. The practices and tests are precious, so each lap must be put to best use.
The field saw a lot of Bagnaia’s tailsection at Assen. (MotoGP/)
There are still riders facing the problem of having good race pace but qualifying far from the front and having to chew past many bikes to reach good finish positions. Some of those riders can be pretty chewy. Back in 2003, before Yamaha had called upon the skills of Rossi and Masao Furusawa, it was unable to get any benefit from the sticky qualifying tires that were then in use. In speaking with team people it seemed this was a great mystery, but later, I was to hear Michelin techs joking about it. To them it was simple: The extra grip of the Q rear was taking weight off the front, resulting in “push,” or running wide.
This is why it is normal to have slightly different setups for qualifying and race. In qualifying, new softs will be used, but most of the race will take place on well-worn tires, quite often medium or occasionally hard.
Fabio Di Giannantonio said on Saturday, “Not a great day. The feeling is good but I missed access to Q2. We were very fast with used tires, but with new tires, I struggle more. Also, just when I put the tires on for the flying lap, I had some problems.”
On the other hand, Martín said, “I was in danger of losing the front a lot in turn 6, and when you do that at [190 mph] it’s not a great feeling.”
Maverick Viñales was the top-finishing non-Ducati rider on Sunday, in fifth. Fabio Di Giannantonio was fourth. (MotoGP/)
When asked if that might have to do with the grip of a new rear pushing the front, he replied, “It may be so. It is a problem. But this morning I was on the track with a soft rear and a used front and this problem was not there.”
No easy answers. “Necessary many testing,” as a long-ago technician put it.
Fabio Quartararo had to explain that, while Yamaha’s new engine is making a bit more power, that power couldn’t make a difference at Assen. On other tracks, perhaps. He was seventh in the sprint, 11 seconds back, and 12th on Sunday.
Johann Zarco was highest-finishing Honda, in 13th, with the other two last and next-to-last.
In brand terms, the top five finishers were on Ducati, followed by an Aprilia (that of Maverick Viñales) and a KTM (Brad Binder’s).
The whine of straight-cut gears can be heard from those who want greater diversity in race finishes. Did they complain when the great Marc Márquez won the MotoGP championship year after year? This is the nature of racing. Every team suffers periods of being uncompetitive: Honda from 2004 to mid-2010 (with the exception of Nicky Hayden’s 2006), Ducati from 2008 until quite recently. Both KTM and Aprilia show the ability to win but so far without consistency.
Winning in MotoGP is not easy. At Sachsenring next weekend, fresh dice will be rolled.
