Moto GP And Its Wheely Brave Men

Once you've gotten over this post's terrible attempt at replicating a typical British tabloid's headline pun, you might be surprised to see that it is also about 2 wheeled machinery rather than my usual waffle around cars. But after watching the weekend's US Moto GP at Laguna Seca, I couldn't help but form a gigantic cloud of opinions around the men that hammer around international racing tracks on high speed motorcycles. I couldn't help but find myself on Autotrader late that night, scrolling through listings of Kawasaki Ninjas and Honda Fireblades in an attempt to one day experience something similar to what these riders, no, heroes, experience when they risk life and limb in order to win.

The US GP, a race barely half the length of what I'm used to watching Formula 1 drivers deal with, was fantastic. The weather was calm, bike reliability was good and there were few incidents, so from a distance the race might seem a little uneventful. But look a little closer and you'll see that not only was the race full of drama, but also heroic determination and some good old, hairy chested bravery. Funnily enough though, much of that bravery came from probably the least hairy chested, baby faced rider called Marc Marquez. You may have heard of him, he won a couple of junior level world championships before landing a ride in the 2013 Moto GP season, and he's something of a star.

Marquez is a rookie, yet in his maiden Moto GP season he has not only rewritten the record books by being the youngest pole sitter and race winner in history, but also by fearlessly racing wheel to wheel with the Championship's most successful rider, Valentino Rossi. You may have also heard of him, he's the guy who had to leave his native Italy in order to just go to the shops without being mobbed by hundreds of fanatical fans. Marquez seems unphased by Rossi's legend like status within the Motorcycling community, as he not only passed Rossi into Laguna Seca's daunting corkscrew, but he did it around the outside. In the football world this could be attributed to nutmegging a world class striker, or a sort of near KO against a boxing heavyweight. Marquez then raced on towards the race's pole sitter, Stefan Bradl, who is also a rookie to the premier motorcycling championship, and defiantly took the lead. His move into the final corner was slightly less dramatic, but equally as impressive as his rear wheel slid left to right under heavy braking. Having never ridden a proper motorcycle, let alone on slick tyres at racing speeds, I was overly impressed and in absolute awe at this youngster's talent.

But my amazement didn't end there. As the riders crossed the line and entered the pits, the coverage panned to Dani Pedrosa and double world champ, Jorge Lorenzo as they clambered off their bikes, expressing emotions of pain and relief. These men had both recently had huge offs resulting in injury, with Lorenzo for example having only just undergone surgery on his shoulder days before the race. Most people are bed ridden, or at least allowed a week or 2 off after undergoing what is a fairly severe surgery, but Lorenzo hopped onto his motorcycle and raced for over half an hour around what is a very dangerous and physical track. And he managed to do this with the world's very best, even finishing 6th, behind the other badly injured racer of Pedrosa. I'm so used to seeing top level footballers exacerbating injuries on the pitch, and even Formula 1 drivers mention fear of injury whilst they clamber into comparably safe cockpits. Yet Pedrosa and Lorenzo chose to ride despite risks of further injury, in order to keep their championship hopes alive. No matter what sport you love or how much you might hate motor racing, you have to have respect for men like these.

And finally, and probably most importantly, all of these riders, even the ones who rarely make TV coverage or the news headlines, are all heroes of sorts. Because they are racing the world's fastest motorcycles, around some of the world's most challenging circuits, in a sport where riders still die. The memory of Marco Simoncelli's death is still very fresh within the Moto GP community, with less than 2 years having passed since his fatal Malaysian GP accident. Just one year before that Shoya Tomizawa had died aged 19 in the Moto2 class, showing just how dangerous Motorcycle racing still is. Formula 1 racers are risking life and limb each time they step into the car, but there is no doubt risk is even higher when you're clinging onto a high powered, two wheeled bike with little more than a few millimetres of leather separating your skin from a high speed tarmac sanding. I have no shame in saying it, even as a long-term F1 fan who once hoped to race in cars. Moto GP riders, are wheely wheely brave.

Sorry..

Tyres Tyres Tyres: Has F1 Gone Too Far?

Formula 1 of late seems a far cry from the Schumacher dominated days of yesteryear. Instead of the multi million Pound  precession of cars we were once faced  with, racing today is far less predictable and overtaking is plentiful. Yet this seemingly vast improvement in racing, is often overshadowed by a significant factor in modern F1: tyres. F1 tyres have taken a leading role in determining the finishing order in races of late. Drivers and cars that are able to preserve their tyres are rewarded with far fewer visits to the pits. But has this damaged what many visualise as the World's fastest sport? Have F1's tyre issues pushed the sport too far from its roots?

The slick tyres used by today's current crop of F1 teams, are made solely by Pirelli. Pirelli were instructed by the FIA, F1's governing body, to create tyres that provided good grip for a short period of time. The intention was to create a challenge for teams with races requiring 2-3 pit stops. However the weekend's race at Barcelona showed how too much tyre wear means drivers are forced to run well within their limits in order to lengthen tyre life. The tyres have become a significant challenge, requiring continual management.

Jody Sheckter had to manage his innovative P34 in 1976

Nevertheless, if we look back over the past 60 years of Formula 1 racing, it is clear to see that racing drivers have rarely been flat out all Sunday long. Generally there has always been a factor that required managing, whether it be gearbox, engine or brake related. Drivers are not just there to push to the limits, but also ensure their machinery can carry them to the finish. In the 50s and 60s the main limiting factor tended to be mechanical, with a lengthy list of racers who 'Did Not Finish' often falling victim to engine and gearbox failures. Through the decades reliability improved, but high performance turbo engines in the 80s were still fragile beasts that needed heavy management over a weekend - they ran up to 600hp less during races than qualifying in order to just survive.

Today however, reliability is so good that races see few mechanical failures with engines competing in 3 to 4 races per season before requiring any rebuilding. Engines and gearboxes require very little management from drivers as a result, with simple engine mapping adjustments providing teams with confidence their cars will see out the distance.

Locking wheels can destroy a tyre in seconds

Especially from the fan's point of view, tyres are the main factors that require management. Many have voiced their disgust, and even 3 times F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel explained that his Red Bull RB9 could go far quicker over the course of a race if the tyres weren't such a limiting factor.

These issues do not seem to exist because something requires heavy management. Instead it's the fact it results in drivers circulating tracks 10 seconds off their potential pace. We even notice teams instructing drivers to "not fight" against others due to focusing entirely on their own race stint. Most of Barcelona's overtaking came in the form of DRS assisted straight line passes, whilst both Button and Vettel showed little flare when defending positions from attack. This meant despite the number of overtakes being sufficient, each was far less dramatic than many F1 fans would hope.

DRS assisted passes are often less dramatic

The Australian and Bahrain races were thankfully far better and so we can only hope that future races will be closer to them, but Barcelona should certainly serve as a lesson of what we don't want. F1 is the pinnacle of Motorsport, both in terms of drivers and car technology, so the last thing we want is a formula where neither of these things are being pushed to the limits.