"siactuas o hacesalgomuydeprisa, tendrasbastante mas tiempo para lamentarlo"
The MotoGP tabloid press is reporting that when testing starts in Sepang next week the management will be meeting behind the scenes to rush through a radical set of proposals to limit costs over the next two years.
There's nothing new in the leaked proposals - all have been discussed on this and other blogs before. What is upsetting, but not surprising, is the speed of these changes - big mistakes are going to be made. And whilst all these changes are intended to cut costs, arguably the biggest factor in escalating costs is the modern tendency for the rules to change year in year out. Adapting to new rules in a competitive way is always going to add costs.
The list of changes to be signed off in Sepang can be found here.
For non-Italian speakers Kropotkin translated them here.
The more I think about it, the more it's clear WSB is where it's at this year. Can't believe I'm saying that.
It could be considered a landmark moment. A factory team boss pointing the finger back at Dorna, FIM and IRTA telling them to wake up and think bigger.
Ironically (or pointedly) this was in an interview for MotoGP.com:
"Some of the short term measures that have already been suggested are not going to be very effective, but they may be a minor help.
"The key point is that with the manufacturers, Dorna, IRTA, looking at things from a promoter´s perspective, an organisational perspective, a private team perspective and so on, all factors have to be considered in terms of priority and that big changes are needed, rather than small tweaks."
Funnily enough MotoGP.com didn't lead it's story with the issue, chosing to focus on Suzuki's need to be competative.
Denning might not be the most highly respected team boss in MotoGP circles, but he has come a long way from being a privateer backmarker in British championship racing.
This blog is very pleased to hear someone in his position not only talking about cutting costs - but challenging Dorna to get out there and promote the sport. Make it grow. And think things through from a teams perspective.
IRTA's mention is also interesting. Listening to the factories recently you'd think IRTA ceased to exist.
Maybe Mr Denning is a fan of Out With The Big Boys...welcome sir. And sorry about the backmarker comment.
The latest evidence of Dorna's backwards thinking was revealed today after it pulled down a video they had published themselves after only 24 hours.
After limiting it's own YouTube channel to anodyne clips and the briefest of highlights, Dorna published one full length race on YouTube, complete with the online stream commentary as provided live by Nick Harris.
Some people have commented that this must surely therefore have been a test - but I'd bet my hat that someone in the commercial department became afraid of the impact on TV broadcasters - or in fact that one complained.
What will it take for them to wake up and smell the roses??
It's not as if MotoGP is a huge commercial success on TV with networks bidding against each other for more and more money to win the rights. If this was the case, nervousness would be understandable.
No, in most countries Dorna has to practically give away the rights and plead with broadcasters to show them.
So why not use the web to tackle some of the demand side problem that are (in reality) killing progress in the sport.
Give it away online. More than that - push it online. Pay a small team of youngsters to sit online seeding the coverage on Facebook, MySpace, bebo, et al.
Then give it away again, and again. Let people edit clips. Make their own soundtracks. Mix clips into movies. Post them on blogs and social networks.
Then it might just catch on. And if it does, I'll eat my hat (and anyone else's for that matter) if people who can watch it on TV watch it online instead.
And while you're at it - give teams video clips for free to use in marketing, building their own fan base.
But of course I'm wrong. A worldwide trebling of the fan base and a sudden influx of major sponsors would do nothing to solve the current cost crisis and dwindling grids.
Finally after years of procrastincation, subtefuge and general buggering around Motorbikes can now use bus lanes. Though it's only the ones that TfL control (so look for it being in a Red Route).
But a small but vocal group of cycle lobby groups are trying to stir up some resistance. Please if you get 5 minutes TfL are asking for 'user views' so set your browser here
The thing that frustrates me about the cyclist lobby is that they refuse to be inclusive and collectively look after all two wheeled vehicles; bikes and cyclists both being vulnerable from cars and the "sorry didn't see you gov".
