EXTRACT FROM SLICK #18 – released in November 2022
THE LAST TO GIVE UP WAS KTM
Toward the end of the 2022 championship, Sebastian Risse, technical manager of KTM’s Austrian racing department, revealed the start of a technical partnership with Team Oracle Red Bull F1, world champions (with the Honda engine) for the past two years. “We have started a new collaboration with aerodynamicists, which could be of great help to us,” Risse explained, revealing that the RC16 2023 will be very different from what was seen in 2022. “F1 has more know-how in certain areas and certain technologies that are new to MotoGP: aerodynamics, attitude adjusters while the vehicle is on the track, holeshot devices…
Obviously, it is easier to work with engineers who already have the specific knowledge in these fields, rather than building them completely on their own.” Then Risse talked about the Italians, the new reference: “In fact, this is a trend that is also found in other factories involved in MotoGP: Ducati and Aprilia have been trying to acquire this know-how for several
time.” Actually Ducati (and Aprilia, too) has already acquired a lot of that know-how. Because it believed in it first. A few years ago it created a specific in-house department-whose head is Edoardo Lenoci, an “aerodynamicist” who came from Formula 1-but in reality aerodynamics has been studied at Borgo Panigale for more than twenty years, since in 2002 the British technician Alan Jenkins (who came, of course, from F1) created the aerodynamics of the first Desmosedici, including the GP7 raced in 2007 with Casey Stoner. Today Edoardo Lenoci leads a team of engineers specializing in vehicle evolution, and Ducati is well ahead in the motorcycle field.
IN JAPAN ALSO FALLING TABUOS
At this point we need to put everything in order, starting with the resounding thud of the Japanese manufacturers, particularly Honda and Yamaha. Many taboos are falling in Japan: the heads of the two Japanese racing departments in the second half of the championship gave the green light to look for collaborations in Europe. So HRC has asked for help from German engineering Kalex, for the chassis (especially the swingarm) and meanwhile has begun to take inspiration (the correct word would be “copy”) from Ducati for aerodynamic evolution.
So much for “Follow the leader,” as Honda once liked to write in its product advertisements! There are rumors in Japan that the MotoGP project from the technical point of view will again be headed by Shinichi Kokubo-the most important engineer of the past 15 years, in HRC-because he has not only the knowledge but also the personality, and status, to relate to his colleagues in Formula 1 R&D. In fact, Honda since 2022 has merged the “Auto” and “Motorcycle” sectors within the new Honda Racing Corporation whose activities also include the management and overhaul of the F1 world champion engine with Team Oracle RedBull (yes, the same one that works with KTM on aerodynamics).
Therefore, it is expected that the RC213V in 2023 version will show another level of performance.
CONTINUED BELOW THE SLIDE
As for Yamaha, obsessed with the M1 2022 engine crisis, it has asked for help from an Italian engineer (one from F1, and what else?!): Luca Marmorini was “Engines and Electronics Director” at Ferrari, then also worked on the Toyota F1 project.
With this move, Iwata’s racing department leaves one truly astonished: it agrees to hand over the secrets of its engine-the inline 4 that powers the official M1-to an Italian motorist. This is no small event: usually those who are not Japanese are not even allowed to open them, the engines. But the M1’s lack of acceleration and top speed is an urgent problem. Moreover, it appears that it was Luca Marmorini’s hiring that convinced Fabio Quartararo to renew his contract for two more years. The rider at the end of 2022 appeared very concerned.
To understand the new MotoGP scenario even better, it must be said that Luca Marmorini was plucked from Aprilia: where he contributed to the great progress made by the V4 in the 2022 RS-GP. And bringing Marmorini to Aprilia had been Massimo Rivola, from 2019 head of Aprilia Racing, who also comes from Ferrari.
So in MotoGP a “market” of technicians from the car world has begun!
As for Ducati, it began to strengthen when it was acquired by Audi, thus joining a large automotive industrial group that also includes Lamborghini (which has constant relations with Ducati) and Porsche.
Audi has a great tradition in racing, from the days of the World Rally Championship to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and it has just announced that it will enter F1 in 2026 with an all-new project: so it is investing heavily in new technologies, it is hiring engineers to strengthen the racing department. It is clear that Ducati (owned by Audi) will not find its doors closed should the need arise.
And as if that were not enough, Porsche also announced its willingness to return to F1 from 2026.