MotoGP: European factories stop but the Japanese are still working

The coronavirus is gradually anesthetizing a Europe which is confined and which now exceeds in number of victims Asia which was the first to suffer its assault. The factories are going into technical unemployment and, for MotoGP, this means that KTM, Aprilia and Ducati can no longer work on their bikes while waiting for the start of the season to be announced. Meanwhile, Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki continue their developments in a Japan which is managing the crisis differently, having also approached it with less optimism. Some voices are being raised to warn of an upcoming breakdown in sporting fairness...

The MotoGP season did not start at Qatar as expected. The meeting there was important, and not only from the point of view of the symbolism of the start of hostilities. It was also at losail that the technical choices had to be fixed and the engines sealed. However, nothing was done, since the competition was not launched. Everyone first saw it, more or less as a boon: that of continuing to develop, make it more reliable, or even the chance to redo the copy, as with Honda. But since then, the discourse has evolved.

Le coronavirus went through there. He made Europe his favorite playground, putting it under the extinguisher. L'Italy gave the signal that everyone now knows in their daily lives. Certainly, but the Japan, he continues to work and both Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda have their compatriot test riders running on their circuits. An exercise that has become impossible in our latitudes.

A situation which will, incidentally, reassure the Japanese in their policy of doing the minimum outside their borders. But when the season resumes, will everyone be on the same playing field? Aprilia, KTM and Ducati will barely recover from their forced sleep while Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha will never have stopped working. As a result, Losail was perhaps the opportunity missed by the officials to preserve the balance between the competitors…