MotoGP announced today that next year it will stop in Hungary, at the new Balaton Park facility, with which a ten-year contract has been signed. Although the MotoGP is busy this weekend in Misano, the event was attended by Dorna’s top brass, in the guise of CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and his son Carlos, the sporting director.
For the youngest of the Ezpeletas it was the occasion to comment on the regulatory innovations that will be introduced in the near future, from the freezing of the engines to the much discussed radio communication system, which the Spanish manager defended, underlining that it is a discussion born for safety reasons, which clearly could also have an entertainment outlet, but only when the time is right to do so.
From next year, engines will be frozen until 2027, when the new regulations will come into force. How did this idea come about?
“There are always two sides of the same coin when it comes to performance. When you leave a certain amount of freedom, it is normal that those with the highest budget always have the possibility to gain an advantage. The proposal of an engine freeze was on the table and the manufacturers accepted it. As Dorna, we think that with the changes coming in 2027, which will require a completely new engine design, it is prudent to implement an engine freeze. We also had one during the COVID era, in 2021, and we believe it is fair, because at that time KTM was able to take advantage of concessions, just like it will be now for Honda and Yamaha. So, it could even be a help for these two manufacturers to try to close the gap in terms of engine. Also, it could be positive for the reference manufacturers to focus exclusively on the new 850cc project, but we cannot say for sure now. Only time will tell.”
Are you satisfied with how the concession system you introduced this year is going?
“We are very happy, even if it is still very early to draw conclusions. It was the same thing when we introduced the new format last season. We believe that, on paper, the new concession system makes a lot of sense, because it is based on a mathematical system and therefore can no longer be conditioned by sporadic exploits. We see no reason to change it, because it seems to work well. We will have to see what happens when the manufacturers start to move within the merit bands. But at the moment the only certain change is that in 2027 they will all start from the same merit band, given that we will start again with a new technical regulation, and it will be like this at least until halfway through the season”.
From next year you will also introduce a radio communication system with the pilots, which has already caused quite a stir…
“A lot of information has come out in the media, because the riders tried the system during the last test and obviously they were asked for their opinion. We have always understood it as something that should make us take a step forward in terms of safety, giving the riders information in case of danger. Once this first step is taken, when everything is ready and if the riders and teams want to communicate with each other, obviously we would like to let the fans hear what they are saying. We are working hard to create a system that can adapt and become almost invisible to the riders. We would like a radio system that can be integrated into the helmet and then connected to the rider. Technology today allows us to create specific solutions for our needs, for example also understanding with GPS in which part of the track to give messages to the riders. The radio system is part of a new system that will allow us to interact directly with the riders, but we have read a lot of information in the media that was not correct. We will make an announcement when we are ready. With GPS we will also be able to study all the dynamics of the accidents: how many meters the riders travel when they fall, the speed at which they enter the gravel, the energy of the falls. I think this will be a big step forward for our sport. In terms of being able to have the communications heard by the fans, when the drivers feel ready to do that, I think it will be very interesting.”
In Formula 1, drivers are required to speak English even in communications with their team, precisely to facilitate understanding by the fans. Will you do the same thing in MotoGP?
“MotoGP is a global sport and we are very proud of that. Obviously the radio communications have to be fast, but I don’t think the riders have any problems with English. For example, the Safety Commission always takes place in English, and in many cases they also speak English when they communicate with their engineers. When the communications also come back from the bike, first to Race Direction and then eventually to the teams, we always have to consider that doing it on a bike is much more demanding than on a car, just because of the movements of the rider and the noise generated by the air as well as the engine of the bike, so it is more difficult to implement something like that.”
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