Wheels And Heads Spin In The Opening Rounds Of The 2016 MotoGP Championship

Simple Definition of traction

: the force that causes a moving thing to stick against the surface it is moving along

: the power that is used to pull something

Traction is the word of the week. As the riders struggle to find some stickiness with the new Michelin rubber, the teams likewise have their sights set on the pulling power of contract negotiations. Valentino Rossi set the early pace in the boardroom and on the track. That early momentum has caused the the rest of the field to play catch up. As the MotoGP circus moves to Le Mans, Le Managers of Le Riders are Le Working Le Overtime. The fruits of their labor will determine the next two years of MotoGP merchandise and test the loyalty of fans as they choose rider over brand, or vise versa.

First to the track. It is no secret that the Hondas are lacking in the stickiness department. Down at the business end of the bike, the riders are left wanting for propulsion as the Michelins break grip under heavy acceleration out of the corners. This means that the riders must over compensate on corner entry under brakes to recover those lost hundredths of a second on exit. This in turn causes the front tire to over heat, which leaves more rubber on the track than is optimal and reduces the performance of the tire late into the race. The riders must find the balance between performance and preservation, an act which has been difficult to master.

If the Hondas are struggling, then spare a thought for the Ducati teams. The prodigious power output of the Ducati is best demonstrated when the rear wheel achieves, wait for it, traction. With a full 10+ kmh top speed over the Japanese rivals, the Ducati pilots, like the Hondas, underperform on the corner exit and progressively degenerate on entry as the race distance increases.

Yamaha seems well suited to the task and the podiums speak for themselves, albeit that the lap times set by Valentino Rossi at Jerez were over 2 seconds slower than the fastest lap time of Jorge Lorenzo in 2015. However the factory Yamaha team remains challenged and can ill afford to rest on their laurels as the likes of  Maveric Vinales aboard  the Suzuki, are more than up to the task of stealing a podium, if they could resolve their issues with ….. traction.

Now this brings me to the pulling power of the second definition of traction. It has been reported that the Suzuki has more pulling power than Yamaha in the boardroom, as Maverick Vinales seems set to stay with the brand. Ducati, likewise pulls harder than a Yamaha as Lorenzo will make his exit to ride the Italian stallion. Perhaps all is not lost, as Yamaha is reported to have pulled the “best team mate in MotoGP”, Dani Pedrosa, away from Honda, which would leave an open seat in the house of Repsol that could see the perennial favorite Cal Crutchlow swing a leg over the factory Honda.

Further down the paddock, Brad Smith was an early jumper in Qatar following remarks that the Tech 3 project is a “development house” for young up and coming riders with a direct path to the factory team, seemingly excluding Brad. He makes the switch from Monster Yamaha Tech 3 to KTM, which will field two bikes, one of which has no rider. Now assuming Suzuki’s roster is full and Ducati must jettison either, or both, of Ianone and Dovisioso, then a highly accomplished Ducati rider will be looking for a seat as the music stops.

Mr nice guy, Eugene Lavery has the paddock taking with his incredible efforts aboard a 2 year old Ducati, out racing more modern bikes and demonstrating than talent and determination are a force multiplier and can overcome equipment deficiencies.

Over the next week or four, we will see the 2017 line up unfold. We will be forced to reconcile our loyalty over brand and rider and most of all we will be left waiting for the 2017 season to begin, while the final 13 races of the 2016 are run and won.

This is a very first world problem, where too much MotoGP is barely enough, and the two wheeled world of MotoGP again shows it’s bigger cousin, F1, how to capture the imagination and attention of fans.