Photo: Facebook capture
For some reason, bikers and drivers have been disputing their road supremacy since the dawn of the two-wheeled era. While the motorbikes are the usual winner in the vast majority of such showdowns, things seem to change a bit when supped-up and race cars show up.
When it comes to a regular, street-legal, 200-ish hp superbikes, cars usually have to push well north of 1,000 hp for a fair match. However, there are some race cars that don't need that much power to give bikes a run for their money.
When talking about F1 machines, or in this case, Indy race cars, things are way different from what's happening on the street. These speed demons come with significantly better power-to-weight ratio than street cars, way better aerodynamics and more downforce to help traction. And adding a dramatically larger contact patch from the four wide tires makes everything even worse for motorcycles when it comes to racing such a beast.
The whole thing was staged, of course, as none of the two athletes struggled really hard to claim a win. If anything, we can see how the two carefully avoid each other each time they get close, while the sound of their engines lets us know that none is pushing the limits.
Even though a MotoGP bike has tremendous acceleration and revs up very fast, a real race car is not a joke, either. In fact, when comparing a MotoGP machine with an Indy or F1 car, the odds will favor the four-wheelers, and the longer the race, the more such a car would get in front.
In the end, it's not a matter of who's winning and who's losing, but a matter of having fast-paced fun on the track. And while top-drawer prototypes cost a fortune and aren't up for grabs anyway, in the street-legal territory riders still have the upper hand.
That is because a 200 hp superbike can be had for around $20,000 (€), whereas a high-end tuned exotic car will need around ten times as much money. And this only to stand a chance against the bike...
When talking about F1 machines, or in this case, Indy race cars, things are way different from what's happening on the street. These speed demons come with significantly better power-to-weight ratio than street cars, way better aerodynamics and more downforce to help traction. And adding a dramatically larger contact patch from the four wide tires makes everything even worse for motorcycles when it comes to racing such a beast.
This race is staged, but nevertheless a very cool event
As this weekend MotoGP action reached US soil at Indianapolis, having an Indy car getting it down with a MotoGP bike seemed like a natural choice for entertaining the world audience. The bike of choice was a Repsol Honda, namely Dani Pedrosa's.The whole thing was staged, of course, as none of the two athletes struggled really hard to claim a win. If anything, we can see how the two carefully avoid each other each time they get close, while the sound of their engines lets us know that none is pushing the limits.
Even though a MotoGP bike has tremendous acceleration and revs up very fast, a real race car is not a joke, either. In fact, when comparing a MotoGP machine with an Indy or F1 car, the odds will favor the four-wheelers, and the longer the race, the more such a car would get in front.
In the end, it's not a matter of who's winning and who's losing, but a matter of having fast-paced fun on the track. And while top-drawer prototypes cost a fortune and aren't up for grabs anyway, in the street-legal territory riders still have the upper hand.
That is because a 200 hp superbike can be had for around $20,000 (€), whereas a high-end tuned exotic car will need around ten times as much money. And this only to stand a chance against the bike...
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