December is a time for reflection, and for making the necessary changes to the rulebook where incidents during the season have made clear.
Last week, MotoGP’s rule making body, the Grand Prix Commission met to review the 2016 season and make a few necessary adjustments to the MotoGP rulebook. Fortunately, they decided not to do anything quite so drastic as the Superbike Commission did at the same time.
The most eye-catching change is the dropping of intermediate tires in MotoGP. Intermediates had been introduced at the request of the teams and Dorna, to allow riders to go out during sessions when conditions were not suitable for slicks.
However, the experience of 2016 showed that intermediates were rarely used, and when they were, they added little or no value over soft slicks or hard wets.
During a press conference at Valencia, Michelin boss Nicolas Goubert said “at some races, there were riders on track with slicks, with intermediate, and with rain tires, all at the same time.”
The loss of the intermediate is to be compensated by an extra tire choice for both front and rear slicks. Though the total allocation is not to be increased, the riders will now have three front compounds, plus an option tire, and three rear compounds, plus an option tire, to choose from.
Several times during 2016, Michelin was already bringing a choice of four front tires (i.e. three plus an option) to the races, so this is merely formalizing an already existing situation.
The addition of an extra tire will most likely be at the soft end of the spectrum, to allow a soft slick to fill the void left by the loss of intermediates.
The remainder of the rule changes were less significant, though one or two merit mention. As the use of onboard cameras in Moto2 and Moto3 has grown, there were some complaints that bikes with cameras had an unfair disadvantage. Ballast is to be added to balance that out.
An extra appeals board will be put in place at each track, to allow the FIM Stewards to hear appeals against penalties issued immediately, rather than having to wait for several days.
An interesting change has been made to the medical code, giving the riders a little more confidentiality over their medical records.
As the Clinica Mobile has come to play a significant role in the medical treatment of riders – many riders prefer to consult the Clinica, rather than their home doctors – there has been some dilution of medical privacy.
That has led FIM doctors and Clinica staff to disclose information to the media, without the permission of the riders.
The new rule change is also in part a response to some of the more serious incidents in MotoGP, including the tragic death of Luis Salom.
Chains of communication in such cases are now much clearer, with family members and teams being informed first, and only then statements being made to the media, with permission.
An important change was also made to the duties of a rider. They must now inform MotoGP medical staff if they pick up an injury outside of MotoGP events.
For example, a rider breaking a bone or suffering a concussion in a training accident will have to inform MotoGP medical staff, and submit themselves for medical examination before being passed fit to race.
Photo: © 2016 Tony Goldsmith / www.tonygoldsmith.net – All Rights Reserved
This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.
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