Are Danilo Petrucci’s Superpole Race concerns a preview of what’s to come in MotoGP?
For the second Superpole Race in succession, the WorldSBK rookie was on the receiving end of contact dꦓuring the 10-lap sprint, however, in Mandalika it resulted in a big lap one collision.
Petrucci, 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Alex Lowes and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Loris Baz were involve♛d 💛in a big crash at turn two, with only Petrucci remaining aboard his Superbike machine.
This comes after losing part of his winglets during the season-ope🦂ner in Phillip Island, and more aggressive racing took place.
Sprint races in WorldSBK have been a mainstay for some time, and a type of racing that has ꦐhelped deliver a fantastic spectacle for f🃏ans.
Given its success, and the success of Sp🔯rint races in F1, MotoGP has become the latest world championship to dive into the idea, but for Petrucci, a former MotoGP race winner, racing bikes with this amount of power - MotoGP machines have even more power than a Superbike - bring with it risks that he’s not sure are worthwhile.
Speaking after the latest round in Mandalika, Petrucci said this about the format: "I’m quite scared about the Superpole 🐽Race because every time I finish [without] my winglets🐭.
"In Phillip Island I had no winglets from lap one, today was like this, Race 2 the same. For sure, it’s nice for the people but th👍e only rider that has been penalised has been me against Vierge."
"The only thing is the Superpole Race. It’s just like going bumper cars [racing] and for me. "They [riders] 💖just try to stay in front of you, t🐭hen you get out of the track and two riders pass you just because you want to stay in front. I think it’s completely a mess. I don’t think it’s the safest option to race in 10 laps with these bikes."
From the moment Sprint races were confirmed for the 2023 MotoGP season, riders were split as to whether it was going to be good or not🧜 for the championship.
Two title contenders from last season, 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Fabio Quartararo and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Aleix Espargaro voiced immediate concerns.
Speaking in August, 2022, Quartararo said: "Well, I think it's stupid… I think the race is on Sunday. I don't knoဣw why we do something on Saturday.
"Honestly they didn’t really ask us and at the end I think we all prefer so much to make a good race on Sund🐎ay.
"To have a sprint race [as well as all] the r🙈aces on Sunday, I think is stupid."
Taking the diffe🦂rences between Superbikes and MotoGP machines into account, Espargaro was also against the idea saying: "I don’t like the idea. I would like to talk about this with Dorna.
"Full respect to Superbike, but this is not Superbike. MotoGP has a lot of electronics, a lot of aerodynamics, a lot of things, a lot of⛄ engineers. To arrive at a good setting is very ♛difficult.
"Now with the [top t♚en🍒] system – FP1, FP2 and FP3 – it is already like qualifying and it is very difficult if it rains – like here – to have [time to find] a good setting [for the race].
"If they now reduce our [practice] time and we have t𓄧o race on Saturday, I think it༺ is difficult.
"I love racing, I hate the winter tests, but 𓂃I don't th🍸ink this is a good solution here."
However, Sprin𒈔t races, which will take place at every MotoGP round this season, present the opportunity for riders to gain even more points on any given weekend.
If a ♛rider is particularly strong on a specific race weekend, then having the 🎀opportunity to score more points is something very few would turn down.
It can also♑ give riders who struggle with keeping grip in their tyr♔es for a full race the chance of gaining an advantage prior to the main race on a Sunday.
Former teammates at Ducati, 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Francesco Bagnaia and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Jack Miller had d🍎iffe🐠rent views to the likes of Quartararo and Espargaro when news of Sprint races would be going ahead.
Bagnaia added: "I think that the Sprint race can make a big differen𝄹ce during the race weekend. We have to be smart in adaptinꦡg to it because it's something different.
"After [doing] the first Sprint race, 𒐪I will understand better the way to work for the new schedule."
Keen to see the championship chanᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚge its format after a sustained period of working the same way, Miller claimed he was ‘super excited’ by the idea.
The now Red Bull KTM rider said𒅌: "I’m super excited to have the Sprint races this year to shake things up a bit and put on an extra show for the fans on a Saturday.
"Also for us as riders, MotoGP has been the same for 50-something years and to be here for such a radical change, it’s an amazing time to൲ be in the championship.
"There will be some questions bu🐬t I’m sure after the first one or two everyone will be loving Spring races. There will be people who prefer the Sprint races more than the [Sunday] races!"
With the entire MotoGP line-up having never raꦇced more than once on a weekend at world championship level, adapting to the ☂likelihood of Sprint races being much more aggressive will be one of the biggest challenges for some.
Recent developments by teams on the aerodynamic side of MotoGP, along with front tyre pressures sometimes leading to riders struggling to overtake, is also likely to make racing in the 10-lap race more aggressive than the traditional Grand Prix as track position wiꦿll be vital, something Petrucci has l🌱earnt the hard way in WorldSBK.
