MXGP Rider vs. Austrian Championship Rider
How big is the difference between an MXGP rider and a national championship rider?
We wanted to find out.
MXGP privateer Jan Pancar on his 450cc and one of the top Austrian MX2 Championship rider Michael Lackner on his 250cc 2-stroke rode the same track under the same conditions in Slovenia.
Both are fast. But instead of just looking at their lap times, we wanted to know: Where does an MXGP rider actually make the difference?
WHERE DOES THE TIME COME FROM?
The track was dry and hard — conditions where carrying speed becomes especially important.
When we analyzed both laps with Crossbox, the Delta Comparison revealed exactly where the differences came from.
On the straights and over the jumps, there wasn't a big difference — and in some sections, Michael was even able to gain time on Jan.
The biggest differences appeared in the corners. In some of them, Michael lost up to 0.75 seconds in a single corner.
The data shows that much of the difference comes from “roll speed” — carrying around 2 to 3 km/h more speed on every position through the corners — as well as being faster out of the corners.
Interestingly, in several corners Michael rode a rounder line, but carried less speed toward the apex. Jan, on the other hand, reached the tightest point of his line (minimum corner radius) later, while maintaining more speed on the way there. From his later apex, he was then able to accelerate harder out of the corner — potentially also benefiting from the additional power of his 450cc bike.
With Delta Comparison and the playback mode, these gains and losses are clearly visible across the entire lap.
The additional power of Jan's 450cc also gave him an advantage on corner exits.
THE RESULT
Jan Pancar · 1:45.05
Michael Lackner · 1:50.31
More than 5 seconds per lap. But the lap time only tells you how much faster Jan was.
Crossbox shows you why.
DON'T JUST MEASURE: UNDERSTAND
Compare your laps with your friends, teammates or other riders and see exactly where you gain or lose time. Corner by corner. Section by section.
