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April 2024_MotoGP Championship Update -- 2024
MotoGP Concessions
Championship Update--
There were two race weekends in March and things went pretty much as
expected. The biggest surprise is 19-year-old rookie sensation Pedro
Acosta on his GasGas Tech 3 KTM. Acosta started both races on row three
and finished on the podium for the first time in his MotoGP career in
Portugal in only his second premier class race ever. He is currently
ranked fifth in the championship standings with Jorge Martin (Ducati) in
first place with 60 points, Brad Binder (KTM) in second with 42 points,
Enea Bastianini (Ducati) in third with 39 Points, and Pecco Bagnaia
(Ducati) in fourth with 37 points. The next race (April 12-14) is in
Austin, TX at the Circuit Of The Americas (COTA), the only MotoGP race
in the United States. It’s a long season so lots can change along the
way.
Bulletin: Speaking of changes,
Liberty Media
Corporation has announced an agreement to acquire MotoGP™
Click here for more information.
Concessions- Helping Manufacturers Stay Competitive--
Ducati is far-and-away the leading manufacturing company in MotoGP, so
far ahead in fact that at the end of last year’s season the powers that
be (MSMA, Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers Association) announced a
concessions system to help the other manufacturers catch up. In the past
the Japanese manufacturers (Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki) were the leading
constructors, but today Ducati and the other European manufacturers (Aprilia
and KTM) have closed the gap and have moved into the top of the field.
From the results of the 2023 constructors’
standings, the ranking for each factory for the start of the 2024
season is as follows*:
Maximum possible constructors' score: 25 points x 20 (GP) races + 12
points x 19 (Sprint) races = 728 points.
- Ducati: 700 points = 96% (Ranking A)
- KTM: 373 points = 51% (Ranking C)
- Aprilia: 326 points = 45% (Ranking C)
- Yamaha: 196 points = 27% (Ranking D)
- Honda: 185 points = 25% (Ranking D)
Here’s how it works.
The entire system is designed to both hinder the top manufacturer
(Ducati in this case) and help the other manufacturers improve the key
elements lacking in their race bikes. Things like aero, top speed
performance, electronics for better overall handling at the start and
during the race, tire spin, tire wear, etc.) This is done in several
ways.
Rule number one limits tire allocation based on one of four levels of
deficiency (see A, B, C, D above); the more deficient the manufacturer’s
bikes are the more tires they will have available for any given race
weekend. This tire allotment increase allows for more testing and better
odds during qualifying where new tires, and therefore better grip, can
be at a premium in a qualifying system that rewards the fastest single
lap times with grid positions closer to the start line. In most races
podium riders started on the first three rows.
In this case (2024 with the rankings above) Ducati riders would get 170
tires, KTM and Aprilia would get 190, and Honda and Yamaha would get
220. More tires mean more fresh sticky rubber throughout the weekend
qualifying.
Another important part of racing at this level is testing. Testing
allows manufacturers and riders to experiment with fine tuning the bike
to rider performance and preference, and also test different aero and
other custom accessories that can increase performance at the start of
the race, during qualifying, and during actual racing on Saturday and
Sunday. In this case ranks A, B, and C have limits while rank D has
none. (See the 2024 concessions grid below.)
Lastly are the concessions for engines and aero, and again ranks A, B,
and C have their limits while rank D has fewer limits for aero and none
for engine spec changes.
Remember the top qualifiers get better positions on the grid, and single
fastest lap speed qualifying is how the grid lines up for the Sprint
race and GP race on Sunday. Also of note is the fact that as
championship points accrue due to improvements for lower ranked brands
they could move up in the rankings and lose some of their concessions.
Parity being the overall goal.
To show you how far behind Honda and Yamaha have fallen in just the past
year take a look at these startling statistics. Fabio Quartararo won the
championship in 2021 on a Yamaha, and in 2020 Joan Mir won the
championship on a Suzuki. The prior four years (2016-2019) Marc
Márquez won the
championship on his Repsol Factory Honda. The last two years (2022 and
2023) Pecco Bagnaia won the title on his factory Ducati. This year at
the first race, the Grand Prix of Qatar, the first Honda on the grid was
in row five (Johann Zarco in position 13) and the first Yamaha was
Fabio Quartararo in row six. On the other end of the spectrum; of
the nine riders in the first three rows of the grid six (6) were on a
Ducati, two on a KTM and one on an Aprilia.
At the second race in Portugal things improved a bit for Yamaha with
Quartararo on row three, and Alex Rins on row four, but Honda went
backwards with all four of their riders at the very back of the pack in
rows seven and eight.
The hope is that this concessions system will allow the Japanese
manufacturers to make the improvements necessary to be competitive in
the premier class where right now Ducati and the European manufacturers
are dominant.
Next month I hope to cover starting (off the line) devices and catch up
with the standings as they sit as we move into May 2024.
*Source MotoGP, Dorna Sports