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Mat Mladin needs no introduction to motorcycle racing enthusiasts: he has won the AMA Superbike championship seven times, triumphing in 82 races, with 70 pole positions to his credit and 12 victories and 12 poles in a single season.
He also won the Daytona 200 three times (2000, 2001, 2004) and made wild-card appearances in the Superbike world championship, taking pole position at Laguna Seca in 2003. He retired in August 2009.
Long-time enthusiasts will also remember him for his appearance in the 500 cc world championship, riding for Cagiva, in 1993.
Today Mat enjoys his family and those who follow him often find some very interesting reflections on MotoGP. He has the eye of a great rider, Mladin and it is incredible how he is able to analyse certain situations and problems away from the circuits.
This, for example, is his analysis on his Facebook page of Marc Marquez's debut on the Ducati in Valencia. Mat begins ironically by saying that he was surprised to see Marquez at the top of the timesheets after just a few hours on the Ducati.
“I don't think we will be hearing him at the end of next season saying he is still getting used to it. The smile on his face and his words about how much traction the bike has were telling but no surprise – underlined the Australian ace, who continued – Honda’s electronics in my opinion are far from their main problem. In my opinion the chassis package is first and foremost their problem. When Marc can get the bike loaded up it's not too bad. The lack of rear entry grip and apex grip for a rider that is so unbelievably good on the front tire would be hell and it was, just ask every other Honda rider.”
This year Alex Rins won the GP at Austin, but all the Honda riders crashed a lot or, like Nakagami, did not bother pushing hard in the races.
“That Honda quieted a couple of very good riders this year – was Mat’s observation - When you don't have confidence in a bike that you are pushing to the limit every weekend it's a nightmare. I can tell stories of many trying to ride our SBK in the USA. It was a beast if you weren't loading it up. It did nothing right until you pushed it into a window. And it was physically demanding to do so.”
This explains the many crashes of Marc and his stable mates. And the electronics, albeit important, do not explain away the problem, as Mladin analytically observes.
“Traction control doesn't give you more grip, it controls the grip you have. The motorcycle that produces more grip mechanically allows more room electronically on both entry and exit. You can have electronics coming out the wazoo but if the bike is lacking mechanical grip you are in trouble, hence why when the tires are new Marc is always in the front group, albeit with his tongue on the front guard but he is able to sniff around. The reason he can hang when the rear tire is new is the good grip the rear tire is offering on entry through initial apex and picking up the very initial throttle. In all the parts electronics are doing little. He doesn't fade mid race because he gets tired, I think he's proven that much to us over the years.”
The reality in fact is that Marquez did not fade, simply because he was no longer able to get the best out of his RC213-V.
“Back in my day, I hated nothing more than the rear tire going away because I pushed the front tire hard, it was my strong point – remembered Mat Mladin – so when the rear went away I couldn't push the front as hard and my strengths were diminished. Races are not won on the exits of corners where the electronics are controlling traction the most. Most decent motorcycle riders, even good track day guys can find the limit on the exit, but the entry and getting the bike turned at the apex is a very different story and especially over the course of a full race distance at the front of the pack.”
Any amateur rider will surely agree on the previous statement: the difficult thing is not one of opening the throttle as soon as possible on corner exit, but being fast and finding grip and balance when coming out of corners.
“So let's take a trip back to my Jack (Miller, ed.) post a while ago when I touched on this subject – continued Mladin – The two riders that back it in the most or in my way of looking at it, the guys who ask the most of the rear tire on entry to apex are Jack and Brad (Binder, ed.). This is a real problem when the rear tire loses some grip which inevitably happens. The pressure you put on the rear tire on the way into corners matters much. Is it possible that this style is detrimental to consistency especially in the longer races or as the tires go away. Jack has always been better for the first part of the race over the years. Brad on occasion manages to hang in there for longer but the consistency is not good from track to track. Dani (Pedrosa, ed.) is very smooth on entry and exit. The time lost in just getting the rear wheel back in line with the front as approaching the apex every lap is minute, but add it all up. The pitching of the bike that you have to contend with whilst trying to get the back inline when the front tire is already screaming bloody mercy is an issue. Trying to pull the bike into and around the turn when the rear tire is past its best is a nightmare on a bike that makes less mechanical grip then the next. I could extend on all of this and maybe one day I will but you get the drift.”
A few words that bring the problem into focus.
“You understand that all these guys are amazing motorcycle riders and that the differences are very small at the front of the field. The difference between winning and losing is tenths. When I try to explain to people the difference between winning and losing I point this scenario out because I know it's hard to understand. If you can improve your lap time every lap, the time it takes you to blink one time, this two tenths per lap, over thirty laps you win by six seconds. In current day MotoGP, the racing is more like Moto 3 because of the electronics, so it's even more crucial to have a consistent motorcycle than it has ever been.”
Mat Mladin is an attentive observer and he doesn't even miss Bagnaia's approach to the Grands Prix.
“Pecco’s approach to just keep putting in laps in practice on older tires, to make the bike as consistent as possible is why he is a double world champ. He is not the outright fastest rider out there but he sticks to his guns in practice, forgets the leaderboard and goes about his work and come race time he just plugs away the same as he did in practice. It's so impressive to watch.”
Hell, one might add: this guy who's talking understands dynamics of motorcycle racing! (We're just joking).
“If it hasn't become abundantly clear already, I talk about the technical side of racing with a few years experience under my belt. I don't care which rider you are touching yourself over every weekend on TV. I think Vale is awesome, I think Marc is awesome, Fabio's pearl necklace is still killing me and Pecco a deserving double world champ and I have the utmost respect for every crazy bastard and ladies who want to go fast on motorcycles, so I appreciate everyone on here giving respect to these racers whether they are your favourite or not. Safe to say 93’s off season is gonna be a happy one, I hope he stays off the motocross bike and turns up healthy for race one.”
