FIM

Corrado Cecchinelli On The Future Of MotoGP: Part 3 - Sustainable Fuels And The Future Of The Combustion Engine

By David Emmett |

In the first two parts of this interview with MotoGP Director of Technology Corrado Cecchinelli, we talked about the proposals for changes to the engine specifications to help reduce the speeds of MotoGP bikes, and Cecchinelli explained the perils of having aerodynamics play too big a role in the sport. Those areas will only be decided for the 2027 season however, when the next rules package comes in.

At the moment, we are still in the proposal stage, with Dorna and the manufacturers negotiating a package that will improve safety, with an eye on cost reduction and sustainability. A final set of rules is unlikely to be agreed between Dorna, the FIM, and the MSMA before the end of 2024.

One rule has already been agreed between all three parties, however. From 2024, the MotoGP bikes will have to use fuel that has been sourced from non-fossil sources. In 2024, that proportion will be 40%, with a switch to 100% non-fossil fuels from 2027.

Corrado Cecchinelli On The Future Of MotoGP: Part 1 - Can Top Speeds Be Reduced By Changing Engine Spec?

By David Emmett |

The past few years have seen a massive change in the way MotoGP machines perform, and more significantly, how they achieve that performance. Ducati's early experiments with aerodynamics in 2010 went from a curiosity to wings and other aero add-ons becoming ubiquitous, and an integral part of motorcycle design. The Bologna factory repeated the feat with the holeshot device, which morphed into ride-height devices, forcing the other manufacturers all to copy Ducati and try to catch up.

All of these changes have had an immense impact on the racing. Top speeds have gone through the roof. At Mugello in 2015, Andrea Iannone was the fastest through the speed trap with a top speed of 350.8 km/h. This year, in the sprint race, Brad Binder hit an astonishing 366.1 km/h in the sprint race. That's an increase of 15.3 km/h or 4.4%.

But it isn't just top speeds: the combination of aerodynamics and ride-height devices have made passing more and more difficult, with riders taking ever greater risks to try to make a move. The first corner has taken on an oversize importance, with pile-ups at the start an increasingly frequent occurrence.

Opinion: When Will We Go Racing Again? Nobody Knows

By David Emmett |

When we will be able to go racing? That's the question everybody wants an answer to, as MotoGP and WorldSBK rounds are canceled seemingly every week. The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has cast a pall over the world that not even motorcycle racing can escape. This week, MotoGP was canceled at Mugello and Barcelona. Last week, it was MotoGP at Le Mans, the week before that, Jerez MotoGP and Assen WorldSBK. Each race is canceled as it heaves into view on the calendar.

So when will we be able to go racing again? I don't know. You don't know. The truth is, nobody knows, not even Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta or FIM president Jorge Viegas. Because it is out of their hands. Organizing a world championship motorcycle race is complicated, and requires large numbers of people and equipment to cross multiple national borders using various modes of transport.

Freedom of movement

A couple of examples: For the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team to get to the first MotoGP race which has not been canceled, at the Sachsenring in Germany, they need to drive trucks from Gerno di Lesmo, near Milan in Italy, through either Switzerland or Austria and up through Germany to Hohenstein-Ernstthal, where the Sachsenring is.

There is a mixture of nationalities among the drivers of those trucks, making just getting to the trucks a complicated affair. One driver, for example, is a Dutchman living in Norway. His journey would involve flying from central Norway to Milan, then driving up from Milan to the Sachsenring. On his return to Norway, he would face a 14-day quarantine before being allowed to go home.

FIM Press Release: An Interview With FIM President Jorge Viegas, On Coronavirus, Sport, And Doping

By Press Release |

On Saturday, the FIM issued the following press release containing an interview by respected Swiss journalist Jean-Claude Schertenleib. The interview covers some interesting ground, including how the FIM is handling the coronavirus outbreak, which sports will get priority when racing is possible again, and the need for a list of banned substances which differs from the WADA list.

The interview appears below:

Interview Jorge Viegas, FIM President

Every day new events postponed. Every hour new questions…How do you live through the coronavirus crisis when you are the President of an International Sports Federation? Are we free to choose, what are the consequences? A 63-year-old economist and President of the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) since 2018, Jorge Viegas also mentioned doping concerns in an exclusive interview conducted by Jean-Claude Schertenleib, in Qatar last weekend "La Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures ", published in Switzerland Friday 13 March.

