Just to make it clear, the subject of today’s diatribe is small increments of time, i.e. seconds and fractions thereof. As an aside this is not to say that second PLACINGS don’t matter because they do. The “win at all costs” brigade will tell you that the guy who finishes 2nd is the first loser but championships have been won by stringing together lots of MINOR placings without ever having stood on the top step of the podium.
A layman watching what we regard as enthralling television, qualifying for a MotoGP race, must surely wonder what the commentators and us are getting so excited about when they start talking about how such and such a rider is a TENTH of a second faster than his main rival. Surely it can’t make that much difference? And why do the riders take such huge risks in qualifying, especially, just to try and gain ONE spot on the grid? Isn’t it just an ego thing, I’m better than you even if it’s only by a tenth of a second?
Well, actually, no it’s not although that does come into it. No, the riders and the pundits understand that seconds and fractions of a second DO matter. I’m no mathematician but let me try and explain it as I understand it. Let’s say that your favourite rider qualifies one tenth of a second faster than the rider who is beside him on the grid. He has taken big risks and pushed himself and his machine as far as he dare in order to gain that position. Why? Well, not to just get pole position. He has done so to assess whether or not he and his machine are able to maintain a certain pace throughout a whole race. That is why you hear the commentators talk about “long runs”. Remember, a MotoGP race is probably going to be around 25 laps. Running a 12 or 15 lap run during practice and/or qualifying, without pitting and/or changing tyres (a critical issue) is going to give the team a pretty good handle on how well the bike is going to be holding up in those critical last 5 laps of the race when the rider is going to be needing maximum confidence in his bike, his tyres and himself.
Traditionally there is a performance “drop off” in the last third of the race so it is the purpose of the “long runs” to determine, both on the stop watch and in the rider’s mind, just how much that “drop off” is going to be. The fractions of seconds that are gained or lost during the practice and qualifying sessions not only determine grid positions AND bragging rights but also provide the rider and the team with invaluable data on race day. The team that is able to MINIMISE that “drop off” through a combination of great setup and rider bravery is going to be at the pointy end when the chequered flag falls.
But what about those ferocious battles for grid positions, how can fractions of a second matter there? Let’s say your rider is ONE TENTH of a second faster than the guy sitting next to him on the grid. All things being equal (and they’re not, but we’re being theoretical here), if both teams have done their sums right and can “promise” their riders similar performance on race day, at the end of a 25 lap race, your rider is going to be 2.5 SECONDS in front of his main rival !! That doesn’t sound like much, does it? But it is, in racing terms that is HUGE.
Here’s what I figured out from looking at some conversion charts on the net. At 250km/h a vehicle covers 69 metres per second. So, being 2.5 seconds in front at the flag means that you will be 140 METRES in front of your rival assuming both have travelled at identical speeds.
Now, that is pretty amazing but there’s more. Let’s narrow that down and say that the pole man qualifies at one HUNDREDTH of a second faster than his main rival. At the end of the 25 lap race he is still going to be 2 and a half TENTHS of a second in front, whew that IS close isn’t it? Well, no, not really. He will still be, if my calculations are correct (see caveat about my maths above) 1.4 METRES in front at the flag. Close, but still no cigar.
So, let’s move on to another related issue where seconds matter. If you qualify on the front row of the grid, you’re pretty sure to get a clear run in the early going (assuming you don’t “bomb” the start) so you can start trying to maintain that pace that you need to maintain to stay in the leading group and be there when the blue touch paper is lit 5 laps from the end. What about your mate who qualified 10th? He was only 2 tenths slower than you in qualifying but the racing is so competitive that the first 2o places are covered by just one second. Your mate is on the fourth row of the grid with 9 bikes in front of him. Want to know how much seconds matter? I don’t know what the grid spacing is in MotoGP but let’s say, for example, that it’s 10 metres. Your mate is going to be starting 30 metres behind you. To even get to where you are starting he has to cover that amount of ground and lose valuable SECONDS doing so. Add to this the fact that he will be trying to battle his way past other riders whose qualifying has been less than stellar, he is behind the 8 ball immediately. He will inevitably be slower than you in the early going because of this and because he will have to be careful not to get mixed up in someone else’s accident. Unless he can do a Marquez and pass 8 or 10 riders in the first few laps, it is going to take him FOREVER to catch you, even if he ends up lapping at almost the same speed as you are out the front. And, in doing so, even if he gets a DREAM run, he’s going to use up a lot more of his rubber than you are using while doing so.
BUT, remember he was that 2 tenths slower than you in qualifying. Even if he CATCHES you, he will probably still be unable to get into a position to pass you even if he has preserved his tyres AND gotten a dream run through the traffic. AND, even is he finds some extra pace and can lap FASTER than he did in qualifying, he’s still got that time/distance deficit that is probably going to be impossible to overcome.
Do seconds matter? Heck, yes. Do FRACTIONS of a second matter? Probably MORE.