Introduction Road racing motorcycling is competed in the oldest motorsports championship in the world, established by the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) in 1949. Research and developments in engineering, mechanics, electronic systems and aerodynamics, make motorcycles faster and more competitive. The aim of this study was to examine race results of the top class of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix from 2000 to 2009. Methods Data were obtained by official results of a total of 167 races held in the FIM Road Racing World Championship from 2000 to 2009. Official documents were posted from the race direction (www.motogp.com), and recorded in a purpose-built file on Epidata Software. Year, track, race duration, mean speed winner, gap, starting and finishing riders, race conditions, air and ground temperatures and crashes were the items selected for the analysis. Both descriptive and statistical analysis were applied. Results A total of 135 races satisfied the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. The average value of the mean speeds of the winners was 156.2±7 Km/h in 2000, 162.4±8 Km/h in 2005, and 160.7 ±7 Km/h in the 2009 season, determining a positive linear regression trend line (coefficient R2=0.65). The linear regression trend line of starting riders was negative (coefficient R2=0.44). No correlations between race temperatures (air and ground), mean speed winner and crashes were found. Discussion Race results from the top class of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix from 2000 to 2009 showed that technology and developments made motorcycles faster and improved performance. Since road-race motorcycling imposes a high load on the riders, appropriate training programs for those athletes could be essential for road-race motorbike performances. Road racing motorcycling performance has a tendency to improve, although strict rules could limit the evolution of motorbikes, whereas, appropriate training for riders could represent a new frontier for performances evolution.
MotoGP trend analysis. A decade of the motorcycling world championship
Di Cagno A;
2011-01-01
Abstract
Introduction Road racing motorcycling is competed in the oldest motorsports championship in the world, established by the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) in 1949. Research and developments in engineering, mechanics, electronic systems and aerodynamics, make motorcycles faster and more competitive. The aim of this study was to examine race results of the top class of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix from 2000 to 2009. Methods Data were obtained by official results of a total of 167 races held in the FIM Road Racing World Championship from 2000 to 2009. Official documents were posted from the race direction (www.motogp.com), and recorded in a purpose-built file on Epidata Software. Year, track, race duration, mean speed winner, gap, starting and finishing riders, race conditions, air and ground temperatures and crashes were the items selected for the analysis. Both descriptive and statistical analysis were applied. Results A total of 135 races satisfied the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. The average value of the mean speeds of the winners was 156.2±7 Km/h in 2000, 162.4±8 Km/h in 2005, and 160.7 ±7 Km/h in the 2009 season, determining a positive linear regression trend line (coefficient R2=0.65). The linear regression trend line of starting riders was negative (coefficient R2=0.44). No correlations between race temperatures (air and ground), mean speed winner and crashes were found. Discussion Race results from the top class of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix from 2000 to 2009 showed that technology and developments made motorcycles faster and improved performance. Since road-race motorcycling imposes a high load on the riders, appropriate training programs for those athletes could be essential for road-race motorbike performances. Road racing motorcycling performance has a tendency to improve, although strict rules could limit the evolution of motorbikes, whereas, appropriate training for riders could represent a new frontier for performances evolution.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
