In MotoGP, since the 2008 crisis, we have decided to drastically reduce the budgets dedicated to development. To the point of arriving at the current situation: a single electronic control unit, an engine choice which will remain fixed throughout the season and which will be limited to seven units for the campaign. A format which applies to Ducati, Honda and Yamaha, with a proven track record, while for KTM, Aprilia and Suzuki, whose glory is still to be achieved, we will have a reserve of nine machines which we can however develop. Of which act. But is this situation still adapted to the reality of the current competition? Ducati think not.
The regulation is always a source of discussion and when the three-day deadline arrives tests in Qatar at the end of which the leading official teams will have to definitively decide on an engine, the tension rises. The example of Suzuki last year shows how bad analysis can ruin all the efforts made by a factory. As a result, Ducati is offering an option that would give room for error.
An idea developed by the sports director of Borgo Panigale Paolo ciabatti who begins his remarks with this well-felt preliminary: “ we know where this regulation comes from and Ducati has no problem with it ". So much for its competitors. But we can always think of an evolution: “ we could accept at some point in the season the possibility of making a change to the engine. Currently, approving the engine that we will keep all year before the first Grand Prix in Qatar is a risk ».
Furthermore, the same Ciabatta warns about the future calendar with 20 Grands Prix: “ with such a number of events, it may be necessary to consider authorizing one more engine in the annual allocation ". It will be recalled that Ducati supplies eight motorcycles on the starting grid with three engine specifications: three official GP18s for Dovizioso, Lorenzo et Petrucci, GP17s for Miller, Baptist et Rabat, and two GP16s for Abraham et Simeon. Yamaha offers four machines, Honda six while neither Suzuki, KTM or Aprilia have satellite teams and therefore make do with their two bikes.