If I was riding my motorbike in a cycle lane then I'm fair game, but this is the road and being invited (as they were) into using the bus lanes. What I find galling is
They don't pay road tax
They aren't insured (3rd party insurance, the minimum legal requirement for powered vehicles is for the protection and cover of other peopel not yourself)
Helmet and protective clothing is in a minority (lycra doesn't count)
If they would actually obey the highway code and not intrepret a red light to mean "everyone stop but me"
The latest news seems to suggest that Kawasaki is refusing to give/lend/lease it's MotoGP bikes to a private team to keep the MotoGP grid numbers up - Carmelo's big idea to save the sport - because this would risk the exposure of their technology...
This is highly amusing, given that Kawasaki poached on of Yamaha's senior engineers and got their fingers burnt when it became public knowledge this engineer smuggled Yamaha's engine plans with him...and Kawasaki copied them...as reported in the German press.
My nice evening out with mates was spoiled tonight as I've just got the news that the Croft circuit lost it's appeal against a "noise pollution" verdict - and that the legal bills and damages are potentially ruinous to the circuit owners.
I'm dont understand the detail of the case, but my guess is that the ruling will mean, best case, an Oulton park style limit on the number of days the circuit maybe active - along with other minor UK circuits this seems to be becoming the norm.
Sadly this is usually bad news for bike racing - car racing days seem to get priority - I guess because they are more profitable.
The UK is just too small, with not enough room. It is already the 4th most densely populated country on earth with nearly 1,000 people per square mile, and at current growth rates we are set to be the biggest country in Europe (by population) by 2060. I guess it just goes to show that theres not enough good stuff on telly.
Secondly Ben Spies is looking really good - which is great news for SBK.
And apart from all the usual suspects being up there, Shinya and Biaggi are making the new Aprilia look pretty good right out of the box.
Finally with less than 4 seconds covering the whole field and quality riders like Makoto Tamada, Greg Lavillia, Tommy Hill, Ruben Xaus and Robbie Rolfo all outside the top 20 (they are all more than capable of getting near the front) the SBK grid is not only looking seriously deep in comparison with MotoGP, it's also looking very competitive.
Admittedly this test is at the relatively unfamiliar Portimao circuit, so this all might change when we get to the established tracks.
Now with hundreds of fans complaining about the BBC being the only TV coverage in the UK (theres even an online petition about the commentators!), SBK is looking like a more serious threat than ever to MotoGP.
Amazing news - given the importance this one off race has historically been given by the Japanese.
And the attempt to see off question marks over Honda's involvement in MotoGP has the distinct sound of a football club's chairman publicly supporting an under team fire manager shortly before sacking him.
Who can doubt there will be more big news to follow.
The pigeons are coming home to roost for Mr Ezpeleta.
Most of the MotoGP news over the off season has been focused on the rising costs of racing and the effect of this versus the sharp economic decline into recession.
Carmelo is hell bent on more and more technical rule changes in efforts to improve the racing spectacle and find the holy grail of 125cc fairing bashing, last lap deciders in MotoGP.
I've commented before on the political use of "safety measures" to force through changes in rather the same way that the now former President Bush used security as the catch all to get his way in the US.
And people are starting to join up the dots.
I read with interest the comments yesterday from Ducati blaming Carmelo's knee jerk rule changes over the past few seasons for the escalating costs - which make absolute sense.
The best case scenario for more restrictive technical rule changes is to slow everybody down by the same amount. The more likely outcome is that more money will be spent by teams looking to exploit the new rules to their advantage. How does either outcome make racing closer?
For me it's simple. MotoGP has a demand side problem. Unless Carmelo and his team step back and see the bigger picture and actually start selling the sport and driving growth in demand no amount of cost cutting rules will work.
There was a great post today on Kropotkin's blog earlier today looking at Google trend data on people looking for info on MotoGP online.
His post focused on the surprising factor that the origin of by far and away the most Internet searches is Indonesia. Whilst it's interesting to think about why this might be, another glaring stat for me was the trend in key countries like Spain or Italy. It's subject to interpretation whether it is actually in decline or not (I think yes, because the peaks are smaller) one thing seems sure - it's not growing significantly in these heartlands.
