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MCNews

MotoGP Top Speed Analysis | Comparisons

Ryan by Ryan
February 26, 2020
in MotoGP, Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing
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MotoGP Top Speeds

#QatarTest


If you have been following 2020 MotoGP pre-season testing in Malaysia, and more recently over the weekend at Losail, you would have read much discussion regarding new engines for the new season.

It’s no secret that for much of the four-stroke era Ducati have been consistently dominant in the speed traps and the clear leaders in the horsepower wars. That still rings true as the five quickest machines at Losail were all built in Bologna.

Honda gave the RC213V a major power boost last season though and got close to, and even bested the Ducati speeds at some circuits in 2019.

Yamaha’s lack of top speed has been a trend for at least most of the four-stroke era. A sweet chassis sees their riders regularly swamp competitors in the bends, before those hard won gains then being promptly undone as competitors walk away from them again on the straights. They also have to use a lot of edge grip from their tyres to lever their cornering advantage, which hurts the Yamaha in regards to tyre longevity.

Yamaha have made some strides forward to try and redress their speed deficit and their 2020 engine is more powerful. If we compare speed trap data from Qatar last week versus the same test last year, we can see that Yamaha’s hard work seems to have paid off. Both the factory Yamaha’s of Vinales and Rossi together scoring higher numbers in the speed traps. Vinales +7.6 km/h and Rossi +5.4 km/h respectively compared to 2019.

In fact, Vinales’ top speed of 346.1 km/h last week would have placed him joint third with Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso last year. 

The thing is the others have also made forward gains… As you can see from the table below, every manufacturer has made strides, which has pretty much left Yamaha in the same position as before.

The factory Ducati machines have seen a 6.8 km/h and 5.6 km/h speed increase compared to 2019. This number could perhaps have even been higher if not for the new funky aero that Ducati were testing in Qatar. The new aero package is said to produce more down-force, but that generally brings with it more drag at high speeds. Or have Ducati achieved the holy grail and scored improvements at both ends of the aero spectrum..?

Jack Miller’s Pramac Ducati didn’t run the new aero package and it was the Australian that topped the speed charts at 355.2 km/h, 8 clicks quicker than he achieved at the same test last year.  Pramac team-mate Francesco Bagnaia was placed third this year at 351.7 km/h, an amazing 12 km/h up on the 2019 test.

There is another interesting angle to the Ducati top speed angle this year with the adoption of a system whereby the rider can lower the bike on the straights, improving traction and perhaps even aerodynamics. How much has this new development contributed to Miller’s top speed advantage at Losail…?

Pretty much every team has seen an increase in top speed with the exception of Marc Marquez and his factory Repsol Honda. The champ some 2.2 km/h down on his 2019 speed.

Of course, there are many other variables and factors at play, so direct comparisons with 2019 testing top speeds can only tell us so much. What the 2020 test does show is that the factory Yamaha’s are a little higher up in the charts relative to their competitors compared to last year. So at the very least it appears to be a step in the right direction for the factory Yamaha’s, whether that will be enough, we’ll have to wait and see.

The Petronas Yamaha machines were not quite as fast as the Factory Yamaha’s but did see a slight speed increase from 2019.

All other things equal, from what we have heard about new engines, and from the data, it suggests that MotoGP bikes are the fastest they have ever been. It will be very interesting when we arrive at Mugello later on in the year, as if the stars align, we can expect to see the 356.7 km/h top speed record achieved by Andrea Dovizioso tumble. Perhaps the magic 360 km/h barrier will be eclipsed. If that happens, how long will it be before officials take yet more measures to slow the bikes down…?


2020/2019 Qatar Test Top Speed Comparison

  • 20 Test Top Speed
  • 19 Test Top Speed
  • Diff
  • 19 All Session Top Speed

20 Test Top Speed

Qatar Test 2020 Top Speeds

PosRiderBikeSpeed-km/h
1Jack MILLERDUCATI355.2
2Danilo PETRUCCIDUCATI352.9
3Francesco BAGNAIADUCATI351.7
4Johann ZARCODUCATI350.6
5Andrea DOVIZIOSODUCATI349.5
6Aleix ESPARGAROAPRILIA349.5
7Tito RABATDUCATI348.3
8Cal CRUTCHLOWHONDA348.3
9Maverick VIÑALESYAMAHA346.1
10Alex RINSSUZUKI346.1
11Marc MARQUEZHONDA346.1
12Pol ESPARGAROKTM346.1
13Alex MARQUEZHONDA345.0
14Bradley SMITHAPRILIA345.0
15Valentino ROSSIYAMAHA343.9
16Brad BINDERKTM342.8
17Miguel OLIVEIRAKTM342.8
18Joan MIRSUZUKI341.7
19Iker LECUONAKTM341.7
20Takaaki NAKAGAMIHONDA340.6
21Franco MORBIDELLIYAMAHA339.6
22Fabio QUARTARAROYAMAHA339.6