The coronavirus, we imagine it is worse for a President of an International Sports Federation?

MotoGP Director of Technology Corrado Cecchinelli Interview: The 2020 Aerodynamic Rules

By Peter McLaren |

What will change under MotoGP's revised aerodynamic rules for 2020?

In mid-July the Grand Prix Commission reached agreement on how to address 'grey areas' in the current regulations. Their focus had been sharpened by a rare public spat involving five of the six manufacturers over the legality of Ducati's swingarm spoiler, which went to the MotoGP Court of Appeal.

With the full 2020 amendments yet to be published, we spoke to MotoGP Director of Technology Corrado Cecchinelli to find out what to expect in terms of the future aerodynamic (and electronics) regulations…

Q: The unified electronics are not self-adapting, but they can still be programmed for each corner of the race track. Are there any plans to remove that capability from the software in the future?

Carmelo Ezpeleta's Grand Plan, Or The Long History Behind Tech3's Switch To KTM

By David Emmett |

Sometimes decisions are a long time in the making. Tech3's decision to leave Yamaha and sign with KTM may have been made in the space of a few months, but the genesis of that choice, the process that made it all possible is ten years in the making. If MotoGP hadn't switched from 990cc to 800cc at the start of the 2007 season, if the ban on tobacco sponsorship in sports hadn't been enforced from 2005, if the financial system hadn't collapsed under the weight of tranches of "ninja" loans, Tech3 would be a Yamaha satellite team for the foreseeable future. Whether they wanted to be or not.

How did MotoGP get to a place where Tech3 could switch to KTM? To make complete sense of the story, we have to go back to the end of the last century. Through the last 1990s, the popularity of Grand Prix racing was waning, while the World Superbike series went from strength to strength. The manufacturers were losing interest in the 500cc class, as two strokes were gradually disappearing from the road.

Big bore four strokes were the flavor of the month among motorcycle buyers, and the factories were investing less and less in their two stroke racers. The manufacturers expressed an interest in racing four strokes in the premier class, and Dorna sketched out a contract with the MSMA, the organization representing the manufacturers, and MotoGP was born.

Press Release: Statement From The Permanent Bureau

By Press Release |

The Permanent Bureau issued the following official statement ahead of this weekend's race at Valencia:

FIM MotoGP World Championship

Statement from the Permanent Bureau

Dear all,

Please find below the statement issued by the Permanent Bureau during the meeting with the MotoGP riders at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana:

MotoGP Rule Update: Fuel Limit Raised To 22 Liters For 2016, SCAT3 Concussion Test Introduced, & More

By David Emmett |

The meeting of the Grand Prix Commission, held on Tuesday in Madrid, made a number of minor changes to the rules for all three Grand Prix classes, as well as a couple of more significant revisions. The biggest changes concerned the setting of the maximum fuel allocation from 2016 at 22 liters, and the adoption of the SCAT3 test for concussion for riders after a crash. But perhaps the most significant outcome of the meeting of the GPC is not what was decided, but what was not.

Guest Blog: Mat Oxley - MotoGP shakes up the rules

By Mat Oxley |

MotoMatters.com is delighted to feature the work of iconic MotoGP writer Mat Oxley. Oxley is a former racer, TT winner and highly respected author of biographies of world champions Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi, and currently writes for Motor Sport Magazine, where he is MotoGP correspondent. We are featuring sections from Oxley's blogs, which are posted in full on the Motor Sport Magazine website.

MotoGP shakes up the rules

Factory 2 Rules Adopted For 2014, Spec Software Compulsory In MotoGP From 2016 Season Onwards

By David Emmett |

After a week of debate and discussion, the Grand Prix Commission has finally reached an agreement on the Factory 2 class. It took many hours of phone calls, and full agreement was not reached until late on Monday afternoon, but the agreement contains some significant changes to the long-term future of the MotoGP championship. The Factory 2 proposal has been adopted in a slightly modified guise, with any manufacturer entering in the Open class liable to lose fuel and soft tires should they win races. But the bigger news is that the full MotoGP class will switch to use the spec software and ECU from the 2016 season, a year earlier than expected. 

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