Youthstream plans to combat dwindling GP grids

"First of all I would like to thank all of you – without you, the organisers, it would be impossible to have a world championship,” YS CEO Giuseppe Luongo told GP organisers last week. "However, this year we had many injuries and this is something we want to reduce in the future.”

In an effort to cut rider injuries, Youthstream and the FIM have agreed that the tracks need to be ripped deeper so that the ground is softer, which will in turn become rougher and more technical. It is believed this will slow the riders down and offer more of a challenge.

YS director Nikos Gounaris added details of the strategy plan that the track crew will follow.

"Watering is also extremely important,” he explained, "and it is necessary we have the correct machinery to work in different areas of the track at the same time.”

He also outlined the hope that every track should have tunnel access from the perimeter of the circuit to the infield so that the medics and emergency services can access an accident scene or injured rider without crossing the circuit or interfering with the race.

The 2016 philosophy should delight Shaun Simpson who's a self-confessed fan of super-technical tracks.

"I would like to see more technical tracks on the schedule, something that you have to be a motocross rider to actually get round,” he said recently. "I went to a practice track in England and there was a guy on my rear wheel for 20 minutes – it was Troy Corser, a road racer.

"Because it was rock hard you could hit everything flat-out and that shows you that your skills are diminished on that sort of track. It shouldn't just be about hitting the corners, powering through and the rest of it. 

"I'd like to see more lines, bumps, dry patches, wet patches, something which really challenges you as a rider like it used to be. A challenge is what makes it enjoyable.”