“To slow down the MotoGP, you just have to reduce tire performance”

There has been a discussion for some time now about how to reduce the performance of the current MotoGP. Aerodynamics and downforce have made the premier class bikes faster, maybe too fast. With a technical regulation at a standstill until the end of 2026 (unless constructors are all in favor of a change), it’s not easy to figure out how to slow down the MotoGP. Or maybe it is, because Scott Smart, SBK’s technical director from 2014 to 2022 and Dorna’s current consultant, have an idea, and he  explained it to crash.net.

“There are some very quick interventions that would make racing slower. It’s about massively reducing tire performance. That’s my opinion, not Dorna’s or the FIM’s.”

How?  Smart went into detail: “If you could triple the life of the tire while still guaranteeing ninety percent of the current maximum grip, I’d say that its performance would actually improve. We just need a change of mentality, because motorcycle racing is still absolutely fixated with the idea of going faster. But you don’t see two seconds of difference per lap when you watch TV. So we can massively reduce mid-curve speed.”

It would be the ideal solution. Scott is aware that the evolution would then bring performance back to the current level, but “it would take three, five,  or seven years before it would be necessary to slow everything down again.”

Or they could work on fuels: “Managing their quantity and quality would be a challenge for the engineers. In the MotoGP and SBK, a lot of resources come from the research departments, and they need to justify the need to send engineers around the world,” Smart stressed.