INCREASING MotoGP engines to 1000cc is a dead end for rider safety and factory involvement, says the most experienced crew chief in motorcycle racing...."For the first time in 33 years working in Europe I have a definite concern about the future of motorcycle Grand Prix racing," says Ducati crew chief Burgess..."
South Australian Jeremy Burgess, who guided Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi, below, to world championships, says the change for this season is bordering on being lethal.
"It was a folly to return to the 1000cc limit for season 2012," he said in an exclusive interview with The Advertiser.
"These (1000cc) are car engines now that we are putting into a motorcycle. On the fastest circuits, a rider slip-streaming another with just a breath of a tail wind will top 360km/h."
The death last October of popular rider Marco Simoncelli is still fresh in the minds of racers and fans, as is the number of crashes at the past Australian round of the MotoGP at Phillip Island.
There, Yamaha stars Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies, and Australian wildcard Damian Cudlin, crashed out of the meeting during qualifying. Rossi crashed during the race and only 10 riders finished.
Seventeen were originally entered for the MotoGP event.
"For the first time in 33 years working in Europe I have a definite concern about the future of motorcycle Grand Prix racing," says Ducati crew chief Burgess.
"And I know that some principal technicians in other factories do as well."...more