The two restart weekends in Austria were memorable to say the least: from the officialization of Valentino Rossi's retirement to the shock announcement of the suspension of Maverick Viñales by Yamaha in the final laps of the MotoGP race, this was non-stop action from start to finish. But through all the chaos and drama, there was a lot to discover from a technical standpoint.
In summary, we could say that Honda is preparing for the future, with a new engine announced for 2022, but not only that, Brad Binder has won in slicks in the wet and KTM is working again on aerodynamics.
Brad Binder's victory was heroic. It was probably one of the biggest gambles in Grand Prix history, with everyone on track admitting that staying on slicks while the rain was falling was absolutely crazy. Even Brad Binder himself said he was surprised he managed to stay on his wheels.
This image clearly shows the heroism of the pilot. Running the hard front tire in wet conditions is frankly insane. It is a tire that needs temperature to function and without this necessary temperature it is very easy to lose the front and fall.
But it was not only the lack of temperature in the front tire that the KTM rider had to pay attention to, but also the lack of temperature in the front brakes. Brad Binder said that during the last two laps he barely had any brakes because they were way too cold. With large cooling ducts supplying air to the high-mass calipers, it's no wonder he had difficulty getting them up to temperature in these conditions.
One of the most intriguing new parts seen on track in Austria was the new "wing" on the rear hull of the KTMs from the French Tech3 team. It would appear that the idea behind this is to create a small amount of downforce to try and help give more grip to the rear, something KTM has been looking for for some time. Indeed, riders often complain about rear wheel drive compared to others, especially comparing to Yamaha.
Marc Marquez finally completed a Grand Prix weekend using the new development chassis he tested for the first time at Assen. It was a big step for the still recovering driver and a clear indication that he is now only working for the future. He had this chassis on both bikes, and as he was by far the standout Honda rider all weekend, the signs are positive regarding this new chassis.
From what Marc Marquez said, it seems that the Japanese brand is finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. In his Saturday interview, he said they found something interesting and seemed positive about what they found. His race on Sunday was more competitive than he expected, and he was the only driver on the grid to run on the soft rear tire and by the looks of it, he would have gone the full distance of the race if the rain hadn't appeared in the last laps
While Marc Marquez works for the future, other Honda drivers seem to work for the present. Takaaki Nakagami continued to use the 2021 chassis, which is identifiable by the large section of carbon bonded to the main beam.
But looking more closely at the photos, it seems that Pol Espargaro had a small upgrade to his chassis.
In fact, an additional section of carbon was glued to the chassis of the motorcycle used by Pol Espargaro. Looking just in front of his boot, we notice a small section of carbon stuck to the chassis just behind the swingarm pivot, which is not present on Takaaki Nakagami's prototype.
No information has leaked regarding what the rider and his technical teams are looking to improve with this little piece of carbon, but they are undoubtedly looking to fine-tune the flex characteristics of his 213 RC2021V.
Continuation of events this weekend in England!
Photos: Dorna Sports
