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Political Correctness Infiltrates Motorcycling and We Hate This

There isn't a single part of our lives where political correctness interferes and makes things better. Well, save for, maybe, a political correctness congress of some sort. Unfortunately, we see this plague infiltrating the world of motorcycling more lately, and this is a thing I personally loathe.
The trend is not new, I've seen this thing happening for years already, but what unnerves me is that I’m seeing more crap of this type more often. Of course, some might say that success in the industry/business often relies on this evasive, vague type of so-called communication and that being honest, sincere and open is impossible.

Looking closely at the matter, it's not about political correctness alone, but about saying one thing and then doing something completely different.

Well, I also believe that a wise man never tells EVERYTHING he knows, but at times, things almost look ridiculous. Frankly, when a company or guy working for a company makes an official statement only to see that the exact opposite thing happens shortly after that moment is ludicrous.

It simply erodes the trust people have in that entity's official communications in critical moments. I know that people are not necessarily trying to be mean or purposely mislead their audience or rivals, but having someone saying they won't do a certain thing only to see them doing the opposite sucks big time.

KTM vs. MotoGP vs. superbikes

I've seen this happening for years with a lot of companies. First KTM CEO Stefan Pierer says that Mattighofen is not thinking about returning to MotoGP because the costs are huge, and there is no return of investment. About one and a half year later, KTM is proudly announcing that their very own MotoGP project is a blast, that the bike is performing beyond expectations and that the entire thing is a financial success.

And this is happening without any official news on exporting the findings and developments of the MotoGP prototype into a mass-produced road-going superbike! The only machine that will benefit from the MotoGP advances will be a track-only production racer, at least this is what KTM tells the world.

Will I be surprised if, by any chance, a 200hp street-legal superbike is announced in 2018? No, because I, in fact, expect this to happen. Regardless of whatever people say, there still is money to be earned from the superbike segment, and Honda, Ducati, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, MV Agusta, BMW, and more aren't stupid. They sell superbikes for a profit. So be warned.

HJC vs. Lorenzo

The thing that made me think about how companies say "the right thing" at a certain time was the Jorge Lorenzo - HJC deal. In case you don't know what I am talking about, let me refresh your memory.

Back in late November 2015, rumors emerged in the Italian media about Korean motorcycle helmet manufacturer HJC intending to put an end to their contract with the 2015 World Champion. The rumors also mentioned that HJC was not at all okay with Lorenzo's lack of sportsmanship at the end of the MotoGP season.

HJC was quick to post a short message on Twitter, assuring everybody that everything was fine. "From HJC, we deny all rumors that HJC's contract with Jorge Lorenzo has been terminated. Jorge continues to be our number 1 Ambassador," Twitter read on November 20.

One month later, bang! Lorenzo announces his new contract with French helmet maker Shark. And now I look back at HJC's tweet and ask myself whether this is becoming the usual policy when having to deal with a less than usual situation.

Of course, politically-correct fellows will smile condescendingly at me, saying that I know nothing about how public relations work. This is most likely correct, because I don't even want to have anything to do with such a thing. I prefer to speak my mind, and be with people whose word I can deem as being worth listening.

I am sure that I am not the only one who would rather have a meaningful discussion with someone about any subject instead of trying to figure out what the other guy wanted to say, sorting out truth from lies, half-spoken truths and so on.

If HJC knew that the roof was on fire, what more did they have to lose by saying the truth? Beats me.

Honda: we've got relevant telemetry data, or do we?

Late in the championship, the Sepang incident between Marquez and Rossi set the premier class on fire. Honda said that Rossi kicked Marquez out of the race, and that their telemetry data recorded by MM93's IMU proved it.

Honda's sponsor Repsol played the same tune, but in a more aggressive note, threatening to leave the MotoGP, a series that was no longer the herald of sportsmanship and fair play.

Yamaha most likely wanted to see Honda's alleged proof, but to no avail, as HRC would not disclose it right away. Then, Honda changed their mind and said that they would love to release the data, but Dorna and the FIM prohibit such a move.

Repsol shut up and went back to the box, with no more barking about the infamous Rossi and the lousy racing series. Rossi dropped his appeal with the CAS, and things went numb.

Yet, MotoGP fans still want to know what happened. They should try to find a way to force Dorna into making both teams reveal their data. Some even fear that Honda meddled with the IMU recordings, but such allegations have to be proven, not just uttered.

If Dorna says their championship is so cool and transparent, they must DEMONSTRATE that whatever decision was made, it was founded on proofs. Toying with this only reduces the trust people have in them, and playing the "let's pretend nothing happened and be cool" card is NOT cool.

Ducati: no Stoner on the race track

The three examples above are only the most vivid ones in my mind, but they are the heralds of my dwindling trust. And this also affects how I perceive some of Ducati's statements.

Ducati has been way more sincere than most others. They preferred not to say anything instead of saying vague crap or misleading people. Still, they say that Stoner will not make wildcard appearances this year.

We know that Casey Stoner is not that eager to race, and it’s only rarely when he really FEELS like he'd get out there and try his hand against his former rivals. Maybe Claudio Domenicali was telling the truth, but frankly, I can't be sure.

I am far from being a fan of Stoner, but I do believe that if the MotoGP bike development is heading where Gigi Dall'Igna wants (which happened until now), Stoner could think about taking the bike to the track, possibly in his native Australia. It would be good for the development team, it would be cool for him, his fans would flock to see him race and fill the Phillip Island grandstands, it would also mean a strong (and honest) PR move for Ducati. So that's why I prefer not to trust Domenicali's word 100%.

All in all, we can hope that the motorcycling world will straighten up a bit; it would make things so much better, allowing us to enjoy life more, don't you think?
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