Learn how to improve your lap times and performance in MotoGP with these 5 tips from world champion AndrewZh.
Image Credit: MotoGP / OverTake
Riding a motorbike is no walk in the park. But before you lose patience after crashing again, let’s learn how to improve with the world champion himself, Andrea ‘AndrewZh’ Saveri. In this guide, he teaches you valuable MotoGP tips on which tires to choose, how to brake, how he creates his racing strategies and how to rock wet tracks.
#1 – The Quintessential MotoGP Tip: Practice, Practice, Practice
If you want to get better, you will need to practice. A lot. Talent is fine, but you cannot solely rely on it. Repetition and building your muscle memory is key to becoming better in MotoGP. Professional esports drivers train multiple hours each day. And by “train” we do not mean ‘play” but instead systematically eradicating errors and bad habits. Hence this tip is first and most important.
Visit our guide on how to get started in MotoGP.
#2: The Correct Riding Technique
Aside from the straights, riding a motorbike is completely different to driving a car. Cornering, overtaking and traction zones all need a different approach. In order to get faster in MotoGP, you will have to heed these techniques and tips.
- Motorbikes do not offer a lot of aerodynamic help under braking, since the brakes are leaned on more to slow the bike down. Hence, when braking for a corner, you need to brake early, normally earlier than the dynamic racing line will show.
- Also due to the (lack of) aero, you also need to turn into the corner sooner than a car. For exiting the corner, you have to be very gentle on the throttle, as the rear wheel loves to spin out of control.
- Overtaking is difficult in MotoGP, because the inside and outside lines offer enough grip to pass riders. While this means you have got more opportunities to attack, your rival also has more of a chance to defend. Be patient and pick your moment when it arrives.
#3 – The Most Crucial MotoGP Tip: Tire Choice
No matter if it is rainy or sunny, in MotoGP, if you want to go for hot laps, you need to choose soft tires. Here are AndrewZh’s MotoGP tips regarding tires:
- Generally, for normal races you should have the same tires front and rear. However, for example in hot conditions, it is often better to change the rear tire to a harder compound. Thus it wears slower and provides grip longer.
- For a short track, AndrewZh recommends to go either with medium tires all over or medium on the front and hard on the rear.
- On the other hand, on a track like Mugello with its many corners and generally hot track surface, AndrewZh recommends hards all over.
#4: Conquer The Rain
Here, AndrewZh touches a subject that many new racers are hesitant about: riding in the wet. Before jumping into a race, go to your setup and adjust some values. Here are the world champion’s tips for conquering MotoGP in the wet:
- Soften the suspension for better grip and alter the engine brake and traction control.
- In the race you need to go easy with accelerating and braking, and not just smash them while panicking.
- Go for softer tires for more grip.
#5: Do Not Just Give Full Throttle – Have A Plan
Now that you’ve practiced on some tracks, how can you prepare for a new circuit in the best way?
- AndrewZh starts with Time Attack to compare lap times and make basic adjustments to his riding style.
- Then he prepares his racing strategy by riding 10 laps and looking at the tires and fuel status.
- The third and final step is to adjust the setup accordingly, by tailoring it to to each track.
- AndrewZh then repeats these three steps over and over to see if he improves his lap times and what adjustments he can make to go even faster.
- Last but not least, the perfect braking mechanics are crucial for improvement. As there are front and rear brakes, you need to know exactly how hard to brake in each section.
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