JMA:: We are speaking about a World Championship. The rules are what they are and tyres have always marked the difference when it comes to titles. In any category. With the situation we have at the moment perhaps Michelín is complaining more, because it has always been the one that dominated but now without a doubt it is Bridgestone that is ahead.
AC:
I think it is OK. This year it seems that Bridgestone is winning the battle with Michelín, but we have to finish the season. There is nothing decided yet and Michelín of course is pulling the stops out. They are going to work well and are going to win races this year as they have already done.
EA:
We are in the middle of a complicated year for the constructors and riders, because the new regulations that limit the number of tyres means that there are changes and we have already seen some this year. I think that
Bridgestone, with the experience it had and with the new regulations, is one step ahead. Tyre technology should also be limited a little, because the behaviour of a bike depends a lot on them.
SP:
I think that it is just another ingredient to make the championship more exciting.
Q:
Do you feel that technological progress ruins the spectacle of racing?
AN:
Yes, a little. What happens is that the bikes gain in safety. What I like least is to see riders falling and in this sense technological progress is good. But we do not see sliding as we did in the 2 stroke 500cc category. Traction control is great, but a little of the spectacle has been lost. Although at the same time it is true that it is still spectacular because we see a lot of makes and many riders have a chance of winning. Now some of the races we see in
MotoGP are like those in 125cc, with seven or eight riders fighting to win during the whole race.
JMA:
Well, without a doubt. In some things, without a doubt. I am convinced that the bikes a few years ago were more spectacular and much more difficult to set up and to ride. The latest technology makes everything evolve, but at the same time everything is easier. Therefore I think that it does ruin the spectacle a little.
AC:
Yes a little. If you refer to traction control, I think that in this aspect we have advanced with the technology, but we have taken a small step backwards concerning the spectacle. Perhaps it is here where they will have to make a move backwards a little bit.
EA:
I think that depends on where we look from. Because it is clear that on the one side, all this electronics and technology makes the riding more equal, and with the change in displacement the makes are also more equal. On the one hand this is good because there are more bikes setting the same type of times and more riders in with a chance of winning the championship. But it is also true that the riding skill is less and less important. The rider is always what counts on a motorbike, but there are many aids available now, above all for the traction, with all this new technology.
SP:
I do not think so. I think that the races are just as spectacular as they were before. Perhaps they have lost a little of the emotion regarding the slides we saw before. But basically the races, if we compare them to any other motorsport, motorbike races are more spectacular, entertaining and exciting than anything else in the motoring world.
Q:
Which class of bike, 800cc, 990cc or 500cc and why?
