At mid-season, the time has come to take stock with Didier, track technician at Suter, on the surprises observed in MotoGP and the evolution of the Suter Moto2 which made its debut in the World Championship this year at the Grand Prix of Qatar.
Why in MotoGP does the winner change every race?
“In my humble opinion, as for Moto2, the values are tightening. Let me explain: the builders who were struggling worked more than those who dominated and who remained too conservative. Then we have new drivers who have arrived and who are shaking up the hierarchy that has been established in recent seasons.
“You have seen how these drivers have no complexes (Zarco and Folger in particular.) This has the effect of destabilizing the drivers who are aiming for the world title because the calculations which previously were simple are now almost impossible to do.
“They bring their Moto2 driving skills, namely a lot of speed in cornering, and tire management because in Moto2 the difference is mainly made in driving because little or no electronics and no choice of tires (two rubbers close enough for each GP.)
What influence do tires have on MotoGP results?
“Important as always, but I would like to add two remarks to this: what makes the difficulty is that almost at every GP this year we have had very variable weather, hence this complexity in determining the choice of racing tires .
“Another factor to take into consideration is this sword of Damocles over the heads of all the contenders for the top 10: in every free session, they absolutely have to set a good time because if the heavens get involved, it will can place them in a draft situation, hence the difficulty of establishing a hypothetical strategy for the tires.
“But, as always, there are one or more who made the right choices. I would like to add that very often we blame the tire, because very often it is actually the tire that fails. But the question is what caused this degradation. For me there are two factors, the riding and the adjustment of the bike. You can only really blame the tires when during the race almost all the competitors had similar problems. Which leads me to say that we can observe which teams manage to best tune their bikes for the right moment!
The Suters are making clear progress, as proven by the presence of Sandro Cortese on the front row at the German Grand Prix, then a good race with his Team Dynavolt Intact GP teammate Marcel Schrotter afterwards. What is the outcome at mid-season?
“Clear progress is not quite the term because, I think that since the start of the season we are constantly evolving with better and worse, following the circuits and the success of our drivers (quite few in number at the moment). We are constantly developing with each race. I think that the good tests and the results at the Sachsenring are due a little to the extra motivation of our two German drivers.
“The results of this half season are quite modest but we must consider that it is a year of reconstruction for us (absent from Moto2 these last two seasons). We have two new teams ex-Kalex, our new bike, and to complicate everything a movement of personnel and riders within these two teams, therefore small failures due to the lack of symbiosis of these groups. But I assure you, everything is starting to fall into place.
We note a rapprochement of manufacturers, as for example in qualifying for the German Grand Prix with Kalex, Suter, Tech 3, KTM and Speed Up represented among the first 8. What is the reason ?
“Yes and it’s not to displease us (the more, the merrier). Frankly, a Marcel Schrotter on a Suter 2nd time 0,046 from Morbidelli in FP2, that looks good. The others were not left out too.
Is the design of new chassis parts for Triumph engines currently keeping the designers of the various Moto2 manufacturers very busy?
“Yes of course, but we are still waiting for the 3D elements and the details of the regulations to be able to work more precisely on the project.
“You should know that, as far as we are concerned, the design of such a project can be completed in three months for us. For example, the design of the complete Mahindra (engine, chassis) took us six months. »
Photos © Michelin for MotoGP and motogp.com for Moto2
