RiderTua.com – Many riders complain about the difficulty of overtaking in the current modern MotoGP era. How does Jorge Martin respond to this? . The Sapnyol rider is waiting for the 2027 season with changes to the technical regulations, where the problem of overtaking will be resolved because all these technical devices will be limited. “With these new regulations we have to turn back the clock to 10 years ago, when riders could overtake anywhere and we could see different riding styles, all of which were good for winning,” answered the Pramac Ducati rider.
The holeshot is the advantage in the first corner after the start in MotoGP, almost as important as in motocross. Due to excessive aero devices and the resulting air turbulence, it is known that it is difficult for the rider behind to overtake the bike in front like on the MXGP race track.
Almost no one in the paddock liked this development. Even Pit Beirer (Motorsport Director Pierer Group), although KTM has benefited greatly from the partnership with Red Bull Advanced Technologies. It is estimated that with major changes in regulations starting in the 2027 season, where aerodynamics, various devices and a reduction in engine capacity are planned to 850 cc, overtaking, ‘man to man’ and elbow to elbow braking must be given more priority.
Jorge Martin: Overtaking opportunities can only be obtained during the braking phase
Seeing the fact that the record time will probably increase by a few seconds is a problem for the race. So what causes racing like this to occur, especially at the start of the race? “To understand this problem, we just have to remember one thing. Even the 20th driver on the starting grid, accelerates out of corners as well as the fastest driver at least on new tyres. Nothing can make a difference here. If you use used tires it’s a bit different, more “There’s a lot of playing around with body position, but the basic phenomenon remains,” answered Martinator.
The 26-year-old rider continued, “However, this is one area where a good rider can take his time by managing the tires better and gaining position one by one when exiting corners during the race. This is one of the most prominent strengths from KTM rider Brad Binder in recent years. However, as a faster rider, at some point we have to pass the bike in front.”
So overtaking is only possible in the braking phase and this second area where micromanagement is much more difficult. “We can take more risks when braking or less. As a rider at the back, we have the disadvantage of air turbulence that we cannot see but have to deal with.”
At the end of a fast straight, how different is the braking point in calm versus turbulent air (behind the opposing bike) versus today’s full aero bike? “There is a distance of 20 meters between the two,” answered Martin.
“A lot of weekend work goes into tuning the electronics. This is now more important than the chassis itself,” he adds, but it is still more time consuming. His crew chief Daniele Romagnoli divides each corner into several segments, namely the braking phase, turn-in, roll phase and exit. For each, he asked his rider to say two things. How it feels and how it should feel. Therefore, wheelie control, traction control, engine characteristic curve and engine brake are retuned.
“Then usually Gigi (Dall’Igna) comes in and has an additional idea. We spend the whole weekend thinking about whether we can find something in the corner that will make a difference. Any small change that adds 0.1 seconds or even 2 seconds. This is enough “It’s mentally demanding, but this is a very important part of our work at the weekend,” concluded teammate Franco Morbidelli.
This explains the importance of qualifying and holeshots in modern MotoGP. Because if riders are in front from the start, they won’t have to worry about overtaking any more.
