The concession system introduced for MotoGP will, in theory, allow Yamaha and Honda to get closer to the other three manufacturers. The team managers of the five constructors talk about this factor, saying how they think it will influence the season.
Davide Tardozzi (Ducati) “Having these Japanese factories with concessions helps a lot to get them back to the top of the grid. They were on the podium last year, but we accept this situation. Helping others doesn’t give us an advantage in the championship, we have to think about testing this year, we have 70 fewer tires and that’s a disadvantage. But we accept it and want to show that we will be competitive in any way”
Francesco Guidotti (KTM) “For us it changes a lot, we have a few more tires compared to last year, but they have a lot of help and they will use it well. We have to be focused on our work, we don’t have to see what they do or don’t do. Let’s focus on our work and let’s see”
Paolo Bonora (Aprilia) “The new regulations will help the builders who have to recover, there are many new rules that will help them, but they will also help the show. Having many bikes with a similar technical level on the tracks will help the show and we hope that the fans at home will enjoy it more”
Alberto Puig (Honda) “It is a great help, this system was not created for us now, it was created in the past for others. Now we are benefiting from it, we will try to use it as much as possible with the possibilities that the regulations provide”
Massimo Meregalli (Yamaha) “They will help us speed up the procedure to improve the bike. We have already done two days of testing here in Sepang, we will try to prepare races in advance, like Mugello, Misano or Jerez. We will explore the concessions as much as we can, the plan is to introduce two engine steps during the season, this is another advantage that the concessions give us. For now, I only see positive things, the only negative thing is extra work”