Nostalgia when you hold us. Since Antiquity, we have regretted the past, we dwell on our tender memories of adolescence. MotoGP does not escape the inevitable passage of time. Since 1949, the motorcycle Grands Prix have been marked by prosperous periods, others, less exciting. As with all other motor sports, the spectator tends to forget the bad moments to remember the great duels, the epic battles and the close finishes. However, history teaches us that these perceptions are, most of the time, erroneous, even fallacious. MotoGP has rarely done so well, so let's not spoil our fun. But why is this?
Was MotoGP better before?
Not necessarily. Let's quickly return to this notion that is so much criticized today. Nowadays, it is not good to say that “it was better before”; phrase which characterizes the old man overwhelmed by his time, who refuses to evolve. Yet, in the eyes of history, some earlier periods were more prolific.
To stay in the motorcycling world, let's not blame our ancestors for regretting the Eddie lawson, Wayne Rainey and other Kevin schwantz, because the late 1980s was undoubtedly the golden age of motorcycle Grands Prix, the one which combined everything: Brands, drivers, sponsors, magnificent liveries, characters, battles, close fights for the title and so on. But we must understand that it is not because it is old that we claim that. We could say the exact opposite for the late 1960s and early 1970s, perhaps the worst time to be on the sidelines.
This little introduction had a clear purpose. No, we will not be slaves of time, but will recognize the greatness of the past, when it was great.
The end of the 1980s in motorcycle Grand Prix is similar to the end of the 1960s in F1. On the grid, only legendary names, which evoke the greatness of the sport, the heroism of the drivers. Imagine Rainey, Lawson, Schwantz, Doohan, Spencer, and, as here in Britain, Wayne Gardner. Photo: Stu Newby
Analysis of a common phenomenon
We are not Ducati fans, nor any other brand on the grid for that matter.. But it is true that we find it very difficult to understand the criticism of DORNA regarding the brand domination of Borgo Panigale, or even, even worse, of Ducati directly. No need to elaborate on this last point as it is easy to dismantle. A manufacturer makes the best motorcycle, he wins. Still happy, he would no longer miss being blamed.
On the other hand, we find that the DORN found the perfect balance between Italian supremacy and spectacle. The 1990s were also dominated, this time by Honda. Since the terrible accident that paralyzed Wayne Rainey in Misano in 1993, the winged firm killed all spectacle by crushing the gate. Yes, there weren't eight, but the races were much more boring. We understand the nostalgia associated with these 500cc two-strokes, but objectively, the races were unwatchable.
Not only did Honda sometimes place five motorcycles in the first five places in the general classification (like in 1997), but in addition to that, Mick Doohan made it uninteresting, and we let him know. Told him he wasn't going to slow down to please, and he wasn't wrong. Hate the game, not the players. We regularly saw the Australian sticking more than twenty seconds to his closest pursuer. Twenty. Twenty, it's not two or three, we must realize the abysmal gap that this represents in just forty minutes of racing. This calmed down in 1999 when Alex Crivillé captured the title, but one good season is not enough to save an era. It is very important to understand this notion, the proof in Formula 1. The hybrid era has been particularly disappointing since 2014, even though we had two hard-fought seasons in 2016 and 2021.
Three Repsol Hondas on the podium in Germany during the 1997 season. Mick Doohan, as always (or often), Takuma Aoki and Tadayuki Okada. Photo: Box Repsol
Then, the 2000s, with the ultra-domination of Valentino Rossi, notably at Honda Repsol. If we remove the rivalries with Max Biaggi et Sete Gibernau, it's back seven years earlier. Here again, monumental gaps, and races not even that good in reality. We see some nostalgic people coming from here; we understand you perfectly, we are just as much as you. To convince you, there is only one solution. Go to YouTube, and watch three, four random races from 2001 to 2006. Not rounds highlighted by the official MotoGP channel, but standard Grands Prix. You will realize that your brain has completely omitted these memories to concentrate only on the big duels.
Rivalries
Then we move on to the famous 800cc era. In the same way, it holds a special place in our hearts because it is the period of great rivalries. Firstly, if you didn't have an official motorbike, you were lost in advance. No satellite driver is imposed from 2007 to 2011, then, on the 1000cc, from 2012 to Assen 2016.
Costs exploded, the differences were still as significant (consider the 2011 season of Casey Stoner), and above all, the number of participants was ridiculously low. A photo, taken at the start of the 2011 Catalan Grand Prix, caused quite a stir. There were only 15 MotoGP riders in this wide straight.
Stoner is remembered as flamboyant, but those who saw him remember that he had a tendency to escape into the lead and crush the rest of the field, particularly in Australia. Sometimes, in battle, often, alone in the world. Here in 2012 in Motegi (where Dani Pedrosa won by more than four seconds). Photo: Box Repsol
MotoGP, not Moto3 with 1000cc
the single ECU era in 2016, the biggest change since the switch to four-strokes in 2002. Started with the introduction of CRT and Open, this new generation MotoGP made a 180° turn. Now, almost everyone could win.
We were not fans of this version, which continued until 2021. Sometimes, reading the sport was more than complicated, it was impossible to grasp the dynamics. Some victories are, even today, completely incomprehensible. Valentino Rossi à Jerez in 2016, Brad Binder à Brno in 2020, or Miguel Oliveira au Portugal the same year.
Since 2022, Ducati's supremacy is perfectly balanced, because we benefit from great races, logical results, and above all, no Moto3 rounds. We must still maintain a certain consistency and not tend towards Grands Prix which are decided only in the last corner. Every turn has to count, that we take pleasure in watching a hunt exactly as in the 1980s. And this is the case nowadays, for example, in Sachsenring or in Jerez, two jewels of this season.
Conclusion
All that's missing is a good old rivalry to make MotoGP 2023 legendary. What is certain is that there is objectively no reason to complain given the spectacle on offer; yes, Bagnaia often wins, but it's logical on the one hand, and it's far from being as flat as with Doohan, Red ou Lorenzo the other.
Without a Balance of Performance (BoP) like in automotive endurance, without a budget limit like in F1, MotoGP manages to make the Aprilia competitive, but also the KTM, the Ducati, the Yamaha and... that's it. Such diversity without limiting the design but just playing on the electronic box is just genius. Photo: Michelin Motorsport
In short, let's thank Ducati for giving competitive machines to eight riders rather than criticizing them for having eight that work.. Let us not let our memories dominate us, but let us look the past in the eye, as it was, with its many faults. Let's appreciate a fun, attractive, exciting category, much more than any other mechanical sport on the planet at the moment.
What do you think ? Do you manage to regret the beginning of the 2010s, or other periods perhaps linked to a strong moment in your life? Tell us in the comments!
Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport
