Photo: motogp.com
The engineering departments of Yamaha and Ducati seem to have a busy period ahead, as the first two races seem to be a sign that better fuel management and more efficient engine setups are mandatory if they want to retain the performance level with the current fuel allowance.
Valentino Rossi, currently leading the standings one point ahead of Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso, was not at all shy to speak about how the 20-liter rule affected his riding. He admitted that Yamaha used to carry more speed in a straight line, but the fuel limitations forced the mechanics to revise the settings.
"The fuel consumption is high beyond 280 km/h (174 mph) and this becomes a very important factor," Rossi says. "Maybe for Ducati, losing two liters from 24 to 22 was not that much of a big deal, but for Yamaha, going from 22 to 20 is anywhere but insignificant," he adds.
Honda seems to have the best fuel management solution so far, as Marc Marquez, who also won the COTA round, had no issues. His bike's performance was impeccable, and he still had fuel left for the cooldown lap, so it looks like Santi Hernandez (MM93's crew chief) can take very good care of everything, including running with 20 liters of fuel.
From the bike that only Stoner was able to understand to the motorcycles both Rossi and Crutchlow struggled to master, and down to the GP15, Ducati has come a long way and is now battling at the top of the field.
Still, COTA was the first race when Ducati was only allowed to load 20 liters of fuel, losing two after DesmoDovi's Qatar podium. At COTA, Andrea Iannone's bike ran out of fuel in Turn 1 after the race ended, and reached the pits as a passenger on a Pramac Ducati.
While common sense says that it's only natural to avoid carrying excess fuel in a race, this was a rather too close shave. Iannone, who finished fifth at Austin, has pushed really hard during the race and often posted fastest laps, and this caused him to get exceedingly close to the limit.
Some say that this is in fact masterclass race preparation from Ducati, and the team themselves admit they are at the limit, but without any reasons to worry. In fact, when Ducati lost the 2 liters of fuel, official team sources mentioned that they never loaded more than 22 liters, anyway.
Whether such a claim is true or false is impossible to tell in the absence of inside info. It is possible that Ducati envisaged the success of the GP15 and prepared for the 22-liter limit. Fact is that Yamaha will certainly work harder to make its bike more competitive, putting extra pressure on both Honda and Ducati.
While the former doesn't seem to care too much about the fuel limit, the latter team's engineers are surely tweaking things to make sure other fuel-hungry tracks don't represent a problem for Ducati.
We're back into MotoGP action this weekend at Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina, a new track which puts a lot of pressure on the tires. Rossi leads the championship with 41 points, followed by Dovizioso with 40, while Marc Marquez has climbed into third with 36 points. Iannone and Lorenzo complete the top five, with 27 and 26 points, respectively.
"The fuel consumption is high beyond 280 km/h (174 mph) and this becomes a very important factor," Rossi says. "Maybe for Ducati, losing two liters from 24 to 22 was not that much of a big deal, but for Yamaha, going from 22 to 20 is anywhere but insignificant," he adds.
Honda seems to have the best fuel management solution so far, as Marc Marquez, who also won the COTA round, had no issues. His bike's performance was impeccable, and he still had fuel left for the cooldown lap, so it looks like Santi Hernandez (MM93's crew chief) can take very good care of everything, including running with 20 liters of fuel.
Lower fuel limits forces Ducati to be more careful, even though they say there's no problem
So far, Gigi Dall'Igna is the biggest name in the Ducati paddock, as he was able to bring the Borgo Panigale machines back within striking range of the top podium step. With Dovizioso finishing twice in the runner-up position and a pole this year, the Desmosedici GP15 is obviously a completely different machine from anything what Ducati fielded during the past three seasons.From the bike that only Stoner was able to understand to the motorcycles both Rossi and Crutchlow struggled to master, and down to the GP15, Ducati has come a long way and is now battling at the top of the field.
Still, COTA was the first race when Ducati was only allowed to load 20 liters of fuel, losing two after DesmoDovi's Qatar podium. At COTA, Andrea Iannone's bike ran out of fuel in Turn 1 after the race ended, and reached the pits as a passenger on a Pramac Ducati.
While common sense says that it's only natural to avoid carrying excess fuel in a race, this was a rather too close shave. Iannone, who finished fifth at Austin, has pushed really hard during the race and often posted fastest laps, and this caused him to get exceedingly close to the limit.
Some say that this is in fact masterclass race preparation from Ducati, and the team themselves admit they are at the limit, but without any reasons to worry. In fact, when Ducati lost the 2 liters of fuel, official team sources mentioned that they never loaded more than 22 liters, anyway.
Whether such a claim is true or false is impossible to tell in the absence of inside info. It is possible that Ducati envisaged the success of the GP15 and prepared for the 22-liter limit. Fact is that Yamaha will certainly work harder to make its bike more competitive, putting extra pressure on both Honda and Ducati.
While the former doesn't seem to care too much about the fuel limit, the latter team's engineers are surely tweaking things to make sure other fuel-hungry tracks don't represent a problem for Ducati.
We're back into MotoGP action this weekend at Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina, a new track which puts a lot of pressure on the tires. Rossi leads the championship with 41 points, followed by Dovizioso with 40, while Marc Marquez has climbed into third with 36 points. Iannone and Lorenzo complete the top five, with 27 and 26 points, respectively.
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