Former world champion Jorge Lorenzo has urged MotoGP organisers to cut the top speed of the sport's new 1,000cc bikes to improve safety, just months after the tragic death of a young rider.
Lorenzo was speaking after three days of testing brought a generally warm reception for the bigger, faster new machines at Malaysia's Sepang circuit, where Italy's Marco Simoncelli died in October.
World champion Casey Stoner demolished Valentino Rossi's 2009 track record, set on an 800cc bike, by nearly a second Thursday, although his time of 1min 59.607sec will not stand as a new mark because it was set out of competition.
"We are at the dawn of the 1,000cc (era)," Mike Webb, race director with motorcycle racing's governing body FIM, told AFP.
"The riders enjoy the bike. The spectators will surely enjoy the race a lot more and they will be safer and easier to ride."
But Spain's Lorenzo, the 2010 world champion with Yamaha, admitted he was uncomfortable riding the bikes at top speed, which can hit 320 kilometres per hour (198 miles per hour) along straights.
"I am not happy on the top speed. We need to reduce the top speed if we want to make it a safe category," Lorenzo said.
Meanwhile his fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, who races for Honda, complained about some issues with chatter -- vibrations caused by hard braking.
"You go into the corner and the bike is chattering. Chatter is something very difficult to fix. Surely they (Honda) are on it," Pedrosa told reporters.
But they and other riders were confident teams would master the machines in time for the season's April start in Qatar, and admitted some excitement about the new era.
"We want to recapture the very good racing we had during the 990cc era. It will reignite MotoGP popularity," Webb said, adding that the heavier bikes will allow riders to "slide" -- tilt around turns -- with more power.
"This is also good to watch," he said.
Seven-time world champion Rossi also played down any safety concerns.
"We can slide and the bike becomes more fun," he said.
"I like the 1,000cc. This type of engine has better torque and better driveability. For me... the speed will be impressive and I don't think it will be more dangerous."
Webb added that the faster bikes will make races "much more entertaining" and attract more fans.
"The bikes will have enough speed to accelerate out of turns. So there should be more chances for overtaking," he said.
He said the shift has boosted participation in the sport to a four-year high in 2012 of 22 riders because it is cheaper for private teams to source 1,000cc engines in the market and build their own chassis.
Last year, 17 riders vied for the MotoGP title. Manufacturers do not produce 800cc engines, meaning teams had to build their own bikes from scratch.
Webb said transmissions were also smoother on the larger engines, making it easier shift up or down and thus leading to "less accidents".
He warned: "There is no such thing as 100 percent safety.
"But we are very happy with the level of safety and the chances of something going wrong is very, very low now."
Beginning in 2002, racing was done on 990cc engines, until the 800cc bikes were introduced for the 2007 season.
In October, 24-year-old Simoncelli died after coming off his Honda in a crash involving Colin Edwards and Rossi just minutes after the start of the Sepang race.
Source: http://www.zimbio.com/MotoGP/articles/-SYevG0s07V/Ex+motorcycling+champ+Lorenzo+urges+safety
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