Michael Laverty’s inside line
BTSport’s Michael Laverty digs deep into the corner speed data
‘Moto2 riders can exploit every bit of their 140bhp’
How can a Moto3 bike with 75% less power than a MotoGP bike achieve a lap time only 10% slower than the best and most expensive twowheeled machines in the world? The answer: Corner speed. Moto2 likewise, have around 50% of the power of a MotoGP bike yet race lap records are only three to four percent slower. It shows that bhp isn’t everything, with more power at the rear wheel you must deal with wheelspin and wheelies, and extra cubes means more mass for the rider to control and increased gyroscopic forces, too. Finding the fastest way around a racetrack has never been about brute horsepower alone - just ask Sunday’s race winner Maverick Viñales. The Moto2 guys can ride similar lines to the MotoGP stars, but have the option to stay on the side of the tyre for longer, roll a bigger arc, and achieve their lap time in a different way.
Getting the power down
On a MotoGP bike it’s all about getting the power to the ground, putting that engine to work. Tyres play a big part, the bigger the engine capacity, the bigger the tyres – but while the bigger contact patch provides grip, it also makes the bike more physical. Moto3 bikes have narrower wheels and tyres and are more agile, but provide less feedback. A Moto3 rider is like a giant slalom skier carving the perfect arc, minimising sideways action through the turns, chasing aero and efficiency.
In Moto3 the riders brake late and rail through the corner, keeping the wheels in line, opening the gas at full lean and heading for the very outside edge of the track, using every inch available. Their apex speeds are ludicrously fast. Moto2 come up somewhere in the middle, on many corners they will match a MotoGP bike’s apex speeds, on others they are faster, it all depends on the radius of the corner and whether it leads onto a straight. MotoGP will always sacrifice a few kph at the apex to get the bike turned, so they can load that rear tyre and focus on firing the bike off the corner.
Different approach
MotoGP’s ultimate lap time comes from grip and with more power you can utilise the traction available from a fresh rear tyre. Moto3 guys are more inclined to search for a tow as the benefit gained from a slipstream cuts more tenths from their lap times than a fresh rear tyre. Moto2 riders can set their personal bests in the final laps of a race, owing to the combination of a durable rear tyre and a bike with optimum power-to-weight. In Moto2, riders can exploit every bit of their 140bhp without having to fight wheelies on corner exit. They also reap the benefit of a lighter fuel load and take liberties with less grip, helping to steer with the rear wheel. A Moto2 bike can be wrestled into submission, a MotoGP requires electronics to tame the beast whereas in Moto3 you coerce every available bhp by keeping the engine singing.