Massimo Rivola is agitated a lot these days and he is the symbol of competition from Ducati which already lives in fear of humiliation in this 2023 MotoGP season. If this were true, we would have to hide the evidence of having worked less well and being less involved because the board of directors does not give the same priority to the interest of the race as that of Borgo Panigale . You should also not leave the impression that you are less competent. This could influence the mood of the customer who has not forgotten that motorcycling is above all a matter of passion. So, haro on Ducati! And the latest outing from the Aprilia representative shows that ridicule doesn't kill. Because to criticize Ducati for having six other machines in addition to its two officials on the starting grid, when we represent a brand mobilized in MotoGP since 2015 which has decided to have a satellite team only in 2023, it you have to have a certain nerve.
Massimo rivola recently carelessly slipped that a new ECU arrived but only for the official teams, causing a certain stir among the authorities, who were guilty, however, of not having communicated anything upstream. From, They made things clear. The same Rivola also recently left in crusade against the regulation on the subject of security, calling not only to discuss a return to motorcycles without any assistance devices, but to think about it for the coming months. Because the future regulations will only arrive in 2027. And in passing, by following this slope, it will paradoxically cost manufacturers more, because it will not be enough to remove from mothballs the opuses from well over five years ago years to get them back on track. It will be about developing a completely new motorcycle, because everyone knows, and Rivola firstly, that those which are currently in use can no longer do without their developments, because they are designed according to them.
More Massimo rivola still had some under his feet. Here he is attacking again Ducati, because it is indeed the target, regretting its eight motorcycles on the track. And here is his point of view: “ MotoGP is not supposed to be a one-make cup. Almost half of the starting places are already occupied by a single brand. We should seek a compromise ". And he sees this compromise as follows: “ I agree that a maximum number of teams per manufacturer be set ". He concludes : " I ask for controls and regulations on the number of motorcycles authorized by manufacturer ».
Fortunately for Massimo Rivola, ridicule does not kill
Rivola, in his presentation on speedweek talks about what's happening in Formula 1, which he knows well. But this is all specious. Firstly because there is this obvious fact: MotoGP is not Formula 1. Those entered in the motorcycle Grand Prix do not have at all the same industrial dimension nor identical market strategies. Rivola seems to forget that the boards of directors of automobile brands support F1 projects whereas in motorcycles, Suzuki demonstrated that a successful approach could be euthanized in one meeting. Rivola also forget that if there are 22 motorcycles on the starting grid, it is because teams like Gresini, VR46 and Pramac were able to have Ducati. It's definitely not at Yamaha ou Honda at the time and even less at Suzuki still present, no more than with its brand Aprilia ou KTM to the emerging project that they could have motorcycles in their box.
Rivola speak " a maximum number of teams per manufacturer is set ". Which doesn't mean anything. Because what does this imply? That the teams have to go and look for motorcycles that are not offered to them? Or that manufacturers must provide a maximum of four motorcycles when they are entered? Which is better, less to dissuade them from coming or to scare them away. If this imperative had been in force, never Suzuki et Aprilia would only have arrived in MotoGP. Because Suzuki never wanted a satellite team while at Noale, which still relies on a group Piaggio who is not a local craftsman, only offers his partner in 2023. For a project that has been going on since 2015, it was about time. KTM was more involved by joining forces with Tech3 quite quickly after the launch of its RC16 program.
Without Ducati, who did not take anyone hostage or pay bribes, the MotoGP starting grid would have at best 18 riders, which is not worthy of a world championship which wants to take pride of place in motor sports alongside of Formula 1. Massimo rivola even concludes with this: “ If I was at Ducati, I would have all tests banned. Because they have so many motorcycles on the track during the races ". Exactly sir Rivola, at the house of Ducati we never ask to ban you and your counterparts. Ducati only responded to the call from the teams that you were unable to provide in RS-GP.
It is with this state of mind that certain competitors of Ducati are approaching this 2023 MotoGP season. We are already looking for excuses to present to the big bosses who, if they have two cents of common sense, will come to this conclusion: if defeat has occurred, it is because we have worked less. And in real life, when you fail a competition or an exam, you don't ruin the success of others who have worked well by asking to retake it by changing the subject.
