This discussion has been a hot topic among petrolheads for quite some time. A MotoGP machine can accelerate like hell and achieve an incredible top speed, but it is no match for an F1 car in terms of downforce and braking power. Let's face it, Marc Márquez's 2015 Honda RC213V cannot really compete against Daniel Ricciardo's RB 11, or can it? RedBull.com took a good look at these two incredible machines to weigh them up against one anot her.
0-100 kph is a very tricky measure to be precise with, because the sheer amount of power makes it very difficult to get good traction and therefore know how fast a machine's been. The F1 car wants to spin up and the MotoGP bike just cannot keep the front wheel on the ground. However, at this point both machines perform alike, achieving a measure of around 2.6 seconds.
0-200 kph is MotoGP territory. At around 180 kph the electronics take full control in the F1 car, while the MotoGP rider can still work on the throttle. The F1 does it in 5.2 seconds, but it's 4.8s for the motorcycle.
0-300 kph. Here the MotoGP needs 11.8 seconds, but the single-seater just 10.6s. Beyond that speed the car needs long straights to go faster while the bike can still push very hard.
MotoGP's most dominant machines MotoGP: Age is just a number MotoGP's most 'out-there' liveries MotoGP's best rivalries: Rubbin' is racing! Top speedDani Pedrosa (Honda) got the best qualifying time for the 2014 GP de Catalunya (1.40.985). His top speed at the end of the main straight was 341.8 kph, although Yonny Hernández's Ducati went even faster (344.7 kph). Andrea Iannone (Ducati) holds the record across all tracks, the Italian achieved 349.6 kph at Mugello.
This year at the Circuit de Catalunya Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP) clocked a time of 1.24.681 (with enough fuel to do two laps). A huge difference of 16 seconds! Even so the top speed was slower (325 kph).
The circuit record, held by Kimi Raikkonen since 2008, is much faster (1.21.670). Why? An F1 car has mind blowing corner speed for two reasons: more rubber on the ground and aerodynamics which increase downforce with more speed.
A MotoGP bike has two main problems. The motorcycle is quite small but it is no match for a F1 car with extremely sophisticated aerodynamics.
The car can achieve much better traction due to bigger tyres and better aerodynamics. The single-seater can really fly in mid and high speed turns. A clear case is the turn after the main straight at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo (Valencia). The single-seater slows down from 312 to 240 kph, while at the same spot a MotoGP goes from 327 to 115 kph!
In some bends the driver just needs to ease off the throttle a little, while the MotoGP rider must brake really hard.
An F1 car has no rival in this respect and is able to generate forces approaching 5g. Without wings, flaps and so on, the MotoGP motorcycle cannot compete in cornering speed. The single-seater is more stable thanks to a lower centre of gravity and better traction while a MotoGP rear wheel is up in the air during hard braking. That means that the bike has to brake 200 metres earlier. The MotoGP rider has to use his body all the time while the driver "only" has to work the steering wheel and the pedals.
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