Ridefast Online Nov 2020

Traditionally, in MotoGP, not so much,
and that’s the way we like it, however,
that seems to be the case these days – if
you’re on a Ducati or a KTM on a cold
Aragon Circuit, unlucky.
If you’re on a Suzuki, a Yamaha or Alex
Marquez’s Honda, you might stand a
chance.
Alex Marquez was the stand-out rider at
LeMans where he took his first podium.
However, critics pointed out that it was
raining and didn’t quite count, so he did it
again in the dry at Aragon a week later.
Many have praised him for gaining
confidence, learning the Honda that was
previously unrideable by anyone except
his older brother Marc and showing the
talent that he is.
Much of that might be accurate, but then it
might be complete garbage too.
It might be more down to machine than
man, in this case, the rejuvenated Honda.
Since Marc’s exit from the championship
because of injury, Crutchlow has been told
he has no job from January, and Stefan
Bradl is merely a seat-filler. Full attention
has therefore be given to Alex, the only
rider that will remain with Honda next year
and continue its evolution.
The biggest problem plaguing the 2020
bike was severe understeer caused by a
heavy crank that lifts the front wheel when
the rider opens the throttle.
For Marc Marquez, this was not a problem
because of his manic, late braking style
that pushed well into the depths of the
corner, then squared the machine up and
rodeo’d it out again under hard acceleration.
For everyone else, the bike merely understeered.
What changed for Alex during the LeMans
and Aragon GPs? At Catalunya, two
weeks before, he was languishing in his
usual spot out of the top ten. Actually, his
finish statistics for the year are: Jerez 1
– 12th, Jerez 2 –8th with eight riders not
finishing, Brno – 15th, Red Bull1 – 14th,
Red Bull 2 – 16th, Misano 1 – 17th, Misano
2 – 7th, Catalunya – 13th.
All of these finishes were well beyond ten
seconds behind the leader.
Then LeMans and Aragon 1 happen, and
Alex Marquez is on the podium challenging
for a win in both. Did confidence hit
suddenly and unexpectedly during the
week between Catalunya and LeMans?
What wizardry was being performed within
the workings of his machine will remain
a guarded secret, but what they were
unable to hide was a brand new Ohlins
rear shock.
It was offered to all the Ohlins machines,
and yet only the two Suzukis and Alex
Marquez took it seriously, the same three
motorcycles that stood upon the podium
at Aragon 1.
The signs that the Honda of Alex Marquez
had changed were all too obvious during
Aragon 1. The younger Marquez was not
emulating his brother’s crazed, late-braking
style, but looked more attuned to the
smoother styles of the Suzukis with whom
he shared a podium. During the final turn,
he was clearly able to run more mid-corner
speed, something that was previously
unheard of on a Honda.
It makes sense because the rear shock
plays a massive role in the behaviour of
the front. If the rear doesn’t squat suddenly
when the throttle is opened, it keeps
more weight on the front tyre helping it
grip better and letting the rider hold a line
more easily.
It’s a good bet that other Ohlins teams
will also begin looking into the new Ohlins
rear shock, a situation that is worrying for
non-Ohlins users such as Brad Binder
who’s KTM is very much WP-shod.
KTM showed immense promise at the
beginning of the season when the teams
were riding in the depth of the European
summer and conditions were hotter than
when they usually visit such circuits. This
played into the KTM’s hands, and more
so Binder who is used to wayward tyres
on hot days.
At that stage, KTM was the bike to be on.
Of course, the three weeks of European
summer ended, and winter struck…
Usually, at this time of year, the MotoGP
circus is in Asia and Australia playing in
tropical climates, not in Europe where the
track temperature dips to as low as 3º C
on race weekends.
All this would be fine if Michelin had
created tyres with such chills in mind, but
clearly, they have not. Thus, teams are
forced to use only the soft options, and
now it is no longer a case of best rider
wins - but which bike happens to be
the best at getting tyres up to temperature
and not causing cold tears.
We say “happens” because the
teams prepared their bikes for an
ordinary year and ordinary temperatures.
By the time they realised that
the calendar would be moving into
the winter chill, Dorna had already
put a hold on most development.
At Aragon 1, the KTMs were stuck
between two evils – a medium front
tyre that could not generate enough
heat to work effectively and a soft
that would collapse under hard
braking causing the bike to lock the
front wheel and struggle to turn into
corners.
With a cold front tyre, the front will
lock up with no warning, meaning
the rider would be braking as usual
and suddenly find himself crashing
into the tarmac. With the soft, the
front will also lock up but will at least
give the rider some warning, making
it the lesser of the two evils.
This was particularly bad news for
Binder who relies on his unnatural
ability to brake later and harder than
anyone else, and it is the reason he
took so long to pass Pol Espargo
during the race.
Nonetheless, he was the top KTM
at Aragon 1, a feat that should be
rejoiced even though it meant him
finishing in 11th.
In conditions such as these, it is
not the best man winning but more
the machine that happens to be the
best, so essentially Binder is racing
only the other KTMs. And he’s doing
jolly well.