The MotoGP World Championship will close its doors to riders under the age of 18 from 2023. That is the star rule of the new regulations that will be implemented, starting next year, by the highest echelons of the sport, led by the International Motorcycling Federation ( FIM ) and Dorna, the promoter of the MotoGP and Superbike world championships.
In addition, the number of drivers competing in the training cups will be reduced, minimum ages will be established and the use of the latest technology in protective equipment will be required.
A battery of measures that, although for many sports actors are correct, for others they do not address the root of the real problem: an excessive increase in the aggressiveness of young drivers, subjected to the pressure of results.
There are many parents of precocious runners who invest large sums of money, some even go so far as to ask for loans or mortgage their houses, so that their children can have the best material in leading teams in smaller championships. And many of the teams that, given the lack of results or being tempted by the arrival of another family with more possibilities, put pressure on the rider or threaten to get him off the bike if he does not increase his performance.
We are talking about athletes between 12 and 15 years old, who must endure enormous stress behind their backs, to whom it is repeated that it only serves them to win if they want to continue on their way to ‘El Dorado’, which is how they identify the MotoGP category. .
‘Competition anxiety’
Pep Font , performance psychologist at CAR de Sant Cugat, defines it as “competition anxiety”. It is the one that can occur in pilots of any age, category and level, but in the youngest it creates “a feeling of ‘threat’ that can end up interfering with their actions.
“Athletes who compete in disciplines that carry risk or danger, have it internalized in such a way that they are not aware of it. If they were, they would no longer be pilots. They have much greater fear of not competing at their level or not being able to achieve what they set out to do”, explains Font, in a reasoning that is as logical as it is brutal.
In the opinion of those involved, the pressure suffered by a young pilot for having to achieve results that allow the family investment to be amortized can directly contribute to the increase in the levels of aggressiveness that has been seen in recent times in the smaller classes.
“I think it has an obvious direct relationship,” admits Font, the psychologist who is working with Raúl Fernández this season and who in the past did so with Jorge Lorenzo, Carlos Checa and many other athletes.
“There is an irrefutable reality: if a father is paying 140,000 euros for his son to run the FIM-CEV, of Moto3, if the child does well, maybe the following year he will only pay 50,000. If he does not do well, he will not only have to pay the same, but, in addition, he will surely do it to run with a less competitive team. The objective is to go from paying an outrage to ending up getting paid to run. In each race we are playing for staying on the road. And that is what the pilot sees as a ‘threat’. And the message from parents and teams to these kids is clear: you have to win no matter what,” Font denounces.
Pay or not pay for running
“If I have a son in the future, I wouldn’t even mortgage my house so he could race on a motorcycle. I’ll buy him a Parcheesi and let him start throwing dice,” Iker Lecuona replies to Motorsport.com . The Spaniard is one of those talents that It wasn’t easy for him to get to the World Championship; he went up to MotoGP at the age of 18 and has now lost his place because KTM wants to give it to another even younger rider, Raúl Fernández.
“I think that many parents get out of hand and don’t know where the limit is. They think they have a Valentino Rossi or a Marc Márquez at home, and that’s not the case. Everyone has their chances and the one who can comes. Obviously you need money, but not to the level of risking so much”, adds the still Tech3 pilot. before clinching: “Increasing the minimum age of the pilots is a way of warning parents to calm down, and the teams not to use the pilots,” warns Lecuona.
A driver who knows well the economic sacrifices that families must make is Jorge Martín, who went through the Red Bull Rookies (he was champion in 2014) before reaching the World Cup, in which he has spent seven seasons. From 2015 to 2021 he has been Moto3 champion (2018), has won races in Moto2 and also in MotoGP, where he promoted this course with Pramac. On his way to his current privileged position, on several occasions he has highlighted the vertigo he felt at being forced to win in order to continue competing. Based on his experience, Martín detects the problem that children arriving later can generate for families.
“The main problem if they raise the age is that families who are spending money for their children to reach the World Championship will have to continue spending another year or two,” the Ducati rider told Motorsport.com.
“I don’t think the problem comes from age. People like Márquez or Pol Espargaró arrived at the age of 15 and the crazy things we see now did not happen. Perhaps other solutions should be considered, such as a level filter or having achieved certain results to gain access. In other words, show that you are prepared ”, proposes the Madrid native, who in 2018, when he was proclaimed Moto3 champion, already warned of the pressure he had to suffer to get there.
“There were a couple of moments in my career that either I did well, or I went home. When I had to enter the Rookies Cup, either I finished first or I didn’t enter, and once I entered, I either won or I stopped running. All this taught me to work under pressure”, he explained then.
Something similar to what Jorge Lorenzo , three-time MotoGP champion, explained when he was at the top of his career and they asked him about the pressure. “I don’t feel pressured to win a World Championship, pressure was when I started in 125cc and I knew that either I did well, or I went home”.
Changes in the figure of the ‘stewards’
Jorge Viegas , president of the FIM, considers that the announcement of the new measures that will be implemented from next year is the best news that could be given. “We have been working on security improvements for a long time, it is not that we have decided now in the heat of the tragedy of the latest fatalities,” he points out.
“You have to work from the base, with the drivers, but also with the teams and the parents. Many invest too much money, even mortgage their houses for their children to run. That is why we will also participate, together with Dorna, in the FIM CEV, the Rookies Cup and the Talents, as well as in the World Cup”, says the Portuguese.
“Pilots must understand that you cannot win at all costs and endanger the lives of others. The ‘stewards’ are going to have an important role there, they are going to be referees who impose sanctions. We are going to prepare them so that they have the same criteria and apply the same sanctions for the same sins. And be firm. We will make many changes to make sure that the people who judge are the best, “he reveals.
At a time when KTM has become the manufacturer that best dominates the market for young talent, starting with the Rookies Cup, its sporting director, Pit Beirer , agrees to introduce modifications to improve safety.
“It’s the right step,” he said before assessing that until 2023, the year in which the package of countermeasures comes into force, there will be some cases of minor drivers who, by winning promotion cups, can arrive earlier. “We cannot advocate for a minimum age of 18 and then look for loopholes in the regulation to sneak in 16-year-olds,” he warned in Speedweek .
Beirer agrees that the financial stress young drivers are under is at the root of the problem.
““Parents of talents are sometimes asked for considerable sums if they want to take their children to a team. They must pay 300,000 for the child to compete with a Grand Prix motorcycle,” he says in reference to the FIM-CEV, of Moto3.
“That creates a lot of pressure on the drivers, as their families may not have as many means and they could be ruined if the season is not good,” argues the German.
“Pilots shouldn’t have the pressure to buy a place to go to the World Championship at 14 or 15 years old, before they would have to receive a solid basic education, without the need to invest large amounts,” says the executive of the Mattighofen brand, as solution to the problem of the aggressiveness of young drivers, pushed by economic pressure to win ‘whatever it takes’.
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