Sport
Photo by: Zane Quinn, 2014 Sepang, Malaysia. Moto3 No. 55 Andrea Locatelli takes a slide as No. 43 Luca Marini manages to keep it together
Photo by: Zane Quinn, 2014 Sepang, Malaysia. Valentino Rossi No. 46 MotoGP 1000cc
12 The MAG Vung Tau and limited testing. Then there are the remaining manufacturers: Suzuki, Aprilia, and KTM who will be allowed more testing, engine development and more engines per rider for the season, in an attempt to, close the performance gap and keep these manufacturers in the sport. As can be seen by the improved performance of Ducati and Suzuki this year the plan seems to have paid off. And we reap the benefits – more teams equal more riders equals more excitement. Maybe a lesson the Scaltectrix crowd in F1 could learn from. The end of the 2016 MotoGP season saw Marq Marquez crowned as World Champion for the third time in his MotoGP career, followed by Valentino Rossi, and after relatively lacklustre end to the season Jorge Lorenzo. It was definitely an exciting and different season in the sense that at least nine different race winners crossed the line, starting with Australian Jack Miller who managed the poor conditions in the wet at the Dutch TT with skill, and became the first independent rider in almost ten years to win a MotoGP race. While this win was initially attributed to the torrential conditions, it quickly became clear that the switch by Organisers from Bridgestone to Michelin tyres had played a significant part, as tyre choices in more than one race saw winners such as Cal Crutchlow emerge. There were of course problems with the switch in tyre manufacturer, but maybe that’ s what makes MotoGP so much more exciting – having riders who need to make split second decisions about tyre choice when track conditions change from wet to dry in a matter of a few laps.