Caught up as we are in discussing useless topics - like what's happening to Pecco Bagnaia or whether or not the GP25 is better or worse than the GP24 - we often forget about important things and, in racing, there's nothing more fundamental than safety. Fortunately, there are long-time colleagues and friends who still follow Grand Prix racing with an expert, tech-loving eye like Mat Oxley, who brings us back down to earth with this former "tweet" from Twitter, now X.
"One of the reasons we're seeing more falls at the start today is that holeshot devices turn bikes into drag bikes, and the latest models do this more than ever. Therefore, the bikes are able to handle a lot more torque on the first release of the clutch, but the rear tire isn't able to do so. That's when the sideways race starts occur. Falls at the grid are a great way to seriously injure many riders. Marini just told us that the riders will discuss this issue next Friday at the Safety Commission meeting. Normal technical rules can be immediately ignored for safety reasons. So the question is: will Dorna/FIM ban holeshot devices based on the concerns of riders or will they continue to cross their fingers every time the lights go out and continue to do so until Valencia 2026?"
Thanks Mat. That's a good question, and this takes us back to the days when, with the never so regretted 500 2-strokes, riders had to dose the clutch to prevent from wearing their bikes on their heads at the race start. Controlling wheelies wasn't only a matter of showmanship, it was also skill ... class. Knowing how to get good race starts was a prerogative of champions and also gave the nickname "Rocket" to Ron Haslam, who was often always the best at the start.
This is to say that, even though there's no going back and progress is a wonderful thing - otherwise we'd still be going to track days with the Ducati SS 750 and not the Panigale V4 - we should. they should, pay more attention to the consequences of this progress.
Perhaps the launch control electronics should be further developed to make it capable of adapting to a less rubberized pad than another or, simply, since there's space, change the grid of the line-up. This has already been done in the past. And, pending decisions on this in the future, it's a change that can be immediately implemented.