It was in the air and we told you about it last weekend and now it's official. In order to respect the philosophy of the regulation which is to limit costs in terms of research and of development, MotoGP defines, before the first Grand Prix of the season in Qatar, the engine and aerodynamic configurations. But we know that the latter did not take place and that not everyone could be in Losail on time. In order to avoid a breakdown in fairness between Japanese factories that can still work and those in Europe forced to close, it was decided by all parties in the paddock to carry out these approvals remotely from now on.
Setups engine and theaerodynamic will be fixed for the year 2020 and these approvals will be done remotely. FIM, Dorna, MSMA and IRTA have thus decided to punch out of sight these essential parts of a MotoGP. An operation that should have been done at Qatar but which had to be postponed due to restrictions due to the coronavirus epidemic. By the way, only the manufacturer Dogwas able to respect the approval commitments, with the staff on site…
From now on, all manufacturers (with the exception of KTM et Aprilia who have no limits in the development of the engine during the season) must close and provide the drawings and examples of parts of the 2020 engine as well as the first of the two aerodynamic solutions that each driver has for the season.
Development can continue for non-approved parts, which amounts to practically all of them, except the engine. Indeed, unlike the Formula 1, MotoGP has never considered a closure period in which all factories must cease all development for a certain period, at any time of the year, mainly due to the difficulty of controlling this regulation.
Official press release :
The ongoing coronavirus outbreak and subsequent delay in competition raises a number of questions for the MotoGP™ World Championship, and one of them is technical homologation. In the MotoGP™ class, the engine must have the same specification for the entire season – the only exemptions being for factories qualified for concessions – and each rider also has the limit of two aero-body versions per season per rider that he is authorized to approve.
Normally, the engine specification for the season is homologated on the Thursday of the first Grand Prix, as is the first of two overhead fairings. Due to the cancellation of the MotoGP™ class at Losail, this was not possible for all factories. However, the QNB Qatar Grand Prix remains the official start of the season and the point where homologation rules begin to be applied.
Like every year, engine specifications for 2020 (except for KTM and Aprilia machines which qualify for concessions) must remain the same throughout the season and each rider must approve the first flight.
The FIM, IRTA, MSMA and Dorna all agree that for reasons of equality and fairness, homologation must therefore be carried out remotely and digitally as soon as possible.
Under normal circumstances, factories have two options. They can either provide the organization with a list of sample engine parts, allowing engines used throughout the season to be compared to verify that no modifications have been made, or they can provide drawings digital. Normally, each factory chooses to provide either a complete engine sample or a sample for all parts that the engine contains.
This means that if a manufacturer has drivers using different specification engines, such as a driver from an independent team using an engine from a past season, they must provide each sample.
Honda is the exception, as it is the only manufacturer that has supplied all of its engine part samples to Qatar. The other factories were unable to do so this year due to extenuating circumstances, and instead sent their engine samples to the organization, which must match them to those of the machines from the first event of 2020.
Digital drawings of each driver's first bodywork must also be provided and these must also be homologated if they comply with the technical restrictions set out in the regulations.
The FIM, IRTA, MSMA and Dorna strive to emphasize simplicity, both for manufacturers and for rule enforcement. MotoGP™ has never envisaged a shutdown period where all factories must cease all development for a specified period, at any time of the year, primarily due to the difficulty of enforcing such regulations.
The development of any other part of the machine not subject to approval can therefore continue, as is the case in all seasons.
