The extremely close field that currently exists in MotoGP, and the difficulty to overtake generated by the aerodynamics of the current bikes, explain the increase in aggression at the start of the races and, with that, the higher number of accidents.
Properly interpreted, statistics are capable of reflecting the reality as if they were a mirror. This principle is also applicable to MotoGP, which has crowned four different champions from four different manufacturers in the last four years. Most of the riders, who are already prone to cliches, have been repeating for some time now that the equal playing field in the series is unprecedented.
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Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa were not labelled the 'Fantastic Four' for no reason, but as a result of the gulf that separated them from the rest of their rivals.
When double world champion Stoner decided to retire at the end of 2012, Marc Marquez appeared to replace him on that four-seat pedestal. In the three and a half years between the first race in 2013 and the seventh in 2016, Rossi, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Marquez shared the 61 victories that were at stake. That 'status quo' that Jack Miller broke at Assen, when he became the first satellite rider to win a grand prix in 10 years, contrasts sharply with the instability that has settled in the championship ever since.
That feeling is not only based on the comments from the riders, but also backed up by the numbers. If we take the 57 grands prix that have been held since the beginning of 2020, which is a little less than the three and a half years mentioned above, we get a total of 16 different winners. Particularly diverse were the 2018 and 2020 seasons, which combined up to nine winners each.
This unpredictability is the result of contemporary technical and sporting regulations, which have caused the field to close up to extremes that were unthinkable not so long ago. Whether this is good or not is absolutely subjective, so much so that in the paddock there are favourable opinions, but also unfavourable ones.
But what is unquestionable is that this 'democratisation' has a great impact on the dynamics of the races and on one of the current hot topics: the amount of accidents happening on the first laps, both on Saturdays in the sprint races, and on Sundays.
Source: Autosport