1701 RF final

PADDOCK NEWS
Brought
to you by
MOTOGP REQUIRES AT LEAST TWO TEAMS
PER MANUFACTURER FROM 2018
The winds of change have not died down in MotoGP and it looks like the future will bring a new grid
structure. The latest paddock whispers say that starting from 2018, each manufacturer will be required to field
at least two teams.
While we are waiting for more official
info on this matter, let’s take our time
to analyse the implications of such a
measure. For starters, if Kawasaki, BMW
or MV Agusta stay out of MotoGP, we’ll be
looking at no less than six manufacturers
in the championship. They are Yamaha,
Honda, Ducati, Suzuki, Aprilia, and KTM,
each house with two factory machines on
the grid, accounting for 12 riders, already.
Now, some of these are backing satellite
teams since quite some time ago. Yamaha
has Herve Poncharal’s Tech 3, Ducati
has Octo Pramac, while Honda powers
Marc VDS and LCR. Aprilia, KTM, and
Suzuki are fairly new to the championship,
despite having raced back in the day, but
they will have to put two more bikes on
the grid, as well.
Of all manufacturers, Ducati has the most
numerous fleet in MotoGP, with no less
than eight machines: two factory, two
satellite, two at Aspar and two at Avintia.
This will have to change, naturally, and it
is hard to believe that Octo Pramac will be
ditched. A far easier to believe eventuality
is that of Aspar and Avintia going for
Suzuki, Aprilia, or KTM.
Likewise, given the good relationship
between Herve Poncharal and Yamaha,
we can almost bet that Tech 3 will remain
Iwata’s satellite. On the other hand, with
Jack Miller racking up his maiden MotoGP
victory and the efforts of Marc van der
Straten reaching fruition, he might be
willing to step up and get two satellite
Honda machines.
This might leave Lucio Cecchinello’s LCR
on the outside, yet with the ability to
choose to get hardware from the other
manufacturers. As Aprilia is already working
with the former Honda satellite Gresini, it
would not surprise us to see LCR choosing
to become Aprilia’s satellite outfit.
Rumours indicate that Avintia could get
Suzuki bikes whereas Aspar might go
for KTM. Even bolder rumours see even
Valentino Rossi thinking about taking the
step to MotoGP with at least one VR46
rider, possibly with KTM, with whom he’s
already working in Moto3.
Satellite teams will receive €2.8 mil per
season from Dorna and the bike rental
prices would be capped at €2.2 mil per
season per driver. It is yet uncertain how
these measures will be received, or if
Dorna envisages more than 24 riders on
the grid.
In case these proposals are passed and
the interest in MotoGP will be on the rise,
we might indeed see even more riders
in the premier class. And judging by the
increasing degree of unpredictability of
the races, this might make MotoGP more
interesting, which is, per se, awesome.
18 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE JANUARY 2017