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Many on the MotoGP grid have complained about the state of the Brno track after only one day of action at the Czech Grand Prix.
Several riders are adamant that a full resurfacing is necessary for the circuit to remain safe enough for grand prix racing, and there could be repercussions for the race’s place on the future MotoGP calendar should they continue to demand action.
A permanent fixture on the MotoGP calendar since the purpose-built circuit was constructed in 1987 and a regular round for Grand Prix racing for most of its 71 years, Brno is perhaps the only venue to have been handed a lifeline by the coronavirus pandemic.
The organisers struggled to raise the €4 million hosting fee for MotoGP as local government withdrew much of its backing, but the deal that secured its spot as the second track on the 2020 calendar also extended its contract to 2021.
But, with 12 years now having passed since the 5.4km track was last fully resurfaced, conditions have deteriorated to the point where many of the grid believe it’s no longer safe for MotoGP machines.
“The track conditions are a disaster,” opined Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro after the opening day of action. “It’s one of the worst tracks I’ve ever rode on. Not just in terms of the grip, which is very poor, but also the bumps.
“We had many crashes today, and I won’t say that I was riding like it was raining but in two or three places it was closer to a wet feeling than the dry. You can’t stress the front or push it, because if you do you crash.
“Corner 10 and corner 13 are very bad – in T13 I’m braking in the middle of the straight and carrying 10º less lean through it! All around the track is bad, not at the level of a MotoGP circuit. The laptimes are super slow, and for a Friday there are too many crashes. It is unacceptable for us to race here – it is a disaster.”
The news is particularly bad for Espargaro after a difficult opening two weekends for the Aprilia rider at Jerez. The Spaniard crashed out of both races there as he pushed the front tyre to maximise the strengths of the RS-GP, and a similar approach at Brno could spell further trouble.
However, whether or not the riders’ complaints will carry any weight remains to be seen, with elder statesman Valentino Rossi well-aware that the financial reality of the circuit could well trump any safety concerns from the riders.
“In the last few years the grip level has always been low and there have always been a lot of bumps. The track is beautiful and the layout is fantastic, but the surface is not so good,” Rossi said.
“We’ll speak together with the other riders, because the situation in the past years at Brno has been difficult. But you understand that to resurface everything you need a lot of money – we’re talking about millions of Euros and it’s not easy in this situation.
“There are no fans at the race, the circuit isn’t being used a lot, and I don’t know if they’ll resurface. We’ll try to push them but the decision will be between Dorna and the circuit. They listen to us but you know better than me that the balance of the money is always the most important thing.”
More imminently, the lack of grip could also backfire on Rossi come Sunday’s race. Still plagued with rear tyre life issues, he knows that it won’t be easy to get the M1 working properly.
“The grip level is low so it’s hard on the rear tyre. It slides a lot and this causes a big degradation. I think that it’ll be difficult to race with the soft rear. It’s open between the medium and the hard as they’re very similar but I don’t understand which one we’ll use yet.”
That comes despite persistent rumours of a minor coup within the Yamaha garage, with Rossi believed to have put his foot down on bike set-up and overruled his Japanese engineers after last week’s Jerez podium.
Steering set-up away from what is working for the rest of the Yamaha riders and reverting to something more familiar seems to have worked for the nine-time world champion despite initial resistance, and looks to be the direction he’s continuing to diverge in.
