Here Is why modern motoGP bikes are so difficult to ride according to cal crutchlow
Categories: MotoGP
For Yamaha veteran Cal Crutchlow, his active MotoGP career came to an abrupt end. Although the Briton only competed part-time, he nevertheless took a few things with him from his stint in the 2022 season.
After RNF rider Andrea Dovizioso threw in the towel mid-season and ended his career in motorcycling’s premier class, Crutchlow jumped on the bike once more. The Briton observed that today’s bikes are incredibly difficult to ride.
Cal Crutchlow at the Valencia Grand Prix – Image provided by Motorsport Images
With the rapid developments in recent years, mainly driven by innovation leader Ducati, a multitude of technical helpers were added – apparently too much for Crutchlow.
“I think these bikes are much harder to ride these days than they were a few years ago.” This, he says, is mainly due to the many aids that are too much to pay attention to. Without them, no modern rider would be able to move the bikes around the track.
“You have to think about so much now, and you have to think about it while you’re riding. On the handlebars alone you now have ten levers and buttons for all sorts of things,” the Briton notes.
If you listen to MotoGP top star Marc Marquez, all the technical aids would make riding the bikes easier.
Super-talented riders like Marquez can have less influence on the bike-rider package. The bikes have become the limit, not the riders’ performance.
Crutchlow sees it the opposite way. For the three-time race winner, the sheer amount of aids has become distracting, and having full concentration on his own riding is no longer possible.
“Actually all these things are there to make riding easier. But because you have to think about it so much during a lap, it’s become really difficult.”
The pilots used ride height devices conspicuously a lot last season. The front and rear lowering devices provide more contact between the track and tire and less slip at the rear wheel basically guaranteeing a perfect corner exit.
For 2023, at least the front ride height devices will be banned, in the hope of fairer competition and a little more overtaking action on the track. Whether the ban will live up to expectations remains to be seen.