This brings me back to an argument in a previous post about "cricket for people that don't like cricket". It's an overall trend in sports marketing it seems to change the rules of the games to try and attract more fans. But the downside is often an alienation of the established loyal fan base - meaning that when the promiscuous fans brought in move on, the sport is damaged overall.
Common sense is needed regarding the rules. And common sense is needed regarding the overall MotoGP structure, management and strategy.
California Superbike School has announced 18 dates on which it will run courses in the UK this year.
CSS courses are also available in Spain, Czech Republic, Sweden, Greece, South Africa, Dubai and Bulgaria. For a full schedule check online at www.superbikeschool.co.uk
I am as passionate about racing as anyone and as a pilot have seen the same noise/danger issues arise from people moving next to small airports over and over again. I was springloaded to really trash the plaintiffs in the Croft case. Then I looked up the judgment. The Croft article is at best misleading and at worst close to fraudulent.
Croft has only fairly recently started to ramp up their usage. The article leads you to believe that racing at Croft has been active since 1928 and that really isn’t the case. In fact, for instance, “Between 1982 and 1994, apart from rallycross (the racing of modified production cars on a mixture of sealed and loose surfaces) on a small part of the circuit for less than 10 days a year, and some engine testing during some of the period, there was no motor racing at Croft.”
The other misleading and really pretty damning fact is that “The Claimants' objections are not to the car and motor-bicycle racing fixtures which amount to about 20 (N1 and N2) events each year (over approximately 45-50 days); but to the noise from the circuit's other activities, in particular Vehicle Testing Days and Track Days (when members of the public drive vehicles at speed all day) at noise levels which reach N2-N4 levels.” Now I don’t really know what N2-N4 levels are, but they’re apparently higher than what the racing produces, which, in fact, the plaintiffs aren’t contesting.
Bottom line, the plaintiffs aren’t trying to stop the racing and the track has only recently become active as the result of development by a multi-millionaire investor.
A family that moved to a property 300 meters from the Croft boundary, decided to sue the popular BSB venue for noise pollution.
Unlike the action by local residents back in 2000, when Darlington district council quashed the claims that the circuit was detrimental to residents health, a judge has recently awarded the family of 3, £150k compensation for nose pollution!
Croft is an ex military airfield that was used as a bomber base during World War II, and has remained a popular motor sport venue since the 1960's.
Now the future of this much loved circuit is in jeopardy because a family moved into a house 300 meters away from a racetrack, and didn't consider that there may be some noise?
The revenue generated for the local economy not to mention the local residents employed at the circuit, doesn't even to seem to have been considered in this bonkers judgement.
There will be an appeal against this decision, lets hope reason is sought before Croft is forced to close.
What will be targeted next? Brands? Utter madness!
Carbon fibre, everybody knows, is super light and super strong. A composite material made of long strands of various types of carbon bonded with some super sticky resin.
These strands of carbon are super strong in one direction, and very brittle in just about every other. Therefore the pattern of the strands of cloth basically determines in which directions the material is strong, and where it isn't.
As a result people with computers can pretty much make carbon fibre parts that provide any/all types of strength and flexibility. Hence the ubiquitous use of carbon fibre in F1 for everything - including the chassis.
But in bike racing the black stuff has largely been limited to making light parts where only basic strength is needed - like the airbox or bodywork. The chassis remain good old metal.
With the exception of the red bikes.
Back in 1990 Randy Mamola'sCagivafor the Czech GP sported an all carbon fibre frame. This was the first time many people had seen a carbon fibre bike chassis - but Kiwi John Britten had been making his racers with CF frames for a good few years by then.
Cagiva had close ties to Ferrari in those days, and I believe this was a big factor in the carbon fibre chassis development. They stuck at the task for quite some time, switching back and forth to more conventional alloy beam frames as they tried to make it work.
