CRT: MotoGP’s Titanic

[Erik Gamache]

CRT: MotoGP’s Titanic

Frank Melling

Contributing Editor| Articles|RSS

Our Memorable Motorcycles expert, Frank Melling also is the organizer of the British vintage motorcycle extravaganza known as Thundersprint. If you get passed on the track by a beautiful Matchless G.50 - you just met Frank.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

It is with a certain degree of pride that I would remind you that, three months ago, MCUSA stood above the firing line and predicted that CRT bikes would be a disaster. The rest of the specialist motorcycling media, plus the general press, continued to press Dorna’s story that, with a little bit of development over the winter, the CRT bikes would be on the pace before the start of the 2012 season. 

Last November, we explained – logically and in detail – why this idea was simply silly and no more than wishful thinking in the How Will CRT Work in MotoGP article. Now we will explain, using the same logic, why CRT bikes will not only be an embarrassment to motorcycling’s premier class but will also be potentially dangerous. 

Here are the results from January Sepang test: 

Pos    Rider                     Team                                                Fastest lap         Prev. Gap   Lead. Gap          Laps 

1. Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda Team)................... 
2. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing)..............
3. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team)....................
4. Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing).....................
5. Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team)...............................
6. Hector Barbera (Pramac Racing Team)............... 
7. Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3).............
8. Andrea Dovizioso (Monster Yamaha Tech 3).......
9. Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini)......... 
10. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team)...............................
11. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda)..................................
12. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing)........... 
13. Katsuyuki Nakasuga (Yamaha Factory)..............
14. Franco Battaini (Ducati Team)..............................
15. Colin Edwards (NGM Mobile Forward Racing)..
16. Ivan Silva (Avintia Racing)...................................
17. Robertino Pietri (Avintia Racing)...........................
18. Jordi Torres (Avintia Racing)...............................

1:59.607                                                               21 
2:00.198            +0.591        +0.591                    35 
2:00.256            +0.058        +0.649                    26 
2:00.495            +0.239        +0.888                    16 
2:00.824            +0.329        +1.217                    42 
2:00.929            +0.105        +1.322                    40                 
2:01.108            +0.179        +1.501                    26 
2:01.257            +0.149        +1.650                    40 
2:01.384            +0.127        +1.777                    34 
2:01.729            +0.345        +2.122                    19
2:01.894            +0.165        +2.287                    38 
2:02.218            +0.324        +2.611                    38 
2:02.334            +0.116        +2.727                    27 
2:03.033            +0.699        +3.426                    35 
2:04.722            +1.689        +5.115                    36 
2:08.225            +3.503        +8.618                    41 
2:09.640            +1.415        +10.033                 16 
2:10.184            +0.544        +10.577                 29

As you can see, the last CRT bikes remain, give or take, 10 seconds slower than the top MotoGP riders. This confirmed the results from the Valencia test. 

The comedy element of this situation can be tolerated – provided you don’t mind seeing riders lapped twice in a race. Personally, I think that this demeans GP racing but perhaps I am too much of a purist. 

What I won’t excuse is the horrendous danger the situation poses to riders. Marco Simoncelli’s death reminded me how far motorcycle racing has progressed since the days of my youth – when getting killed racing was merely a necessary occupational hazard. 

Some CRT competitors, like Colin Edwards on the Forward Racing entry, might be able to keep the factory bikes in sight, but what of the backmarkers that are certain to get lapped.

Here is how, and where, the first big accident will take place.

Strangely, going fast on a MotoGP bike is not difficult. At MCUSA there are at least three of us who, with a morning’s practice, and a long enough straight, could comfortably manage over 200 mph on a MotoGP bike. I have done a data logged 172 mph on a top quality BSB bike and with 200 horespower at the back wheel this was surprisingly easy to do. Scary, yes, but not difficult. 

So, the slowest CRT bikes will go down the straights at around the same speed as Casey and his compatriots – give or take 10 mph. 

There is also very little danger in this exercise. The MotoDieties see the CRT bike in front of them, pass comfortably on either side, and the job is done. The only problem would be if the CRT guy panicked and moved into the path of the faster rider. This won’t happen because even the very slowest CRT competitors are superb riders – really brilliant – so all will be well. 

Almost the same applies to corners. The CRTers are top class at cornering and therefore will not be hugely slower than the best MotoGP riders. Yes, Casey, Dani, Jorge et al are going to be foaming into their helmets because they will be blocked by slower riders but the situation will still not be dangerous because the rider causing the problem will only be fractionally slower – again maybe 10 mph – and will be clearly in sight at all times. 

If there is minimal danger on the straights and corners why are we making a fuss? The answer is braking. First, it is important to understand how quickly MotoGP bikes stop. One finger on the brake lever is ample to provide wheel locking power at 200 mph. Every MotoGP rider I have spoken to says that the hardest thing to learn is how quickly the carbon brakes will stop a bike. 

Now, let’s look at a real-world situation. One of the Aliens is about to lap a CRT rider. They are both heading down the straight at around 200 mph. The CRT man sees a 100 mph corner in front of him and brakes. As far as the Alien is concerned, braking should take place a half second later: and this estimate is being generous to the CRT rider. In practice, the difference may be as much as a whole second. 

While the CRT rider is braking hard, the MotoGP star is still flat out and travelling at 200mph, 0.5 seconds is the time it takes to say “One”. Traditionally, we used to count seconds quite accurately by saying: “One and two and three”. So, “One” is about a half second. 

American road racing fans are accustomed to lapped traffic in the AMA, with some memorable moments back in the Mladin/Spies heyday. What will lappers mean for MotoGP?

In that half second, the MotoGP rider has covered 73 feet. That’s a quarter the length of a football field. If the MotoGP rider is less than 73 feet away, he will have to take violent evasive action to avoid running into the rear of the CRT bike. 

The reality of this needs stressing. Because we have a law-abiding audience, I feel sure that no MCUSA reader has ever ridden at 100mph on a public road but, if you ever had (or even have), imagine approaching a stationary object in the middle of the Interstate Highway at this speed. It would not be a pleasant experience. 

Because MotoGP riders are so gifted, swerving round what is, de facto, a stationary lump of flesh, metal and carbon fiber will be possible. The problem will occur when you have two, or three, extremely late braking superstars all hanging on until the last nano-second before they hit the anchors. At this point, with a CRT rider in their midst, there will be a big accident. 

I take absolutely no pleasure, or pride, in making this prediction because the very basic arithmetic I have done could be replicated on the back of a lunch napkin during one of Dorna’s famously lavish VIP meals. 

All that it required was for someone with real world knowledge of racing to stand up and tell the truth. Clearly, no-one has and so now we must wait for the inevitable to happen – and pray to whatever Gods are available that no-one gets seriously injured or, worse still, killed. This is not a good situation for motorcycle sport.