Aprilia proposes to leave Ducati without private tests for having eight motorcycles on the grid

2023-08-02 13:45:05

MotoGP returns to school starting this coming weekend on the occasion of the British Grand Prix, an appointment in which pilots and teams will resume the work they left off in the already distant Assen appointment held five weeks ago.

In Silverstone there will also be another issue that grabbed many headlines during the round in the Netherlands, and it is none other than the concessions that Dorna is preparing for Honda and Yamaha to enjoy certain advantages during the 2024 season that allow the two Japanese factories to recover all the ground lost in the last two years, especially since the arrival of COVID.

On paper, and being faithful to the championship regulations, neither Honda nor Yamaha should have access to the concessions having accumulated several podium finishes over the last two seasons. However, seeing the gap that exists today between Europe and Japan on the world championship grid, Dorna needs to react if it wants to avoid another fright like Suzuki’s, which is why negotiations with the European factories have already begun to see what type of advantages they can give the Japanese in order to recover the balance lost in the championship.

KTM has already been in favor of this measure; although its CEO, Stefan Pierer, said a few days ago that giving concessions to Honda and Yamaha would be “a humiliation” for the japanesethe Austrian factory would be willing to compromise in some areas, for example by expanding the number of private tests that Honda and Yamaha can run to speed up the development of their bikes.

For Aprilia, having to discuss now how to help the two Japanese factories with the best pedigree in MotoGP is something “strange”; Massimo Rivola, the director of Aprilia Racing, has spoken with Speedweek.com about this situation, recognizing that for him “It’s a bit strange that small factories now have to help the Japanese giantsalthough at the same time, it is a recognition of the good work we have done”.

In Noale they affirm “to be open to this type of conversation as long as the entire grid remains compact and the field is balanced”that is to say, that no factory takes more advantage than desired with the change in regulations.

Rivola insists that “If they ask me to help a manufacturer who is having problems, I am open to negotiating, because it could happen that one day Aprilia would be the next to have problems“and says “be open to all ideas and discussions” related to the concessions to Honda and Yamaha “for the sake of our championship”, aware that MotoGP cannot afford to continue losing more factories, and less of the caliber of those already mentioned.

Now that Dorna and the factories have to sit down to the table to discuss how they are going to help the Japanese, Rivola asks his rivals “look at all points of view, not only that of the factories that are suffering”, and reminds his counterparts that “manufacturers must not only think about themselves now, we want a good show, exciting races, and that all the factories involved have a chance to win.”

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For the boss of Aprilia Racing, it is essential to find “balanced criteria”, and it goes beyond the issue of concessions, letting it fall that the championship should also act on the clear superiority that Ducati is exercising at the moment. Rivola believes that “if a factory has eight bikes on the grid, it could, for example, cancel testing opportunities for that manufacturer. Something like that. But up to now I am not aware of any of the solutions that have been proposed”, qualifies the Italian manager, who only wants maximum equality in a championship that, for two years, has clearly tilted its balance towards European factories.