Two-time MotoGP champion Casey Stoner has voiced his disapproval of MotoGP’s new stability control system.
Ahead of last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, MotoGP announced a new safety feature aimed at preventing highsides and other dangerous crashes.
The introduction of this safety aid comes in addition to the existing traction control system, adding yet more electronics to the bike.
Stoner, a rider who has consistently expressed his disdain for electronics since retiring in 2012, didn’t mince words when asked about the latest additions.
“Speaking to the riders, you can literally go and twist the throttle. You’ve got nearly 300bhp and you can twist the throttle, nothing happens,” Stoner said in Austria. (Via Autosport)
“You’ve got the best riders in the world riding the easiest bikes to ride in the world. And I don’t see this as being anything that I’m interested in.
“It was something that I was fighting already back in 2012, that I really just did not enjoy riding the bikes and the amount of control that they took away from me.
“And yet we’ve got to this point now where they’re just this weekend putting a heap more on.”
The 2007 and 2011 champion even admitted he’d rather face the consequences of a crash than rely on electronics, believing they could ultimately lead to severe injuries.
“”Why? Where’s the reason in that? Certainly not safety, because I haven’t seen this championship get safer in these last years.
“I think last year or the year before, half the grid was out with injury. That’s not safer.
“I think it’s safer if you highside a bike and have a bit of an injury or a bit of a scare, that is going to keep you a little bit more safe, a bit more tame.
“But when you’ve got nothing to be scared of and you just trust it, that’s when things are bad.
“The only area they can really make a big difference is under brakes, which then they start to having to push all limits.”
Stoner wasn’t the only critic, as championship leader Marc Márquez also opposed the move, even saying, “I don’t like it.”
READ MORE – MotoGP riders divided over ‘easy’ stability control update ahead of Austrian GP
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