The global coronavirus crisis continues and its consequences will not only be health-related. Businesses, at a standstill, with employees and customers confined, are starting to do their accounts and are already admitting that the bill will be steep. However, we are still far from being out of this pandemic... For motorcycles, the shock will be violent. We will nevertheless have to continue to exist, including in MotoGP, but with a reduced lifestyle. Aprilia Motorsport director Massimo Rivola has an idea about this world after...
From the promoter Dorna to manufacturers through the team association IRTA without forgetting the FIM, everyone agrees that we have seen a golden age. THE coronavirus has been there, so that nothing will ever be the same again. In less than two months, everything was knocked to the ground. To survive, we will therefore have to reduce costs. A philosophy which is already accepted, since technical developments, both engine and aerodynamic, will be frozen until 2022. " I don't think it's crazy to compete with the 2020 bikes in 2021 if it helps us keep costs down" , said Rivola on Motorsport-Total.com. But he also thinks further.
« In the current situation we do not yet see the light at the end of the tunnel and forecasts are critical. It would therefore be a mistake to focus only on performance. We need to think about the current situation in the world. » An introduction full of gravity which sets the tone for what follows…
« There are a thousand ways to do it. For example, you can only allow one motorcycle per rider. Or you can limit the miles, because the cost per mile is important with these motorcycles. There are different ways. » It will be recalled that, since the 2012 season, only one motorcycle per driver is authorized in the Superbike World Championship.
The great teams of WSBK have enough spare parts in their trucks to be able to build a whole new motorcycle. Another saving option is personnel, although a factory MotoGP team is significantly smaller than a Formula 1 racing team.
« Formula 1 has also limited the number of people on the track. I think it's a good choice ", Explain Rivola which, let us remember, comes from Formula 1. “ It is true that there are fewer people, but the principle is correct. If we didn't have to focus on a second bike for each rider, then we would have to think about that too. »
« If we have the problem of having X amount available today and only half that tomorrow, then we need to find a way to save our job and the show. We can continue, even if the conditions are slightly different » concludes the sports director on a possible future but which will be debated.
