Before the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, we informed that the Mahindras would have new air boxes and, together with the route characterized by large curves, that they should do better than usual against the Honda and KTM.
This was the case, but nevertheless, if the first Mahindra (Marco Bezzecchi, CIP Moto3 team) crossed the finish line only 2,2 seconds behind the winner, it was never able to appear in the leading group and had to settle for 17th place.
To better understand the problem linked to Swiss-Italian-Indian machines, we interviewed Alain Bronec, the boss of the CIP Moto3 team.
Alain Bronec : “we were at Mugello, on one of the fastest circuits of the season. Before that, Mahindra had validated a new airbox following tests carried out after Le Mans and at Misano. This provides a small gain in acceleration and top speed. During testing, this allowed us to get within a good second of the best time. During the race, our two drivers were in a group that went from first to 23rd. Manuel Pagliani took the opportunity to set the 12th fastest time in the race, half a second behind the fastest, while Marco Bezzecchi was 0,8 seconds behind. Then, the events of the race meant that our drivers were unable to fight at the front. However, Marco Bezzecchi finished 7 tenths behind the points. So there has definitely been progress, even if we are still missing a small step to get closer to the competitors. »
But if we take aspirations into account, 7 tenths is nothing! Why, at no time, has a Mahindra not taken the opportunity to appear at least in the top 10?
“There was a group and everyone was enjoying the aspirations. We are still a little bit at the limit and our competitors are still a little bit more efficient in a straight line. I can't give you the numbers, but it's almost nothing. But this little thing means that, even with aspiration, we can follow, but not double. Thanks to the Mahindra chassis which is good, we try to compensate in passing speed in the corners, but that's not where we overtake, and in the straights, we still suffer a little. »
What are the avenues for development?
“On the engine side, it is extremely limited since the engines are frozen for the season. In terms of chassis settings, we could try to favor corner exits which condition the straights, but this risks being done to the detriment of corner entry or passing speeds. »
