Who gains the most from MotoGP’s engine freeze?

Changes in regulations are almost always a source of conflict between manufacturers in the MotoGP. This is logical, because each defends its own interests based on the situation it faces at a given time.

Next week, at the start of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the Grand Prix Commission plans to approve the introduction of the engine freeze, a measure that will be implemented in 2025 and maintained for 2026. Under the previous framework, teams homologated their engines before the first race of the calendar, and could not touch them until the last race.

With this modification, the specifications sealed in the run-up to the season-opening Thai Grand Prix on 2 March will have to be used until the end of the following year (2026). Those constructors who enjoy concessions, Yamaha and Honda, will continue to be exempt from this limitation.

On paper, this change is being introduced under the pretext of cost containment. The ruling bodies believe the freeze will encourage brands to focus their attention and development budgets on the shake-up that will take place in 2027, when the new technical regulations come into force. However, there are also those who point out that this decree hides an obvious contradiction and benefits some more than others.

To reach this point, several MSMA meetings have taken place and some of them have been quite tense. The most recent one, which took place last Thursday at the Misano circuit, was the most accurate reflection of the circumstances of each of the companies involved in MotoGP. Of all of them, the most favourable positions are those of Yamaha and Ducati, two very different realities which converge in this matter.

On the one hand, Yamaha benefits from the freeze as long as it is allowed to continue to enjoy the concessions. That will make it possible for it to develop its first four-cylinder, V4 engine of the MotoGP era.

As Motorsport.com revealed on Tuesday, the technical department at Iwata led by former Ferrari and Toyota Formula 1 engineer Luca Marmorini has been working for months on the alternative to Yamaha’s traditional inline four-cylinder engine. Marmorini was already a key player in Aprilia’s revitalisation, working closely with the Noale-based company to strengthen and increase the performance and reliability of the RS-GP’s power unit.

Yamaha’s roadmap calls for the new 1000cc engine to be on track in 2025 and further developed in 2026, before being reduced to 850cc with the introduction of the 2027 regulations.

Motorsport.com understands that there is criticism from within the MSMA that the factory’s strategy is a wasteful one that is not in keeping with the spirit of the new rule in question. “A project of this kind involves an investment of several tens of millions of euros because going from an in-line engine to a V4 means changing practically the entire bike,” one of the most reputable engineers in the paddock told Motorsport.com. 

A rule that indirectly leads to limiting spending on MotoGP is welcomed by the Stefan Pierer-led KTM group

That statement validates the thesis of those who believe that it makes no sense to advocate limiting investment as the main impetus for the freeze, while giving freedom for someone to spend a lot of money at the same time.

Within the MSMA itself there are members who have been surprised by the change in Yamaha’s discourse since the arrival of Max Bartolini, the technical manager recruited from Ducati after serving for years as Gigi Dall’Igna’s right-hand man. With Bartolini, the Japanese manufacturer’s stance on certain issues has hardened considerably.

Honda is in the same camp, albeit from a much less firm position. The manufacturer is also pumping huge amounts of money into the power units of its RC213V, but is less clear on what direction to aim for.

At the test at Misano on Monday, its riders tried a new engine which, judging by the riders’ comments, did not deliver anywhere near the expected results. Honda, in any case, is already doing well to be free to continue investing in a part that it believes is key to its resurgence.

KTM is in a relatively similar position. It is struggling financially with heavy losses due to declining sales, leading the board to implement a redundancy policy aimed at relieving pressure on cash flow. Clearly, a rule that indirectly leads to limiting spending on MotoGP is welcomed by the Stefan Pierer-led group.

KTM could benefit from the freeze due to its financial upsides

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“What was not logical was the level of investment that had been reached,” a source from the KTM workshop told Motorsport.com. “Nothing was repaired. If you had to make a chassis, you didn’t just make one, you made several chassis, even before the testers had a go.

“There were times when they would go out, and in one run they would discard it. That meant throwing them all away.”

Aprilia is in no man’s land. The Noale-based company, one of the most controlled by its parent company, the Piaggio Group, has found a balance that is difficult to achieve considering the resources it allocates to its MotoGP project, how it distributes them, and the performance and returns it gets.

However, Motorsport.com understands that its executives would prefer to be free to decide where to concentrate their capital, without it being constrained or determined from the outside.

And then there is Ducati, which always wins and will do so again, both on and off the track. The new rule will not only freeze the engines but also limit the evolution of those who want to get close to the Desmosedici, the most dominant bike in recent times having won of 12 of the 13 races held this season and taken 34 of the 39 podium positions up for grabs.

With change just around the corner, the superiority of the Borgo Panigale team seems guaranteed until at least 2027.

Will the freeze keep Ducati ahead of its rivals?

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images