Teams comment on MotoGP cost reduction measures
On Friday at the Dutch GP, Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, alongside FIM President Vito Ippolito and IRTA President Hervé Poncharal, announced further cost reduction measures to be enforced across MotoGP in the seasons ahead.
Cost reduction through technical stability, price caps, higher subsidies for the teams, strict entries allocation and various other measures were announced with a view to the long-term commitment of the participating manufacturers and the viability of the MotoGP World Championship for independent teams.
Some of the team bosses in MotoGP provided these comments on the road ahead.
Romano Albesiano, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Manager: “The stability of the Championship is the main priority for Dorna. On the technical side there will be stability of the regulations, which is positive for all the manufacturers. It’s also important for the Championship to invest money in something that will last for a long time and something that is stable.”
Michael Bartholemy, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Racing Team Manager:”This is fantastic news! For a team like us, in our first year of MotoGP, this is a big chance, I’m really proud to have made it here, for sure these are difficult times for everybody and without the support of Dorna it would be difficult to go through the season. It’s a big step for everybody, for the Championship. The technical changes will only make things closer in the future; it will be a nice Championship!”
Davide Brivio, Team Suzuki ECSTAR Manager: “Ensuring the stability of the sport is always very important – when you work for a big corporation like Suzuki, being able to work for a few years with the same conditions, the same regulations makes your job easier. It’s also great for the Championship: financially, the five official teams can manage themselves, but we can’t have a Championship with five teams, so making sure to support the independent teams and ensure a field of 24 riders is very important.”
Lucio Cecchinello, CWM-LCR Honda MotoGP Team Manager: “This is some very important news for us as an independent team, we know very well it’s always getting tougher and tougher to get support from the sponsors, so this way of making the sport sustainable is very good news for us.”
Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati Corse Sporting Director & MotoGP Project Director at Ducati Motor Holding: “The stability of the technical rules will help a lot the manufacturers and also the support that Dorna will be providing to the satellites is beneficial. All in all, it’s a good package to ensure the viability and stability of the Championship.”
Lin Jarvis, Yamaha Factory Racing Managing Director: “It’s great to have many manufacturers participating, five at the moment and six when KTM joins in the future – it’s a good basis for the sport. Dorna are able to increase their support to the independent teams in particular and that’s a very positive thing, as it will allow ensuring stability for those teams, to be able to be able to put together a quality package and be able to engage with manufacturers in the mid-term and long-term.”
Livio Suppo, Repsol Honda Team principal: “It’s a very good move from the FIM and Dorna. We’re pleased to hear the rules will remain constant for a long time as it will reduce the costs and also there will be more competition between everybody. The new system to support the satellite teams is a good idea, nowadays all sports need bigger support from the organizer and I think Dorna is working in the right direction.”
Obviously these comments from a Dorna press statement tell about 5 per cent of the truth, and there will be winners and losers, but they at least trying to show a united front. 2016 is going to be interesting, control ECU, new control tyre with Michelin in 17″…. Could be a fair shake up but eventually, like always, the cream will rise to the top…
