The new Ducati MotoGP 2022 has recently been presented, but the history of the world championship is full of bikes that have divided the fans between style and power
The three days of the MotoGP shakedown in Sepang reserved for test riders, rookies and teams with concessions revealed, in addition to the technical characteristics, also the stylistic innovations of the new racing cars. In Motorsport, especially in the top categories such as Formula 1 and MotoGP, an unwritten rule has always been valid: the two-wheeled racing car must have the best mix of power, speed and driveability. And the beauty? Enzo Ferrari used to say: “The beautiful car is the one that wins”. Count Domenico Agusta confirmed: “The most beautiful bike is the one that stops the chronometer first”.
some f1 / motogp comparisons
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It certainly cannot be said that the first car with the Prancing Horse logo, the “125” from 1950, was stylistically a great beauty, while for many the most beautiful ever was the 312T with its magical sound – 12-liter 3-liter engine. cylinders with transversal gearbox (T) – the red of the rebirth thanks to the trio Lauda (driver), Forghieri (designer), Montezemolo (ds). Ditto, in motorcycles, for the MV Agusta, whose first 500 4-cylinder from 1950 (that of Leslie Graham) with torsion bar fork and cardan transmission weighed down that beast as opposed to the sleek and splendid 350 and 500 3 cylinders with which Giacomo Agostini wins 13 of his 15 world titles from 1966 to 1973. It is a fact that, yesterday as today, in no racing department (of cars and motorbikes) with so many hyper-specialized employees there is a “style center”, with a staff of stylists and designers with equal dignity compared to the numerous other technicians and engineers.
the importance of muscles
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For decades, racing has revolved around the engine. Then, in post-war motor racing, from the early 1950s more and more attention was paid to aerodynamics (the first wind tunnel was built by Moto Guzzi in 1954) but no one has ever scientifically and artistically “studied” styling. of the racing vehicle and not even its coloring. The Italian racing cars had to be “red”, period. It will be Tarquinio Provini, who arrived at Benelli after his great years at the Mondial, MV Agusta, Morini, to treat every aspect of the new 4-cylinder Pesaro in a maniacal way, also choosing the new “black smoke” for his racing car, with a thread of tricolor on the sides of the fairing, making that bike unique and still valued by its weight in gold: a jewel for its victories but also for its stylistic appeal. Already. Because among collectors, for example, as well as among simple enthusiasts, both the racing cars that have won races and championships but also those who, while winning little or nothing, have left a mark for their stylistic qualities, for their line, for their color, in short, for their aesthetic appeal in addition to the sound.
how important is style
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Don’t a competitive and even beautiful motorcycle and racing car attract the public more on the circuits and in front of the TV and the sponsors who allow the sustainability of the championship with their investments? Performing and winning means yes, but better if they are also beautiful to look at, beautiful to carry inside forever, like a work of art, therefore immortal. The aesthetics of the racing cars (this also applies to the “roar” of the engines) has thrilled and thrills the fans: “It wins and it is beautiful too”; or: “She doesn’t win, but she is the most beautiful”. On the track, it is true, “ugly” cars and motorbikes have also won, but only the most “beautiful” have held their interest over time, even increasing it economically, and in any case, “winning and beautiful” is better. The fact remains that the designers have the priority to make the vehicle competitive, even at the expense of its line, by not paying attention to the criticisms of enthusiasts (often also customers).
the beauty of ducati
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Important that we talk about it, say the communication gurus. For example, with regard to the new Ducati just unveiled, although for now only in a video, the Borgo Panigale house has always made excellent and beautiful racing bikes, perhaps excluding the “gray” twin-cylinder 500 GP with a 1971 90-degree V engine. -72, moreover a futuristic prototype also in the chassis (disc brakes, front fork with offset pivot, etc.) and fantastic driven by riders of the caliber of Smart, Read, Spaggiari, Parlotti, Giuliano, a bike that brought to 750 cc dominated the 200 Miles of Imola going from ugly duckling to … splendid queen. At the time, the fans split up, judging the “Ducatona” stylistically horrible (the tank was …) or, on the contrary, splendid.
motogp and harmony
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In the 2022 MotoGP, each bike has its own particular beauty derived not from the harmony of the details but from the whole of the vehicle, from its sense of power, of technology, of a “unique” and unattainable vehicle. Not even Mike Hailwood’s Honda 250 6-cylinder, at the time a concentrate of technology and splendid to look at and with an inimitable sound, expressed so well the evolution of a vehicle that still remains a motorcycle. Ditto in other times, for the Cagiva 500 GP C 594, for many the most beautiful ever. And what about, at the end of the 50s, of the Guzzi 500 8-cylinder, in the mid-60s in addition to the aforementioned MV Agusta by adding the 1974 4-cylinder 500, the single-cylinder Morini 250 twin-shaft, the 4-cylinder Benelli 250, 350, 500, the two-cylinder Bianchi 350/500, the Yamaha 500s of Saarinen and Roberts, then all the 2-stroke 500 GPs? The racing bike was and remains (also) a work of art. A painting by Raphael or Picasso are very different from each other but equally admired and appreciated by all, immortal. Isn’t it the same thing, given due proportions, also for motorcycling and MotoGP?
February 7, 2022 (change February 7, 2022 | 21:20)
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