Making Racing More Entertaining

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Kevin Cameron has been writing about motorcycles for nearly 50 years, first for <em>Cycle magazine</em> and, since 1992, for <em>Cycle World</em>. (Robert Martin/)

Reader “Odal” has written to deplore the lack of passing in MotoGP, to speculate that abolishing aero devices might restore passing, and to say how much more enjoyable Moto3 is to watch. Many would agree. In conversations at club races (Loudon, New Hampshire) I’ve often been told by fans that they like the Novice races best—lots of “misadventures.” By comparison, the Expert events were “a snore.”

How could it be any other way? The Experts have learned they must finish, that trying is not as effective as knowing how, and that they must maintain a margin to achieve winning consistency. The Novices, at lower levels of maturity, are obliged to guess and so are often wrong.

Even the experts get it wrong… (MotoGP/)

Back in the days of two-stroke GP racing there were always many more rider errors and crashes in the 125 class, and this has carried over into today’s Moto3 class.

Also, it must be admitted that people’s ideas of what constitutes entertainment may vary. Years ago, during the 1970s era of the Yamaha TZ750, one of the top riders brought a friend to a race weekend (at Mosport, west of Toronto). When the friend asked about good places to watch, he recommended Moss Corner as the place to see intense braking contests.

“Nah, nah,” the friend said. “Just tell me where I can see the best accidents.”

Related: Technologies That Revolutionized Modern Motorcycling, Chapter 3

Passing has become more difficult, but not just because of the aero packages and heat saturation of tires in the draft. Racers have become better at anticipating the actions of the riders behind them. (Aprilia/)

If indeed there is less passing now than in some previous time, I would suggest that the uniformly high level of rider skill and equipment is the cause. MotoGP riders themselves have commented that the 10–12 top riders are so equally matched and all on factory-engineered racebikes, the person you are trying to overtake is just as skilled at anticipating and blocking your moves as you are at planning and making them.

Banning effective technologies risks turning racing into a vintage activity that falls behind the production bikes for sale in showrooms.

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