In 1993 the bike Little John rode had an alloy frame, but a carbon swing-arm and in 1994 the chassis was itself a composite - mixing metal alloy with carbon fibre.
These most beautiful 500's disappeared from racing not long after.
Cagiva used to own Ducati- so I wonder if there is any legacy linking Mamola's all CF bike and the new Ducati. I doubt it - but it's all interesting nonetheless.
Last weeks rumours of energy drink Monster's latest ploy to get further up Red Bull'snose seems to be going public, with the news that their deal with Rossi is due to be confirmed in the near future.
First thoughts were of course that this could further leave existing Monster athlete John Hopkins in the cold, and possible damage the prospects of the potential privateer Kawasaki team being on the grid in '09.
However it now seems that this is in fact new Monster money, and a deal has been on the table for a couple of years.
I'm told the stumbling block has always been Rossi's tendency to frequently change helmet colours. A marketing geek like me is looking forward to seeing how they integrate these two things.
Fans will be disappointed if Monster's millions lead to boring Rossi helmet creativity (the face helmet from Mugello this year is my personal fave), but the brand needs stand out. Not easy with the type of night/day design Rossi is famous for.
I'm looking forward to seeing the outcome much more than the guys at Red Bull.
We cant let today pass without a comment on politics. The whole world (except Carmelo) is talking about, and hoping for, change. The new President Barack Obama not only carries the weight of these hopes - he is demanding change in all of us.
On the radio this morning there were plenty of people phoning in to talk of blind faith re change - not knowing what they wanted to change - and those who were cynical.
I hope and believe, and I believe that Obama is the man to finally hear Eisenhower's words on leaving office in 1961.
Whilst Dorna are panicking to keep 18 bikes on the grid - meaning nobody is actually marketing the upcoming MotoGP season - I thought I should talk about what I'm looking forward to this season.
For one, I'm hoping the battle between Rossi and Stonergrows into a full on rivalry but I think one of the most interesting plots is Hayden's move to Ducati.
I like Nicky Hayden and was glad to see him win the championship in 2006. Much like Aaron Slight Nicky never got a good deal from Honda. They made it pretty clear they'd prefer him to test parts for Pedrosa than actually win things.
I also think he is the only guy out there who thinks and works harder than Rossi. Look at the reports from tests - Hayden always works hardest. His commitment is beyond question.
He also works the rear end very hard and is not afraid to light it up. This kind of mid-corner throttle commitment is a key to Stoner's speed.
Ducati have thought long and hard about why only Stoner gets on with the red bike, and I think this is what's led them to Hayden. Stoner is fully committed laying it on the line in a way that others aren't. And this is the common ground with Haydon. The only difference is Stoner often crashed his Honda trying to get the most out of it.
The prospect of 2 Ducati's at the sharp end of races....I'd pay to watch that. Bring it on.
Bike racers books tend to be distinctlylow brow, sometimes shallow, and mostly lacking any real insights. Against these criteria Slight's book is a brilliant read.
Known to many as the guy that never won the WSB title and remembered by me as the man that was right all along about the need for better rules, Slight's career in WSB ended in 2000 when he was unceremoniously dumped by Honda.
Great clip here from when John "I clean my mars bars" K won the title on the RVF after a season of typically bad luck for Slight.
And when an argument/battle with Neil Hodgson cost him the 98 title.
I originally bought the book hoping to take joy from yet more evidence that Foggy was an idiot but I ended up being surprised by the depths of his story and my admiration for him went even higher as a result.
I had no idea about the trauma's caused by his brain bleed and resulting stroke. In short Aaron knew for yonks that something was seriously wrong but nothing was found by doctors. I can only imagine the damage this would do to one's self confidence in the unbelievably testing environment of world championship racing. How he got through that and came back strong is the mark of the man.
How Honda dumped him after being proven wrong is the mark of the company.
Proof that nice guys don't win.
A compelling story. Read it.
(theres excerpts from the book in one of the Kiwi newspapers here...)
A few readers have written to me in response to my comments about close racing - why its not the answer.
