Why Honda, Yamaha don’t deserve MotoGP concessions… but should act on Ducati

Word in the MotoGP paddock heading into the summer break suggests Honda and Yamaha could be given a helping hand from series promoters Dorna in the form of a concessional regulation reprieve.

Now the only two remaining Japanese marques remaining in MotoGP following the exit of Suzuki at the end of last season, Honda and Yamaha – for so long MotoGP’s esteemed superpowers – have faced an uphill struggle over the last 18 months against the quality and quantity of Ducati’s assault and the vastly improved KTM and Aprilia efforts.

Its led to consideration that the two firms should be afforded the similar concessional privileges to that of Suzuki, Aprilia and KTM when they returned/entered MotoGP. Introduced in 2016, the trio were allowed extra days of testing, more wild-card opportunities and a larger allocation of engines to use during a season as a way of speeding up development to get them on terms with Honda, Yamaha and Ducati quicker.

A move that would essentially give Honda and Yamaha the benefits originally conceived to act against its interests, it is – perhaps ironically – likely to rile the very teams that used them to get into this advantageous position in the first place.

So is this a path Dorna should pursue or is it up to Honda and Yamaha to think its way out of its current maladie?

Do Yamaha, Honda deserve helping hand from MotoGP?

It’s a sign of just how far Honda and Yamaha have slipped down the MotoGP hierarchy that the very format introduced to give rivals a chance to take them on could essentially swap sides for the same effect.

While it is perhaps an over-exaggeration to suggest concessions were the sole reasons as to why Suzuki, KTM and Aprilia reached such a strong level, the manufacturers did base much of its crucial development programmes around it. Indeed, it perhaps isn’t a coincidence that KTM and Aprilia both suffered a dip in form in 2021 and 2023, the respective seasons they lost their benefits.

It means KTM and Aprilia – knowing full well what effect the concessions can have – might be resistant to allowing Honda and Yamaha the chance to recover ground, not least because the Japanese giants don’t have the excuse of having to learn their way around MotoGP’s architecture. 

Indeed, one of the key arguments against giving concessions to Honda and Yamaha is this is a situation of its own making. 

Their introduction was inspired by a desire to put competitiveness at the forefront of MotoGP’s new era upon which it bid farewell to the objective fulfilling but largely unpopular CRT/Open sub-class and welcomed three more manufacturers onto the grid. Recognising the time and money required to bridge the gap to Honda, Yamaha and Ducati, the concessions were integral to shortening that timeframe.

As such, re-introducing them because a manufacturer has gone the wrong way on development is not in line with its original purpose, a fair point even before you…