MotoGP to switch back to F1 chicane?
UPDATE: The change back to the F1 chicane has now been officially confirmed.
MotoGP could switch back to the former F1 chicane at Catalunya, from Saturday morning.
MotoGP moved to the F1 layout last year, following Luis Salom's tragic practice accident in Moto2, with a special two-wheel chicane then created over the winter.
The new chicane is sightly further from the final corner, but appears even more unpopular with the riders.
"Everyone is complaining about the chicane, but we chose it," said Cal Crutchlow. "We all went out there on Friday evening last year and said, 'ok let's use this [F1] chicane for one year and then next year [2017] we'll use another one. Bring it back. This is what we've got and everyone is complaining again."
The new chicane was moved back from the final turn because it was felt that the inside wall was too close for MotoGP.
But Valentino Rossi confirmed that - following a private test by Honda, Ducati and Aprilia at the circuit last month - the option to revert to the F1 chicane during the MotoGP weekend was made available.
"Yes, for me it's possible to change, because last week in Mugello, already a lot of riders want to use the F1 chicane, but they said to us: 'Friday you try, and Friday night we decide together'. So we hope that they are open to go back to the F1 track."
The Italian, who was experiencing the new chicane for the first time today, declared:
"I don't like this chicane. For me, a chicane like this is not at the level of a MotoGP race, because it's not track, it's just a piece of asphalt put between two tracks," said the nine time world champion.
"I already saw the layout, and if you do the F1 track, it's worse than the normal track for sure, but it's the track. This means that you have one type of asphalt that follows the chicane. The chicane is tight but it has all the banking so you can ride the bike more naturally.
"This [new] chicane is not the track. For me, it's dangerous, because if you have the crash, the bike cuts the chicane. But also it's very bad. For me it's not a MotoGP track like this. So I agree, I hope that everybody can be agreed [to change back].
"Already last year I wasn't agreed to make the [new] chicane, because I expected this situation. For me, my idea is that it's better to use the normal one as last year."
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Rossi was ninth fastest on a day when world champion Marc Marquez led the timesheets. The Repsol Honda star is one of the few who does not mind the new chicane.
"The [original] layout was more natural, but of course the change that we did [last year] was for safety. It's the only way. At the end the layout this year has only changed one corner.
"A lot of riders complain a lot, but the layout remain the same [as 2016] apart from one corner. It's different. But when you take a good rhythm then it's even fun."
If MotoGP does switch back to the F1 chicane, maybe Jack Miller knew what he was doing all along in FP1...