I love close racing as much as the next man. How dull would last years MotoGP have been without the super close dice between Rossi and Stoner at Laguna. A scrap that ultimately decided the world championship.
My argument is based primarily on the observation that the decision makers in MotoGP seem to think that's why we love MotoGP, and whats needed to build the audience, bring in the advertisers and sponsors, and make it all commercially more successful.
Which brings us to the blue sky meaning of sport question.
On this point I found myself agreeing with Simon Barnes, the chief sportswriter for the times and his book of the same name.
Sport is theatre, its entertainment. And the reason it's entertaining is because it matters, not because its close, nip n tuck, result unknown til the final turn. When that happens its an added bonus.
Take F1 as an example. Often cited as boring, it remains one of the biggest draws with fans, and therefore advertisers and sponsors, the world over. Simply because its really important who wins. The 2008 championship couldnt have been closer, going down to the last lap and the last corner. But its the result that matters, not the manner of it.
We all "know", or at least most people would regard, the F1 champion as the best driver in the world bar none. An icon of greatness up there with the heavyweight boxing champ and the Olympic 100m winner.
Examples are everywhere - and not always at the pinnacle of a particular sport. The Ashes in Cricket for example. Its not the World Cup, it's often been totally one sided, but its the biggest thing in Cricket because its the series that matters most. Somehow we instinctively know (or because the players tell us) that for players involved it is the one they want to win most. It defines careers, it's the motivation behind the endless training and practice. The big one. And that makes it matter. That makes it entertaining.
If we think about it - is this not the same reason we all often end up rooting for the underdog? It seems to matter more to them than the favourite. Is that not why fans seemed to love Schwantz more then Rainey? The wild celebrations, standing on the footpegs waving his arms like crazy being evidence for those who didn't know better that it meant more to him than Mr Cool??
So in simple terms, the adverts for MotoGP, the selling point, is not "close racing guaranteed or we change the rules" it is the fact that it's the most important race in the world.
This is my worry. Continually focusing on tweaking rules, moving further away from the historic and established purpose of pure prototype grand prix bike racing is slowly eroding the reasons why MotoGP matters.
And we will be left with the cricket equivalent of 20-20. Closely fought out slugfests. Boring because the results don't really matter or mean anything. Cricket for people that don't actually like Cricket.
1. Carmelo is so desperate to keep the minimum of 18 bikes on the grid, as is his commitment by contract with the FIM, the various circuits, and some say TV networks, he would risk alienating one of the few manufacturers who have supported MotoGP recently, or
2. Carmelo was so reluctant to hand complete rule making power to the MSMA, so concerned was he about the long term interests of the sport, the total lack of transparency, and any other sporting governance, that he only did so with the reassurance of contracts to race from all the member manufacturers.
You to decide.
As mocket suggests in the cartoon, perhaps WCM should have done the same thing, and sued Dorna for not honoring the "franchise" system agreements put in place by Dorna to protect teams investments in the new MotoGP class only a fewyears ago.
To quote WCM team principle Bob Maclean at the time:
"The franchise team arrangements take motorcycle grand prix racing into a new era by giving teams some equity in the world championships, something of value, and its a logical step forward for WCM"
Finally my 2008 copy of Motocourse arrived. I had to get my own copy again this year as my repeated hints to friends and relatives pre-Christmas fell on deaf ears.
These books are the dogs danglies and its such a shame that we only get this level of great writing, analysis and insight once each year.
Micheal Scott's state of racing review, this year called "The Age of Change", is as good as ever and reveals just how much panic has been driving the decisions in the corridors of MotoGP power.
These last few years have seen Dornainstitute change after change normally under the guise of "safety improvements" but in reality a series of modifications aimed at making racing closer.
It's absolutely clear that the panic driven tweaks and changes have had the exact reverse effect. As Scott says in his essay "one statistic had a powerful ring to it: the last time there had been any overtaking on the last lap in the premier class had been back in 2006". In other words the move to 800's, the restrictions on choices of tyres, the fuel limits, have all made racing more processional.
