MotoGP's Riders Are Split Over the New Rules, Too
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They’ve decided the sky is blue, but water might not be wet.
As race fans, we all have our own thoughts on how to better a series. Armchair quarterbacking is one of life’s greatest pleasures, even though its futile in its process. But the folks that are actually in the series, either team principals or the riders, well they might have more power and hold more sway with their comments.
The problem? Just like the public, riders have differing opinions, and boy, do MotoGP’s riders have opinions on the new 2027 regulation changes. But unlike the public, they seem to be segmented pretty evenly between the OGs of the field and the younger bucks.
I’ve pulled together a few examples to show that we’re not that much different from folks like Marc Marquez, Pedro Acosta, Maverick Vinales, Pecco Bagania, and others. Strap in.
Asked about the rule changes, and Bagania told SpeedWeek, “I would just like the fastest machine. It is never fast enough, even if the machines are already very fast. I just want a fast motorcycle with which I can win.” And as for everyone’s favorite talking point, the bike’s countless buttons, he stated, “I don’t understand why some drivers say it’s difficult. You have to get used to it. For me, playing with the buttons during a race has become the norm. It’s part of the job. If you want to be fast, you have to do it. Maybe these guys complain because their machines are not at the same level as ours. So you want to get rid of some of these things so that we no longer have this advantage.”
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Those comments echo what wunderkind Pedro Acosta told RideApart ahead of the Austin GP when asked about going back to older, less aerodynamic motorcycles and them being better, saying “Well, at the end, it’s the only MotoGP bike I’ve ridden, you know. It’s true that for them, I listen many times to these comments, and for them, maybe they tried a really old MotoGP bike. Well, ten years ago (laughs). It was different, you know, because there was zero aero, the traction control was completely different, the package of the bike was completely different, for sure. But it’s the only MotoGP bike that I really learned to ride. And this is how I ride.”
When asked about the removal of ride-height devices, Maverick Vinales told Motorsport, “For sure, the rear ride-height device [being removed] will help the riders who have more technique. Because it’s not the same. Right now, you just open full throttle and see the bike push and whatever. But without that, when you have a lot of wheelie, the riding style will change a lot. So, you cannot open full gas. So, it will change. For me, the level of the rider will mean more in terms of lap time.”
Multi-champion Marc Marquez echoed Vinales’ statements, telling Motorsport, “I think this is good for the riders, because in the end if you have less technical things on the bike, the rider can make more of a difference. And the value of the rider will be better, because you will look for the rider. So, this is something that I like. They follow a bit in Formula 1 like this last year, so let’s see.”
As for Aleix Espargaro, he told The Race, “I think it’s going to be better,” in relation to reducing lap times and better battles between the riders. “You have to find a compromise. It’s always the same thing, compromise. The people at home don’t really care if we’re lapping 1m31.8s or 1m33.4s. And this 1.5 seconds, the bikes will perform super good as well but the show will be much better.”
But in relation to the downsizing, Miguel Oliveira wasn’t too happy, telling The Race, “To go to 850cc, let’s say it’s not my favourite thing out of all the news. At least keep 1000cc. The fuel thing for me is also hard to understand. It’s expensive, the price per litre. Also you’d have to have some companies certifying that for all the constructors, that has some costs applied to that. And also, developing a completely new way of making an engine go, with the 850cc…I think we have such a huge base and good experience with 1000cc, I think we could limit the costs much more, applying some kind of different technology to 1000cc than going to 850cc. But I’ll be happy to ride one of them, no problem!”
So there you have it. These hellions of speed are just like us! Except, you know, way faster, cooler, and in far better shape. But we’re basically the same.