19 Test Top Speed

Qatar Test 2019 Top Speeds

PosRiderMotorcycleSpeed km/h
1Marc MARQUEZHONDA348.3
2Jack MILLERDUCATI347.2
3Danilo PETRUCCIDUCATI346.1
4Cal CRUTCHLOWHONDA346.1
5Andrea DOVIZIOSODUCATI343.9
6Tito RABATDUCATI343.9
7Joan MIRSUZUKI343.9
8Aleix ESPARGAROAPRILIA342.8
9Alex RINSSUZUKI342.8
10Pol ESPARGAROKTM341.7
11Bradley SMITHAPRILIA341.7
12Francesco BAGNAIADUCATI339.6
13Takaaki NAKAGAMIHONDA339.6
14Franco MORBIDELLIYAMAHA339.6
15Maverick VIÑALESYAMAHA338.5
16Valentino ROSSIYAMAHA338.5
17Fabio QUARTARAROYAMAHA337.5
18Johann ZARCOKTM336.4
19Miguel OLIVEIRAKTM336.4

Diff

Top Speeds Difference 20 Vs 19 Test

PosRiderMotorcycleVs 2019
1Jack MILLERDUCATI+8 km/h
2Danilo PETRUCCIDUCATI+6.8 km/h
3Francesco BAGNAIADUCATI+12.1 km/h
4Johann ZARCODUCATI/
5Andrea DOVIZIOSODUCATI+5.6 km/h
6Aleix ESPARGAROAPRILIA+6.7 km/h
7Tito RABATDUCATI4.4 km/h
8Cal CRUTCHLOWHONDA+2.2 km/h
9Maverick VIÑALESYAMAHA+7.6 km/h
10Alex RINSSUZUKI+3.3 km/h
11Marc MARQUEZHONDA-2.2 km/h
12Pol ESPARGAROKTM+4.4 km/h
13Alex MARQUEZHONDA/
14Bradley SMITHAPRILIA+3.3 km/h
15Valentino ROSSIYAMAHA+5.4 km/h
16Brad BINDERKTM/
17Miguel OLIVEIRAKTM+6.4 km/h
18Joan MIRSUZUKI-2.2
19Iker LECUONAKTM/
20Takaaki NAKAGAMIHONDA+1 km/h
21Franco MORBIDELLIYAMAHA0 km/h
22Fabio QUARTARAROYAMAHA+2.1 km/h

19 All Session Top Speed

2019 Qatar All Race Weekend/Session Top Speeds

PosRiderBikeSpeed
1Jack MILLERDUCATI351.6
2Cal CRUTCHLOWHONDA350.7
3Joan MIRSUZUKI349.2
4Andrea DOVIZIOSODUCATI349.1
7Takaaki NAKAGAMIHONDA347.3
8Alex RINSSUZUKI347.2
9Tito RABATDUCATI347.2
10Danilo PETRUCCIDUCATI347.2
11Valentino ROSSIYAMAHA347.0
12Aleix ESPARGAROAPRILIA346.9
13Bradley SMITHAPRILIA345.6
14Francesco BAGNAIADUCATI345.4
15Pol ESPARGAROKTM345.1
16Miguel OLIVEIRAKTM345.0
17Andrea IANNONEAPRILIA343.4
18Franco MORBIDELLIYAMAHA343.1
19Fabio QUARTARAROYAMAHA341.7
20Johann ZARCOKTM341.4
21Maverick VIÑALESYAMAHA341.1

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Tags: MotoGP AccelerationMotoGP Top Speed
Ryan

Ryan

The MCNews web guy and geek. Keeps the website ticking over. Originally from London, UK. Loves watching racing and riding his TL1000S or R1. Drinks too much coffee, is dying for a smoke, actually is the local crazy cat lady, is a bit dyslexic, and liable to throwing hissy-fits.

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