MotoGP

MotoGP riders back ‘fantastic’ corner change after Barcelona test

by Matt Beer
2 min read

The reprofiled Turn 10 at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya has earned rave reviews from MotoGP riders after they sampled it in a road bike test on Wednesday.

Barcelona announced the plans to reshape the La Caixa left-hander in January, turning a sharp semi-hairpin corner into a sweeping turn.

This was done with the purpose of extending the run-off area at the turn “and thus increasing the safety distance”, while also “returning to the origins of the layout” – as it is closer to the traditional design MotoGP had used before joining F1 in switching to the tighter version.

The change to the corner likely eliminates one of the precious few passing opportunities at the Spanish Grand Prix venue for F1 cars, but there should be no such problem for MotoGP – and indeed after sampling the new variant the riders quoted by MotoGP.com were universally positive.

There were as many as nine confirmed MotoGP riders lapping on Wednesday in liveried road bikes, with Suzuki’s reigning champion Joan Mir and his team-mate Alex Rins joined by the likes of Honda newcomer Pol Espargaro and Yamaha’s new factory signing Fabio Quartararo.

Quartararo said the corner is not “quite different but feels good”, while LCR Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami – who rode alongside new team-mate Alex Marquez in the test – described the new profile as “really nice”.

“To have [something] similar like the old layout is fantastic there, at Turn 10,” said Ducati factory rider Jack Miller. “You can carry the speed a lot, the asphalt has a lot of grip, 10 out of 10 job for them.”

Aleix Espargaro, who prefaced his comment by noting Barcelona was “one of my favourite tracks in the world”, said: “Sincerely, I have to congratulate the circuit, because it’s a much better corner.

“The old one was horrible, super tight, and this new one reminds me of the old corner but with a better run-off area. They did a great job and I can’t wait to try with the MotoGP [bike].”

“Personally I prefer this layout, because it’s [allowing for] better corner speed and I can enjoy much better than before,” said Johann Zarco, whose new Pramac Ducati MotoGP machine will be unveiled later today.

MotoGP is scheduled to race in Barcelona on June 6 for the Catalan GP, while F1 is set to race there a month earlier, on May 9. F1 has tended to use Barcelona as its pre-season testing venue, but will hold the test in Bahrain instead this year.

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