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MotoGP, Single tyre pressure sensor on its way: laps and races at risk

Anyone who drops below the limits for a certain time (still to be decided) will see times and results cancelled. Experimentation will start in testing, but before at least 3 races there will be no penalties

MotoGP: Single tyre pressure sensor on its way: laps and races at risk

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In MotoGP, the pressure is not felt only by the riders, but also by the tyres. This year there was controversy when many (if not all) riders were found with a lower tyre pressure than allowed at the end of the race. To be honest, in current MotoGP, keeping it above the limits isn't that simple, because there are so many variables to take into consideration, even just following another rider makes a difference.

However, it was said that in 2023 things would change and in fact, starting with the winter tests, all the teams will experiment with the new sensors for real-time pressure control. Corrado Cecchinelli, MotoGP Director of Technology, spoke extensively about it to crash.net.

The regulation stipulates that the front tyre pressure cannot go below 1.9 bar, with the rear at 1.7: these are the cold figures, but it's not easy to translate them into a rule.

“There will be clear pressure requirements for a timed lap to be accepted, or for race to be considered as compliant with the rules – explained Cecchinelli – A lap is good if the tyre is above the minimum pressure for a specified amount of time during that lap. For a race, the concept is you calculate the average pressure over each lap and then the number of laps for which the average pressure was above the minimum. Although we are introducing the new system from the start of next season, we are not applying penalties until after at least three races.”

Finding the right compromise isn't easy, also because the result could be seeing laps cancelled or races invalidated, to the detriment of the show that the premier class is desperately looking for. So there will be an experimentation phase that will start with the winter tests to find a solution that works for everyone, teams and organizer.

Until this season, each team used different tyre pressure sensors, which therefore had different margins of error. Now with the unified system everyone can be controlled equally. The first objective is to improve safety, because lowering the pressure does not always improve performance, and sometimes it can be very dangerous.

“But because teams are doing it, that tells me they have found something and, based on my experience, they could gain by going on the dangerous side” observed Cecchinelli.

Actually, there would be a very simple solution: that of checking the pressure before the bikes take to the track. For Corrado it would have been the ideal one, but the manufacturers are opposed to it.

“They said that measuring the pressure would affect it, which for me is absurd - he explained - Or that we shouldn't be interested in the pressure with the bike stationary but moving. So the protocol is very complicated, also because we'll have to send the data from the bike to the control unit, then to the timing and then back again".

Hoping that everything runs smoothly and there are no hiccups. Headaches seem guaranteed, with the hope that this system really helps (at the very least) to increase rider safety.

 

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