[kropotkin thinks...] - Team Boss Aki Ajo - How Moto3 Became A War, And Why That Means...

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All sports evolve over time, and motorcycle racing is no different. The nature of racing changes as rider skills evolve, as rider training evolves, and as the bikes they ride develop in new directions. Sometimes those changes help riders better prepare for the next level of racing, but sometimes, those changes can be counterproductive.

At Mugello, I spoke to one of the most successful team managers of recent years, Aki Ajo, about how the Moto3 class is developing and changing, and how the current direction of Moto3 is affecting the development of young riders. He had some fascinating and surprising insights into how the class has changed in recent years, and what effect those changes will have when riders move up from Moto3 to Moto2 and MotoGP.

As Moto3 bikes have improved, they have allowed a more aggressive riding style, Ajo told me. And that, he believes, spells trouble in years ahead. As far as Aki Ajo is concerned, picking the right Moto3 rider to step up to Moto2 has become a lot more difficult.

Raw aggression

Part of the problem is that winning a Moto3 race requires less preparation and more naked aggression, Ajo told me. "OK, maybe I am not the right guy to talk about this, because we haven't won a dry Moto3 race in nearly three years – our concept also changed, so we only have junior riders, and we won last year in the wet – but if we are talking about a normal dry race, I think it really changed. It's like a war now," the Finnish veteran said.