MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

In any other season, the MotoGP engine homologation rules are relatively straightforward. Or as straightforward as they can be when engines are sealed and set for a single season, with concessions for underperforming manufacturers.

But the imminent change of technical regulations for the 2027 season has added another layer of complexity. To reduce costs, and prevent factories from having to develop an engine for the 2026 season, as well as a completely new 850cc engine with a maximum bore of 75mm, engine development is also frozen for the 2026 season.

What this means in practice is that the engine design manufacturers in Concessions Categories A, B, and C (Ducati, KTM, and Aprilia) present for homologation before the opening grand prix of the 2025 season at Buriram in Thailand will have to remain unchanged for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

Trust the process

That sounds simple, but there is a little more to it than that. So I have set out the process below.

• Before the close of technical control (scrutineering) for the first event, (Thursday evening) Aprilia, Ducati, and KTM have to present the design of the engines they will be using for the 2025 season. The rules stipulate that this should be in the form of an actual engine, or the parts of an engine which differ from a previously submitted engine.
• The design of the engine internals must remain unchanged throughout the season. Those internals mean valves, camshafts, cylinder heads, cylinder bores, pistons, connecting rods, crankshafts, bearings, and engine cases. Gearboxes are not included.
• Each factory can submit up to three different engine designs for homologation. This is to allow satellite teams to use engines from previous years.
• Both riders of a factory team (one team designated by the manufacturer as a factory team) must use the same engine specification. So Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez must use the same engine design, Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin must use the same engine design, and Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder must use the same engine design.
• Riders in satellite teams can use different engine specifications. This allows e.g. Fabio Di Giannantonio to use a different engine spec to Franco Morbidelli in the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Ducati team. But in theory, the Gresini Ducati Team could use a different spec of engine to the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Ducati team.
• For satellite teams, engines are homologated per rider. So once Franco Morbidelli has chosen which engine specification he will use (or rather, once the team and Ducati have agreed which engine he will use), that is the design he has to use for the rest of the 2025 season. If Morbidelli is injured, a replacement rider (most likely Michele Pirro, in this case) has to use the same engine spec as Morbidelli.

Repeat for 2026

The complication for the 2026 season is that the manufacturers cannot update engine designs. However, this does not mean that the riders are stuck with exactly the same engine for 2026 that they chose in 2025.

At the start of the 2026 season, each rider has to nominate which engine spec they will use for the 2026 season, in exactly the same way as they did for the 2025 season. Here, too, both riders in the factory team have to use the same engine.

An example may help clarify how this will work in practice.

Let's say that at Buriram, Ducati submit two different engine designs for the 2025 season: what Marc Márquez referred to as the "GP24.9", and the engine used last year, the GP24.

At Buriram ahead of the 2025 Thailand GP, Pecco Bagnaia, Marc Márquez, and Fabio Di Giannantonio elect to use the GP24.9, while Franco Morbidelli, Fermin Aldeguer, and Alex Márquez elect to use the GP24.

At the start of the 2026 MotoGP season, all six Ducati riders get to make that choice again. So in theory, Bagnaia, Marc Márquez, Di Giannantonio, Morbidelli, Aldeguer and Alex Márquez could all choose to use the GP24.9 for the 2026 season, if Ducati's line up remains unchanged.

Alternatively, Bagnaia, Marc Márquez, and Morbidelli could run a GP24.9, and Di Giannantonio, Aldeguer, and Alex Márquez could run a GP24. Or Aldeguer could be upgraded to the GP24.9. Or both Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez could choose to downgrade to the GP24.

What Ducati (and Aprilia and KTM) are not allowed to do is to introduce a new engine design not homologated by February 28th, 2025. But any engine homologated there can be chosen for the 2026 season.

Keeping the door open for the GP25?

Which raises an interesting possibility. Aprilia, Ducati, and KTM all have the option to homologate three different engine specs at Buriram. Those engine specs have to remain unchanged for two years. But that doesn't mean that more development can't be done on those engines. It just means the engine internals have to remain the same. Electronics, airbox, exhaust, external flywheels can all still be altered for any of the engine designs submitted for homologation at Buriram next week.

