McGUINNESS ‘Dev freeze means awesome racing’
Yes, it’s a cost-cutting move – but the action will be better for it
‘None of the new generation of riders will care about the freeze’
It’s been good to see all the MotoGP team launches but it’s all a bit different this year thanks to the development freeze on engines and aeros… but for me it has to be a good thing because the racing was so close last year. Why try to fix something that isn’t broken?
When you’re in your armchair on a Sunday afternoon all you really want is good racing. There’s also a lot of people out there who don’t understand gearbox ratios and electronics strategies. They may be a
Marquez fan so want Marquez to win, or a Rossi fan that wants him to win. Simple as that.
Tech isn’t always the be all and end all. Take Pol Espargaro in Austria last year, he fell apart on the last lap and that was nothing to do with his aeros being 2mm wider or having 3/1000th of a millimetre bigger valve in the inlet tract. He just f **** d up!
Tech can also help riders looking for excuses, for example Viñales saying that Yamaha need to sharpen themselves up… no, it’s him that needs to sharpen up. Looking ahead I think Miller is going to throw a whirlwind into the mix. Then you’ve got all these rookies, Marini, Martinez, Bastianini who aren’t going to be worried one bit about any freeze. For them it’ll be a case of their crew chief telling them they’ve got a good bike and to pull their finger out and have a go. What we don’t want in any racing is the team with the most money doing more development than anyone else and running away with the championship. With everyone being so competitive right now, it’s the perfect time to freeze development.