Opinions on the latest decisions of all the officials in the motorcycle world, circuit competition version, are pouring out and in particular on the fact that in 2023, these mechanical games will be prohibited for under 18s. A threshold which provokes a reaction and which we understand above all as a political and social act to better make a possible tragedy acceptable to a public opinion not necessarily initiated, but whose power of impact can have a right of life and of died scaring the public authorities…
Something had to be done in the face of these three deaths of young champions who had not reached their majority but who had already been carried away by their passion. There is a threshold of tolerance for everything and the cursor of our time is all the more moving as its engine is emotional. So, for greater security, motorcycle officials have bet on age, since the principle that has always been recognized is that being more advanced in the marital status, one becomes calmer.
Will this make a good security policy on the motorcycle trails? Other measures will help, including a limit on numbers on the starting grids, an improvement in equipment and a development of on-track communication between the driver and his box, even if this last point still remains nebulous.
Still, these measures are causing a lot of talk. Our three French people competing in these championships have spoken. In MotoGP, fabio quartararo, John Zarco spoke and, for WSBK, the future BMW official Loris Baz also shed its light on the subject.
The shortest reaction is that of Fabio Quartararo who, as on other subjects, is not the type to get angry with anyone: “ 18 years old to reach Moto3? Uooo… I have no idea what to say. If they do it, it's because they are sure it will be safer ". This is what an undoubtedly future World Champion says.
The limit at 18: Zarco and Baz get to the heart of the matter
Johann zarco is more committed: “ if you look at Fabio at 22, he can become MotoGP world champion this year. There aren't many who are at that level at that age. Many pilots need a little more time to learn. 18 as the starting age for Moto3 is a little too late, because there are also riders who are already very strong at 17 He explained. " In general, however, I think it makes sense to give the pilots a little more time to learn, because nothing should be rushed. I'm not just saying this because I'm 31. I was world champion at 25 too ". And the Pramac Ducati rider ends with this strong remark: “ It’s good that we protect our children.. Serious accidents should be avoided, so it's not a bad idea to raise the age limit a little »
And then there is Loris Baz which really gets on topic: “ 15 or 18 years old won't change anything at all. Unfortunately, these three deaths that we regretted this year in the world championship would have occurred with pilots aged 25. I raced 600 at 14 and it's safer than 300 SuperSport. My coach's son raced in the 300 four years ago and he was 13 years old. He was told to stop and train like racing a 600 because it was safer. For me, changing the age is just moving the problem. These young people will go racing elsewhere. We need to make safer categories, especially 300. But as long as there are platoons with more than 20 pilots, it will be a great danger ". A final remark which opens an economic question just as complex as that of security.
