Mat Oxley

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Current page

125

Current page

126

Current page

127

Current page

128

Current page

129

Current page

130

Current page

131

Current page

132

Current page

133

Current page

134

Current page

135

Current page

136

Current page

137

Current page

138

Current page

139

Current page

140

Current page

141

Current page

142

Current page

143

Current page

144

Current page

145

Current page

146

Current page

147

Current page

148

Current page

149

Current page

150

Current page

151

Current page

152

Current page

153

Current page

154

Current page

155

Current page

156

Current page

157

Current page

158

Current page

159

Current page

160

Current page

161

Current page

162

Current page

163

Current page

164

Current page

165

Current page

166

Current page

167

Current page

168

Current page

169

Current page

170

Current page

171

Current page

172

Current page

173

Current page

174

Current page

175

Current page

176

Current page

177

Current page

178

Current page

179

Current page

180

Current page

181

Current page

182

Current page

183

Current page

184

Current page

185

Current page

186

Current page

187

Current page

188

Current page

189

Current page

190

Current page

191

Current page

192

Current page

193

Current page

194

Current page

195

Current page

196

Current page

197

Current page

198

Current page

199

Current page

200

Current page

201

Current page

202

Current page

203

Current page

204

Current page

205

Current page

206

Current page

207

Current page

208

Current page

209

Current page

210

Current page

211

Current page

212

Current page

213

Current page

214

Current page

215

Current page

216

Current page

217

Current page

218

Current page

219

Current page

220

The end of finesse?

“Technology is a big destroyer of emotion and truth. It’s the disease you have to fight in any creative field: ease of use.” So said Jack White, the American musician who has fronted bands such as The White Stripes and The Raconteurs. There is no doubt that White’s statement is hugely relevant in music, but surely it can’t be in motor sport; or can it?

Just as music-making software such as Auto-Tune and Chord Generator create so much depressingly bad music, some argue that rider aids such as traction control and wheelie control produce humdrum motorcycle racing.

Most MotoGP riders don’t like electronics overkill: they are riders, so they love riding motorcycles; they don’t want computers doing it for them. Valentino Rossi still remembers the first time he used traction control, during 2002 post-season testing with Honda. “When I tried the first time I went back into the pits and I say, ‘F**k, nooo!’ I mean with this system everybody could ride the bike. And that was with one per cent of what we have now.”

MotoGP rights holder Dorna has been trying to get on top of this problem for years, but it is mostly fighting an unequal struggle, because during the 1990s the FIM (Fédération Internationale Motocycliste) abrogated control of technical regulations to the manufacturers. Inevitably factory engineers are keen on electronics development.

Recently Dorna did win a small battle in this long-running war by forcing MotoGP constructors to accept the introduction of a lower-spec control ECU. All riders now use identical Magneti Marelli hardware and software, which are less intelligent than the factories’ tailor-made kit. That didn’t stop the first race of 2016 being a record-breaker.

It is no surprise that many riders prefer the new lower-tech electronics, because they feel more control in their throttle hand. But others believe the spec ECU is still too clever, most notably Ducati’s star test rider Casey Stoner.

“The electronics are still too good, in my opinion,” says the twice MotoGP world champion, who quit racing at the end of 2012, partly because he didn’t like the direction MotoGP was taking. “For me, the 990s [the 990cc bikes he rode during his 2006 rookie season] were probably MotoGP’s best era. The electronics were just about perfect. They were there, so they’d save you to a certain degree, but they wouldn’t increase your performance. The only way they really helped was with engine braking: you’d still be loose, you’d still be backing it into corners, but the electronics stopped you completely locking up and sliding.”

Stoner grew up in Australia riding dirt track, learning the art of throttle control on loose ovals, with the back tyre kicked sideways into corners and out of them too. It’s a skill in which he takes great pride.

“I still believe there’s more to be made out of the human hand than out of electronics,” he adds. “But electronics help massively for those riders who can’t control the rear.

“Back in 2006 or 2007, if you had more finesse you would pick up the bike out of the corner and almost pass the other guy halfway down the straight, because you had worked hard at getting a better drive. Or maybe the other guy would slip and slide and mess up the exit, so you’d get a run on them and you’d pretty much have the pass done before you got to the next corner.”

Although Stoner hasn’t raced a MotoGP bike in four years, he is still fully competitive. During pre-season testing at Sepang he was as fast as Ducati’s current factory riders Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso, even though he hadn’t ridden in anger for six months.

“I’m enjoying my testing role, but with modern electronics I miss that element of trying different things to find some kind of grip when the rear tyre is greasy as hell, like really picking up the bike out of a turn or short-shifting.”

The 30-year-old, who also won Grand Prix victories in the 125 and 250cc categories, believes that while modern traction control may save many crashes on corner exits, it contributes to others further along the racetrack. “No one can make the difference on the exit – you can hear all the riders hitting the throttle at the same part of the turn and driving out – so they just make a big stab
on the brakes.

“It’s all about who brakes the latest and who is willing to take the biggest risk. Electronics have taken a lot of finesse out of it, so the aggressors can perform well now.

“I don’t want to see riders losing the rear and getting high-sided, because it hurts, but having a bit more respect for the bike would give riders a little more respect for their competitors and for the Tarmac.”

Stoner’s dislike of rider aids doesn’t end with traction control. “I used to enjoy trying different things with my riding, like stopping the bike from doing wheelies, so wheelie control is another thing I don’t like. I like being able to float the front wheel and get that perfect amount of drive out of the corner. That’s the kind of thing that makes riding a bike into an art, rather than just opening it up and having the electronics do it all for you. All those elements that have disappeared now.”

It isn’t impossible that Stoner’s dream of reduced electronics will come to pass. Dorna is playing the long game with the factories, so one day it may be able to turn down the rider aids. In the meantime, we will just have to be happy with the fact that runaway electronics technology has at least been halted.