Every single rider has had to deal with something similar at some point. You pull up to a red stop sign. When you are minding your own business, a man in a souped-up Ford Mustang starts revving his engine in your area.
You pay no attention to him at all, despite the fact that he is quite annoying in his demands for it. Of course, this will simply make him more agitated. He is practically pleading with you to look the other way before he takes off the brake, which causes the automobile to lunge into the crossing.
You maintain your composure throughout, looking straight ahead. On the other hand, as soon as the light turns green, you let go of the clutch, pin the throttle, and speed away from that pricey and overweight mid-life crisis on four wheels.
Carwow’s Mat Watson has made a career out of experiencing this particular sting of humility, whilst the majority of macho motorists are already familiar with it.
Watson put a Porsche 918 Spyder up against a KTM RC16 MotoGP prototype in a race that took place in July of 2022. As was to be expected, MotoGP legend Dani Pedrosa cruised to victory atop the V4-powered monster with relative ease.
However, not everyone is able to learn their lesson the first time it is presented to them, as Watson demonstrated by the fact that he came back not quite a month later driving a Lamborghini Huracan.
This particular Lambo isn’t just any old model, however. In addition to having a V-10 engine with 5.2 liters of displacement, the Hulked-out Huracan also features a set of turbochargers. Watson has 1,100 horsepower available to him at all times because of that clever piece of equipment.
On the other side, Dani Pedrosa continues to ride his tried-and-true 2021 KTM RC16, which generates a maximum of 270 horsepower. If we only consider power figures, this matchup appears to be a certain conclusion; yet, when we take weight into account, things take a decidedly different turn.
The Huracan is about 10 times as heavy as the RC16, weighing in at 3,322 pounds as opposed to the RC16’s 330 pounds. Even with Dani Pedrosa’s 110-pound addition to the bike, it only weighs a total of 440 pounds when fully loaded.
Because of this excellent power-to-weight ratio, the three-time World Champion is able to easily overtake the Lamborghini all the way to the finish line. The Huracan is only able to prevail over the RC16 in situations in which Pedrosa botches the start or Watson manipulates the odds.
The crowd comes to watch the high-powered drag race, but they stick around to watch Watson and Pedrosa because of their banter and chemistry they have.
In spite of the fact that this is all done in good humor, Watson and other drivers now know what behaviors to avoid when a biker pulls up alongside them at a red light.