The astute observer will know that Ducati have been vacillating between the GP25 and GP24 engine designs throughout winter testing. Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez have tested the newer engine spec extensively, but eventually rejected it. The GP25 engine has more power, with smoother delivery, but it is worse on engine braking and corner entry. Given that there is more to be gained in braking than in acceleration, Bagnaia and Márquez chose to stick with the proven package.

That does not prevent Ducati from homologating the GP25 engine at Buriram, however. The rules stipulate only that the engine design is homologated, not that it is used. Once it is approved and homologated, Ducati could in theory keep developing and testing that engine, for use in the 2026 season. But as I said before, they won't be able to change any of the engine internals, only develop external parts.

Limited resources

Would it be worth taking that road? Ducati had an enormous advantage in 2024, and from testing, they still appear to have an advantage in 2025. Though it is possible that KTM and Aprilia have closed the gap, it seems unlikely they have built new engines and bikes that are better than the GP24.

So it is more likely that Ducati will ditch the GP25, and focus their efforts on developing the GP27 for the new technical regulations instead. They have Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez to rely on for the next two seasons, who have eight MotoGP titles between them. Even if the other manufacturers have caught up to Ducati, Ducati still have two of the best riders on the grid.

Yamaha and Honda

If there is a wildcard in this equation, it is the manufacturers in Category D for concessions. Honda and Yamaha do not have to homologate engines at the start of the season, and are free to develop engines throughout the year, changing designs whenever they like. The only restriction is that each rider has only 10 engines for the duration of the season, limiting the number of different engine designs.

If, however, Honda or Yamaha are so successful that by the end of the 2025 season, they have moved up into a higher category (A, B, or C), then they will have to submit engine designs for homologation at the start of the 2026 season. Those can be new designs, or existing designs.

To take a practical example again, we know at the moment Yamaha are developing a V4 engine alongside their inline four. For the 2025 season, they are free to develop and race those engines in parallel. There is nothing stopping them from racing the I4 and the V4 on the same weekend.

Should Yamaha move out of Category D, then they would have to submit a maximum of three engine designs for homologation at the start of the 2026 season. That might be an existing design of the inline four, or a brand new design of the I4, or a brand new design of the V4. But once those designs were submitted, they could not be changed for the 2026 season.

Points mean prizes

For Yamaha or Honda to become a Category C manufacturer, they would have to score more than 285 points as a manufacturer at the end of the 2025 season. Manufacturer points are awarded to the highest finishing rider on that manufacturer's bike, regardless of which team they ride for.

To score 285 points and qualify for Category C, Honda or Yamaha would have to score 13 points a weekend on average. Sixth in the sprint race and seventh in the GP would be good enough to do that.

For Category B, a manufacturer would need to score at least 488 points over 22 race weekends, or an average of 22 points per round. A podium in both sprint and GP would be needed to achieve that.

For Category A, a manufacturer would effectively have to dominate, scoring at least 692 points over the 2025 season, or 31 points per round on average. That requires a win and a podium in the two rounds on average.

There is also a mid-season testing point for concessions, where manufacturers can change categories. But that change does not affect engine homologations, only the other concessions: whether factories can test with contracted riders or not (Category D; yes, everyone else, no), which circuits factories can test at (Category D, anywhere; other categories, 3 nominated circuits), the number of wildcards, an additional aero package (2 for Category D, 1 for the rest), and the number of tires available for testing.

Promotion/relegation

Will we see any manufacturers change concessions categories in 2025? If Aprilia and KTM really have made a step, then there is a chance they will take enough points from Ducati that Ducati drops from A to B. That would also potentially be enough to move Aprilia or KTM from C up to B.

As for the Japanese manufacturers, Yamaha still looks the more likely factory to move category, from D up to C. That would cost them free development of their engines, causing some fans to suggest that they might deliberately drop points to avoid that.

But that is now how factories see this. Concessions are a necessary evil, and a mark of shame. Every manufacturer aspires to be in Category A, and have no concessions compared to their rivals. After all, the only thing better than beating your rivals is beating them with one hand tied behind your back.

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