Just as in MotoGP and Moto2, Moto3 category engines are now offered to World Championship teams for rental, and no longer for sale. The three manufacturers Honda, KTM and Mahindra-Peugeot considered that selling the power units was not economically efficient for them, and that on the other hand it did not ensure the confidentiality of their technology.
MotoGP Technical Director Danny Aldridge explains the reasons for this change: “ In the last two years, what has happened is that teams have been able to buy their six engines per driver for a fixed price. And they literally kept these engines. The philosophy behind this was that teams could either use the old engines as test engines, or sell them to national championship participants.
“It worked to a certain extent, and so we had a few wild cards racing with engines that had been used by full-time teams the year before. We could tell because they still had our seals.
“Unfortunately, on the manufacturers' side, it was not profitable and they were also concerned about protecting their technology. We have now changed the situation, so that teams are returning all their engines to address these concerns.
“There is now a “Moto3 Engine Rental Package” which costs 60 euros per pilot, which is the same price as before. For this the team receives six engines, two throttle bodies and two complete gearboxes. Previously, gearboxes had to be purchased separately.
“This same price, 60 euros, might seem unfair to the teams because they will no longer have their old engines to sell or use as test engines, but Dorna and IRTA are now heavily subsidizing the cost of the engines for each team. Which means that it will not be worse for the teams financially.
“The manufacturers also help with the budget because before they had to build six new engines for each driver – because he kept them – whereas now they can recondition those engines. The allocation will always be made by drawing lots. »
Title photo © KTM
Source: crash.net
