MotoGP will have new rules in less than three years, in 2027, and part of the regulatory framework presented this week aims to decrease the performance of the bikes and make them safer. A change applauded by Aleix Espargaró.
For the Aprilia rider, bikes with lower performance will not only benefit the spectacle but are essential for safety, as the circuits have become too small for the current level: ‘We are racing in the same circuits that [Mick] Doohan and [Álex] Crivillé were racing with the 500cc and the Moto3 [bikes] are doing 500cc lap times. So it means the circuits are not prepared anymore. We can modify a little bit, but the space is how it is. So we need to reduce a little bit the performance. The engineers are too intelligent, too much technology, so we need to block this a little bit. And for the show also I think is going to be better’.
What should be the path of MotoGP – prioritize speed or entertainment? Espargaró has an opinion: ‘You have to find a compromise. It’s always the same thing, a compromise. The people at home don’t really care about if we are are lapping 1m31.8s or 1m33.4s. And this 1.5s, the bikes will perform super good as well, but the show will be much better. So you need to find a balance’.
That said, the Spaniard emphasized that the decrease in performance must encompass all categories, including the World Superbike Championship, so that MotoGP remains the pinnacle:
– Obviously you cannot leave the rules like this and then keep giving qualifying tyres to the Superbikes, because then the street bikes will beat the MotoGP bikes and people will not understand at home. But if you reduce the level of all the categories to make it better for the safety and for the show, everybody is happy.