The only initiative coming from Dorna's 2007 sponsorship crisis meeting, the exclusive MotoGPpaddock within the paddock, has had a similarly banal effect. At the few GP's I was able to attend in 2008 the place was a ghost town. Far from the impoverished proletariat looking wishfully into the exclusive enclave, the real atmosphere is found outside.
Carmelo should be renamed CEO of rearranging the deck chairs. It doesn't take a genius to work out if you cant get sponsors into the sport there is little point in changing what happens when you get there.
Similarly close racing is not the answer to all the anti-genius's think it is. If it was MZ racing at Bemsee would be the biggest ticket in town.
A few people have been in touch with me today waving MCN's front page story about the British MotoGP moving from Donington'sCraner Curves to slippery flat Silverstone.
It seems some fans aren't happy about it, and Donington Park's new owners are understandably miffed.
But I'm all for it - providing the full F1 circuit is used. The fast flowing nature of the old track produced great racing. People still talk about the Sheene v Roberts race in 1979 and Barry Fogarty's 15 minutes of fame.
Seeing the modern breed of MotoGP bike tackle the long straights and flowing corners will be a much better spectacle than "it used to be good, but then they put in the loop" Donington race - which hasn't been a close race thanks to the chicane and loop complex for god knows how long.
I don't know yet what circuit layout they will use at Silverstone in 2010, but if its anything like the old one and they blow up the silly chicane they put in a couple of years ago - It will be a great event and hopefully get the British GP back up there on the map with Mugello and Philip Island.
Great news....the MSMA has met in Japan and seemingly decided that the way to save the sport is to reduce the session times...
Unbelievable.
So, it's not the organisers, commercial rights holder, or manufacturers that have got anything wrong. It's us - the fans. We expect too much of a show.
If only we didn't want to watch so much, there would be no problems at all.
When MotoGP gets news coverage in the FT you know something big has happened and by now Kawasakis withdrawal from MotoGP is old news.
Of all the discussion and editorial comment around the story I particularly liked Dennis Noyes comments on speedtv on "the incredible shrinking grid" which was posted before the news became official.
Like this piece the theme of the coverage is all about the financial crisis and how to get costs down to keep the manufacturers racing, but I think the holy grail of simply more bikes on the grid misses the point.
The real issue is not the costs, it's the commercial management of the sport. So little has been done to make racing in grand prix an attractive business for racing teams that no amount of cost cutting will do the trick.
Even before the credit crunch hit the paddock was pretty doom and gloom and I'm told had been for sometime. Stories of staff not being paid, teams running out of cash part way through the year and being propped up by the rights holders, teams only taking riders who pay big fees are everywhere and the general feeling is just one of imminent doom.
This is inevitable in a situation where everyone in and around the sport has no real control over their own destiny. Everything is at the whim of the manufacturers, Dorna, and Rossi - and it only takes two out of the three to really want something and they get it (the fuss over Rossi's switch to Bridgestones being just one example).
Of course each of these three are only ever going to act in their own self interest - and rightly so, Rossi wants to win races and the manufacturers in the end want to sell more motorcycles - but when the people who hold the cards for everyone else, Dorna, seem to act out of naive self interest, or totally in the interest of the manufacturers or Rossi, things are never going to be good.
Whatever the costs of racing, unless you are a manufacturer the odds are stacked against you - by design the MSMA comes first.
Sir Jackie Stewart spoke bluntly recently of the need for change at the top of F1 calling for both Ecclestone and Mosely to go, but sadly no-one seems to be calling for such big changes in MotoGP.
Until someone really gets a grip on MotoGP and tackles the big commercial issues of making GP racing a sustainable business for racing teams (and not simply motorcycle manufacturers) the slide towards watching two Honda's race two Yamaha's and possibly two Ducati's will continue.
Anyone ever heard the phrase "act in haste, repent at leisure"? It seems there is no Spanish translation.
Posts
