Because of this difficulty, MotoGP is perhaps unique in modern motor sport in that teams will often deliberately detune their engines to allow their riders a chance to control them.

In the two-stroke era, many of the 500cc machines were not making more than the 180 to 190 bhp (135 to 140 kW) although their maximum potential power output was higher. In recent times this has begun to change with the advent of traction control.