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The manufacturers involved in motorcycle racing

Corrado Cecchinelli On The Future Of MotoGP: Part 3 - Sustainable Fuels And The Future Of The Combustion Engine

By David Emmett |

In the first two parts of this interview with MotoGP Director of Technology Corrado Cecchinelli, we talked about the proposals for changes to the engine specifications to help reduce the speeds of MotoGP bikes, and Cecchinelli explained the perils of having aerodynamics play too big a role in the sport. Those areas will only be decided for the 2027 season however, when the next rules package comes in.

At the moment, we are still in the proposal stage, with Dorna and the manufacturers negotiating a package that will improve safety, with an eye on cost reduction and sustainability. A final set of rules is unlikely to be agreed between Dorna, the FIM, and the MSMA before the end of 2024.

One rule has already been agreed between all three parties, however. From 2024, the MotoGP bikes will have to use fuel that has been sourced from non-fossil sources. In 2024, that proportion will be 40%, with a switch to 100% non-fossil fuels from 2027.

Corrado Cecchinelli On The Future Of MotoGP: Part 1 - Can Top Speeds Be Reduced By Changing Engine Spec?

By David Emmett |

The past few years have seen a massive change in the way MotoGP machines perform, and more significantly, how they achieve that performance. Ducati's early experiments with aerodynamics in 2010 went from a curiosity to wings and other aero add-ons becoming ubiquitous, and an integral part of motorcycle design. The Bologna factory repeated the feat with the holeshot device, which morphed into ride-height devices, forcing the other manufacturers all to copy Ducati and try to catch up.

All of these changes have had an immense impact on the racing. Top speeds have gone through the roof. At Mugello in 2015, Andrea Iannone was the fastest through the speed trap with a top speed of 350.8 km/h. This year, in the sprint race, Brad Binder hit an astonishing 366.1 km/h in the sprint race. That's an increase of 15.3 km/h or 4.4%.

But it isn't just top speeds: the combination of aerodynamics and ride-height devices have made passing more and more difficult, with riders taking ever greater risks to try to make a move. The first corner has taken on an oversize importance, with pile-ups at the start an increasingly frequent occurrence.

Carmelo Ezpeleta's Grand Plan, Or The Long History Behind Tech3's Switch To KTM

By David Emmett |

Sometimes decisions are a long time in the making. Tech3's decision to leave Yamaha and sign with KTM may have been made in the space of a few months, but the genesis of that choice, the process that made it all possible is ten years in the making. If MotoGP hadn't switched from 990cc to 800cc at the start of the 2007 season, if the ban on tobacco sponsorship in sports hadn't been enforced from 2005, if the financial system hadn't collapsed under the weight of tranches of "ninja" loans, Tech3 would be a Yamaha satellite team for the foreseeable future. Whether they wanted to be or not.

How did MotoGP get to a place where Tech3 could switch to KTM? To make complete sense of the story, we have to go back to the end of the last century. Through the last 1990s, the popularity of Grand Prix racing was waning, while the World Superbike series went from strength to strength. The manufacturers were losing interest in the 500cc class, as two strokes were gradually disappearing from the road.

Big bore four strokes were the flavor of the month among motorcycle buyers, and the factories were investing less and less in their two stroke racers. The manufacturers expressed an interest in racing four strokes in the premier class, and Dorna sketched out a contract with the MSMA, the organization representing the manufacturers, and MotoGP was born.

MotoGP Rule Update: Fuel Limit Raised To 22 Liters For 2016, SCAT3 Concussion Test Introduced, & More

By David Emmett |

The meeting of the Grand Prix Commission, held on Tuesday in Madrid, made a number of minor changes to the rules for all three Grand Prix classes, as well as a couple of more significant revisions. The biggest changes concerned the setting of the maximum fuel allocation from 2016 at 22 liters, and the adoption of the SCAT3 test for concussion for riders after a crash. But perhaps the most significant outcome of the meeting of the GPC is not what was decided, but what was not.

Guest Blog: Mat Oxley - MotoGP shakes up the rules

By Mat Oxley |

MotoMatters.com is delighted to feature the work of iconic MotoGP writer Mat Oxley. Oxley is a former racer, TT winner and highly respected author of biographies of world champions Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi, and currently writes for Motor Sport Magazine, where he is MotoGP correspondent. We are featuring sections from Oxley's blogs, which are posted in full on the Motor Sport Magazine website.

MotoGP shakes up the rules

Factory 2 Rules Adopted For 2014, Spec Software Compulsory In MotoGP From 2016 Season Onwards

By David Emmett |

After a week of debate and discussion, the Grand Prix Commission has finally reached an agreement on the Factory 2 class. It took many hours of phone calls, and full agreement was not reached until late on Monday afternoon, but the agreement contains some significant changes to the long-term future of the MotoGP championship. The Factory 2 proposal has been adopted in a slightly modified guise, with any manufacturer entering in the Open class liable to lose fuel and soft tires should they win races. But the bigger news is that the full MotoGP class will switch to use the spec software and ECU from the 2016 season, a year earlier than expected. 

'Factory 2' Situation To Be Resolved On Monday

By David Emmett |

It has been ten days since Carmelo Ezpeleta announced to an unsuspecting world that a new category would be added to the MotoGP class to contain Ducati, the 'Factory 2' class. The change was to be ratified on Tuesday, 11th March, in a telephone meeting of the Grand Prix Commission, and Ezpeleta was confident that it would go through without too many problems.

Tuesday came and went, and no agreement had been reached. In fact, it has taken all week and much of this weekend for the situation to approach a resolution. Sources with knowledge of the situation have now confirmed that an agreement will be announced on Monday, allowing the rules to be set in place for the start of the season on Thursday, 20th March.

MotoGP Rule Change Imminent: 'Intermediate' Category To Be Added Between Factory Option And Open Classes

By David Emmett |

The CRT-replacement Open class in MotoGP is causing an even bigger shake up of the class than was expected. The outright speed of the Forward Yamaha at the first two Sepang tests provoked a testy response from Honda, who claimed it was entirely against the spirit of the rules. Then came news that Ducati was to switch to an Open entry, giving them the freedom to develop their engines and use more fuel, in exchange for giving up their own ECU software. This provoked an even angrier response from Honda, Repsol Honda team principal Livio Suppo telling the MotoGP.com website that they were unhappy with the introduction of the new ECU software Magneti Marelli brought to the second Sepang test, which was much more sophisticated, though it was not used by the teams.

Grand Prix Commission Regulate Practice Start Locations On Safety Grounds

By David Emmett |

After the serious incident at Silverstone, in which Dani Rivas crashed into Steven Odendaal during the Sunday morning warm up, as Odendaal and other riders stood waiting to make practice starts, the Grand Prix Commission has taken steps to regulate practice starts in all three Grand Prix classes. From now on, practice starts will only be allowed from designated locations at the circuit, and practice starts elsewhere will be banned.

Practice starts will be allowed from pit lane exit during practice, and at one or two designated zones around each track, as decided before each race. Marshals will indicate the start of the practice start zones, and all riders not electing to practice a start in that zone will be warned by yellow flags and will have to stay on the opposite side of the track from the start zone.

The new rules are effective immediately. The FIM press release containing the full set of rules appears below:

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