One thing is what is seen on television, and another, very different, what the pilots experience. The two-dimensional screen flattens the circuits, no matter how many climbs and descents there are, and although the state-of-the-art on-board cameras bring the piloting closer to the viewer in a vivid way, the speed is never perceived in its essence: the vertigo, the exhalation, the whiplash of speed... he only knows what the pilot is.
From the outside, it's the same to see a motorcycle go by at 280 than at 360, but it's not the same for someone on the handlebars. MotoGP is beginning to consider a reduction in top speeds, which have melted the speedometer in recent years: in two decades it has increased by 30 km/h, 10% more.
In the Mugello circuit, one of the temples of speed with Losail (Qatar) due to its endless kilometric straight, Jorge Martín established a new official top speed record in May: 363.6 km/h. Terrifying when compared to other motorized artifacts –trains, planes, racing cars–.
Well, the man from Madrid not only exceeded 363 km, but also slowed his Ducati to 90 km/h in just 2 seconds in a space of about 250 metres... Can you imagine the brutal deceleration? “Fatigue is especially when braking”, explained Martín, who like all pilots relativizes the effect of the increase in top speed.
-At the piloting level I didn't even realize it because we don't know how fast we're going. If you go alone it is not a problem, you could go at 380 km/h and nothing would happen. In the end it is just a matter of adjusting the braking point. Things get complicated when overtaking a rival, and when you have another rider close by, because there is turbulence. I had Álex (Rins) by my side and my feet were slipping... It's complicated, but it is what it is and you have to adapt – Martín relived his experience in this newspaper.
For MotoGP riders, who have been familiar with speed since they were children, going to 340 or 360 does not imply too much change. “It doesn't change much to go at 10 km/h more or less, the bikes have improved a lot in aerodynamics with the wings, stability has grown”, says Aleix Espargaró, playing down the issue.
Although everything has its negative side. "What does change is that the walls are closer and if you make a mistake there, the level of risk shoots up exponentially," says the Granollers driver, who describes the unique sensation they experience: "At these speeds, the track close, everything gets closer. You have the perception that rather than going towards the curve, everything seems to come towards you. Actually going to 360 and peak is very fast. There should be a limit, but it's very complicated to set”, claims the Aprilia rider, aware that capping the speed would entail some technical changes that would mean losing performance on the bike. "You would have to take power off acceleration, reduce slipstream... it's very difficult."
Carlos Checa (49), with his 20 years of experience in competition, relativizes the risks of these top speeds and refers “to the 349 km/h we did in Shanghai in 2005. In the end, it is not even 3% more. Perhaps there are other more important aspects. As they are working with the aerodynamics, it was more dangerous to go to 350 15 years ago than now to 363, since the downforce (the downward force exerted by the fairing fin) makes the bike more stable in the front and when braking, the wheel is closer to the ground”. That is why the one from Sant Fruitós sees "it is normal to reach a peak of 370 km/h some day, why not? But these 15 or 20 km/h more, when you go more than 300 I know to what extent it is an increase in risk”.
For the 2011 Superbike champion, “the risk already exists from a certain speed, especially when there are riders who are very close, when they fall one after the other or when there is not enough escape. In fact, at top speed there has never been a problem. I don't think it's something that can be stopped. It is complex for the manufacturers and for the sport itself.”
Even so, those responsible for the MotoGP World Championship are cautiously observing this unstoppable escalation of speed. “It is a matter of concern, but more the speed of passing through the curve than on the straight. It's not too different to go to 350 than to go to 360; the bad thing is to fall”, says Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, who admits the convenience of facing a limitation.
“We will have to reduce the top speed. The technical regulation in five years will not change, but it will introduce, in 2027, zero-emission gasoline, which will indirectly slow down. Although he warns that "a revolution is not possible" in terms of speed "because of the different architecture of the engines, and the different impact on each manufacturer, since it penalizes some more than others."
From a physical point of view, the high top speed does not condition the drivers more than when braking. "The hardest thing is to stop the bike" -Martín details- "because you have to use a lot of force with the brake, a lot, pull your triceps and everything you have". Although the physical trainers observe another affectation: the repetition of wild braking is reducing the performance of the pilot, according to Marc Rovira, Pol Espargaró's physical trainer:
–The repetition of high speeds conditions the senses: the more tired, the less oxygen reaches the brain, that diminishes your senses and makes you modify your driving – details Rovira, who to train braking, “the most aggressive action”, program eccentric exercises (let your body weight beat you) to work especially the triceps, biceps and pectorals; what suffers the most.
