Ducati set to be hit with major MotoGP concession restrictions in 2024

Carlos Ezpeleta, MotoGP sporting director, presented a first draft of measures to the five manufacturers involved in the premier class at Sepang on Friday, designed to enable the Japanese manufacturers to make up some of the ground lost to the European marques this year.

Honda and Yamaha currently sit last in the constructors' standings, with the former winning just one race and losing Marc Marquez to Gresini Ducati for next year amidst its difficult season, while Yamaha has just three grand prix podiums in 2023.

This first version of the concessions, which would be implemented from the 2024 season onwards, would be "acceptable" to Ducati, a source at the manufacturer admitted to Motorsport.com.

These concessions will include being limited in tyres, testing and engines, and not being able to enjoy any wildcard entries.

However, neither KTM nor Aprilia would be willing to accept the measures, as they are asking for further cuts for the Bologna-based manufacturer, additional measures that Ducati is unwilling to accept.

"It will be difficult for the issue of concessions to go ahead because there are two manufacturers who are against it," explained Honda.

The system designed by the championship would be based on a scale of points based on the classification of the constructors' world championship, which is currently led by Ducati with 601 points, followed by KTM (326), Aprilia (287) and the two Japanese marqies, Honda and Yamaha with 166 and 165, respectively. The more points, logically, the bigger the cuts.

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

The spearhead of this new concession system would be tyres. Currently, each rider is entitled to 200 units per season, both for grands prix and testing.

The range of units available to each rider would go from 230 (for Yamaha and Honda) to 170 (Ducati), while KTM and Aprilia would be in an intermediate range.

The number of wildcards would also be awarded on the basis of points, leaving Ducati without invitations and increasing those of the Japanese manufacturers.

Although in principle the number of private test days would remain unchanged, the reduction in the number of tyres available would restrict the number of test days, reducing them for the riders of the manufacturers with the most points.

While Ducati would be willing to accept these conditions, its European rivals are asking for a greater reduction, specifically that the number of tyres should be 140 per year - a figure that Bologna is not willing to accept, especially if KTM and Aprilia can maintain 200 per season.

Another of the proposed points is the number of engines that each rider will have per season, currently seven and in the case of the teams with fewer points would be more. The exact number is yet to be determined.

In the absence of refining the proposal, Carlos Ezpeleta hopes to finish convincing the constructors that are putting more obstacles to this new system of concessions and announce the measure officially between the races in Qatar next weekend and Valencia on 26 November in order that both Yamaha and Honda can start working in 2024 to close the gap with the European factories.

MotoGP previous had a concession system in place to help struggling and new manufacturers, with Ducati, Suzuki, Aprilia and KTM all taking profit of this to establish themselves as frontrunners. 

As of last year, all manufacturers had registered the necessary results to lose concessions.