Scheduled for Friday noon of the Valencia Grand Prix, this conference of representatives of the manufacturers present in MotoGP went completely unnoticed at the time.
However, the comments made there were quite interesting and we frequently find snippets of them, here and there and distorted. So, we decided to roll up our sleeves and embark on its full transcription before, given its length, publishing it in several parts.
Were present Livio Suppo, Racing Consultant (Repsol Honda team Principal), Paolo Ciabatti (Ducati MotoGP Project Director), Lynn Jarvis (Yamaha Motor Racing Manager Director), Davide Brivio (Suzuki Team Manager), Romano Albesiano (Technical and Sporting Aprilia Racing Manager) and Pete Beirer (KTM Motorsport Director).
After one first part during which each of the six manufacturers' representatives took stock of the 2017 season (remember, before the Valencia Grand Prix took place) and a second part concerning the return of advantages for Suzuki and Zarco's 2018 motorcycle, the latter answered various questions from journalists...
Question for KTM, Suzuki and Aprilia: are you planning a satellite team for 2019?
Pete Beirer :
“At the moment, we have not made a clear decision regarding a satellite team in 2019 because it will depend on requests. I mean at the moment we are working on the performance of our bike first and then we will have to see if anyone asks us. No clear decision has therefore been taken. The plan is to have a satellite team in the future, but it also depends on requests. So the decision is not only up to us, so we wait a little longer and work on our number one project first. »
Davide Brivio :
“As far as we are concerned, and to be honest, this year has highlighted that we were missing a satellite team. Because we believe that if we had had two more drivers on track, we would have been able to collect a lot more information and that would also have been useful for development. So as a team, we would like to have another team to help us, and this is a discussion that we are having internally at the factory. I hope we can do it but it's still a little early to say. This is something we would like to do. For Suzuki, it's a bit difficult because we've never had the experience of having a satellite team and supplying bikes to another team. Or maybe in the 70s, I don’t know anymore (laughs). Even KTM has had this experience in other categories, but we haven't, so we don't know how to organize spare parts, how to follow the other team, etc. So the discussion continues, and definitely we hope that happens one day. »
Romano Albesiano : “At Aprilia we are of course open to providing a satellite team in the future. It is not a priority; Currently the priority is technical development, but if there is an opportunity to do so, there are positives and negatives for a small structure like us. Of course, you have more chance of good results with more drivers, as Davide said, but it also becomes more complicated in terms of organization and spare parts. So we'll see. Currently, our priority is technical development. »
Lin, you are currently battling with Ducati for second place in the constructors' championship. Usually you fight with Honda for first. How do you interpret this? Has Ducati progressed or has Yamaha regressed this year?
Lynn Jarvis :
“Honestly, I would say we have struggled with Ducati before, especially in 2007. The last time they won the title they of course dominated the year. And I think we really saw the return of Ducati to the top level of MotoGP. Obviously, as I said, Yamaha is no longer fighting for the top 2 at the end of the year, so on the one hand we had problems and on the other hand Ducati won six races this year. They performed very well, especially in the second half of the season. It is therefore more a progression of Ducati than a decline of Yamaha. »
