Why 5 out of 6 MotoGP manufacturers voted to ban front ride-height devices |

The decision was announced in March last year, by which time Ducati – whose rear ride-height device had long been copied by the rest of the grid – was already testing a front system with its MotoGP race riders.

The manufacturers’ association (MSMA) had been asked by the MotoGP organisers to consider two alternative proposals for the future of ride-height devices, which had the aim of ‘preventing further performance improvements and development cost increases.’

Although the MSMA subsequently approved a front ride-height ban from 2023, a clear split emerged between Ducati – having already invested time and resources in developing the front system – and the other five manufacturers.

Rear ride-height devices, aiding acceleration on corner exit, will continue to be legal this season as well as ‘single use’ front holeshot devices for the start of a race…

Ducati: ‘Instead of trying to catch up, it’s easier to ban’

Davide Barana, Ducati Corse technical director: “I don’t like to talk too much about this because you know what happened.

“We were the first to introduce the [rear holeshot] system for the start, the others followed. So then we developed the second step, to lower the [rear] during operation, and the others followed.

“The next step was to expand these capabilities to the front of the bike also.

“At a certain point someone came up with a proposal to ban this kind of device. It was clear it was already being used by one manufacturer, Ducati. Ducati declared to the others, ‘hey, I’m using this device you are going to ban’. Five manufacturers out of six decided to ban it.

“What I’d say is that the five manufacturers just exercised their rights. Everything was within the rules. They did not ‘steal’ anything. But if I look back on this story, I can say that it has not been a very nice display of fairness at all.

“Because instead of trying to catch up to develop your bike, it’s much easier to ban.”

Yamaha: ‘This request came from the organiser’

Kazutoshi Seki, Yamaha MotoGP project leader: “Looks like Ducati is not happy, but my understanding is this request came from the organiser. Then we considered all the factors and then we agreed to the proposal. This is my understanding.”

Aprilia: ‘Ban all of them as soon as possible’

Romano Albesiano, Aprilia technical director: “Our general thoughts about these devices is to possibly ban all of them as soon as possible. It’s just a complication. Something that will never reach production.

“These [mechanical and hydraulic] ride height devices have been forced by the regulations. Because if you want to do a ride-height device on a normal bike you would use a different [electronic] technology, that you cannot use in MotoGP because of the regulations.

“We were the first manufacturer to introduce the front holeshot device, for the start, but anyway our philosophy is to avoid this kind of development that we believe is not useful…