In recent years MotoGP has seen greater development in aerodynamics and in ride height devices on bikes, which have led to debates on safety and on whether they add any value to the spectacle.
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From 2023, front-positioned ride height devices have been outlawed – a move which Ducati felt was unsporting when it was agreed upon by the manufacturers.
Speaking in an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with Autosport, six-time MotoGP world champion Marquez passed comment on the current competitive order of the series.
While doing so, Marquez revealed that he had raised concerns in MotoGP’s safety commission that the series is at risk of heading in a direction where riders are able to make less of a difference on bikes – likening it to what he sees is now the norm in F1.
“The guys at the top are always the fastest guys,” the Honda rider said when asked if the current leaders in MotoGP are genuine threats.
“It’s true that now, or by the years, every time the machine I feel is [becoming] more important than the rider.
“Still the rider is more important than the machine – or this is what I want to believe. But, every time you are depending more on what you have, because if you don’t have a [competitive] bike you can’t do anything.
“It’s not like Formula 1, which is another extreme, but we are going in that way, and we need to be careful.
“And I said already in some safety commissions that ‘guys, we need to be careful because in the end we need to keep it that the riders are more important than the bikes’.
“This is one thing, but with the actual bikes the fastest guys are on are the ones that are in the top; those are [Enea] Bastianini, Pecco [Bagnaia], [Fabio] Quartararo, Aleix [Espargaro] this year.
“And we will see if in the future we can fight with them.”
Marquez – who had a fourth major operation on the right arm he badly broke in 2020 earlier this year and missed six races in 2022 – explained that MotoGP bikes, with all of the latest developments, are becoming “less manual” which has led to a much closer field.
“The thing is now is everything is more equal, because the limit is the bike,” he added.
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“It’s true that in the past between official bike and satellite bike, the difference was bigger.
“Now there’s no difference. The satellite teams have official bikes. So, they have the tools.
“But what happened, and you will understand immediately? Before I arrived in MotoGP, when you put fourth gear on a straight, you were not at full torque, because you were playing with the wheelie, with the rear brake, with the torque, with the body position.
“Now, you go out and already in second gear and third gear with the holeshot [device], with the aerodynamics, you have full torque and you are [tucked] in like [you are on] a Moto3 bike.
“So, the bikes are less manual. Before it was more manual, and you had to play with more things.
“So, for that reason everything is more equal now because if it’s more manual then you will do more mistakes and it’s more difficult to take profit of all the bike. If the limit is there [it’s easier].”
Autosport will have a UK exclusive interview with Marc Marquez about his recovery from injury, the difficulties Honda has faced in 2022 and what he wants for his future in the 22 December issue of the magazine. You can subscribe to the magazine here: https://www.autosportmedia.com/offer/article
