Brake protectors made compulsory in all categories in 2012 MotoGP World Championship – MotoGP news
MotoGP has made mandatory the use of brake protectors in 2012 MotoGP World Championship.
The decision was taken during the Grand Prix Commission held at meeting at Valencia.
The regulations were amended due to the pile up crash sequence in 2006 Catalunya event. During the sixth event of the season, a crash took out about six riders from which few restarted the race.
Several riders including Loris Capirossi, Dani Pedrosa, Marco Melandri and Randy de Puniet were victimised by the high-speed crash at Catalunya.
The crash was triggered by Sete Gibernau (Ducati Marlboro Team), when he got in contact with his teammate Capirossi and jammed his front brake lever. After getting in contact, he was catapulted into air, taking down fellow riders.
International Federation of Motorcycle announced the new rule as, “Motorcycles must be equipped with brake lever protection, intended to protect the handlebar brake lever(s) from being accidentally activated in case of collision with another machine. Acceptable
protection includes the fairing extending sufficiently to cover the brake lever, as viewed from the front.”
Another incident was seen during the 2008 250cc race at Mugello, Italy. The Spanish rider Hector Barbera and late Marco Simoncelli were caught in a high-speed accident.
Barbera jammed his front brake lever on Simoncelli’s bike and the crash was triggered while running on the front stretch.
The FIM further stated, “Such devices must be strong enough to function effectively and designed so that there is no risk for the rider to be injured or trapped by it, and it must not be considered a dangerous fitting (at the sole discretion of the Technical
Director).”
The brake protectors have been used by some riders in the past. Briton Scott and 2010 Moto2 Champion Toni Elias have also been using the protectors.
In the FIM statement, it was also stated that following the use of brake protectors must ensure a proper braking function of the machine. It would not hamper the braking performance, and declare it in a writing note to the Technical Director.
During the GP Commission meeting ahead of season finale event, few changes were made in the testing rules. The teams were allowed to complete their test session with any rider at all during the season.
Tags: