Honda hit back at Ducati in concessions row: “Created in the past, for others”
Team managers throughou🗹t the paddock have 💮their say on new MotoGP concessions rules
Honda have delivered a forthright reminder to Ducati that the MotoGP concessions sys🎉tem previously helped them back from the wilderness.
The tweaked concessions rules will this season give a helping hand to Honda and Yamaha, but Ducati have comp♏lained about some of the ne🎃wer details.
Honda have struck back by insisting that Ducati’s current status as MotoGP’s top manufacturer was aid⛎ed by concessio✤ns in past years.
Repsol Honda team manager Albe𒁃rto Puig said: “It’s a clear help. This system ꦫwas not created now, for us.
“It was created in the past, for others!
“So now, we are g🐽etting a benefit from it. Of c🌳ourse, we will try to use it as much as possible.
“It’s there, it’s in the regulations. We’ll tr♔y to use it with the advantages, or let’s say the possibilities, that the regulations give.”
Ducati’s Davide Tardozzi said: “H🍌aving the two Japanese factories with these kind of concessions? It will help them, a lot, back to the top of the grid.
“We have to underline th💛at🦂 they were on the podium last year.
“We accept this situation. But we have to complain a bit that to helཧp the others, you don’t have to take something from those who a🔯re leading the championship…
“We have to think about our testing this year. Having 70 tyres less f🌠or testing is a big step down.
“Wꦑe accept it. We have🔯 to show that we will be competitive anyway.”
Yamaha’s Massimo Meregalli said: “They will, for sure, hel෴p us to speed up the procedure of improving the bike.
👍“We already started. We did two days testing in Sepang [at the shakeဣdown].
🍰“We wi🐻ll try to prepare for races in advance where it’s feasible. Like Mugello, Misano, maybe Jerez.
“We will try to exploit the conceꦕssions a൲s much as we can.
“The plan is to introduce two steps of engꦓines during the season.
“Tܫhis is an extra advantage that the concessions are giving us.
“In this moment I can see�ඣ� only positive things. The only bad point is the extra work!”
KTM and Aprilia currently find themselves in the middle of three brackets within the new concessions rules. They have more benefits than Duca𓂃ti, but less than Honda and Yamaha.
KTM’s Francesco Guidotti said: “For us, it change♉s a lot. We have only a few more tyres available compared to last year.
“They have big, big, big help. For sure, they will use it🐈 in the proper way.
“We have to focus on our job, not to look around and what they do or don’t do. We have to focus on🍌 o🌊ur job daily.”
Aprilia’s Paolo Bonora said: “For sure, tဣhe new concessions system will help the manufacturers that have to recover a technical gap.
“There are many new rules that will help them.
“B🎶ut also it will help the show. Because having many bikes of a closer technical level will help the show.
“We hope that the fans at home will enjoy.”
James was a ಞsports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
