satellite

Fastest in both winter tests so far, Luca Marini looks to have a fighting chance of replicating Enea Bastianini’s satellite Ducati MotoGP wins in 2023.

If Yamaha can overcome some ‘obstacles’ there is a chance it could have a new satellite MotoGP team in place for 2024.

Whatever the truth regarding the recent VR46 rumours, Yamaha Racing managing director Lin Jarvis has confirmed the factory is already looking for a new satellite MotoGP team.

Factory Yamaha MotoGP machinery at a Satellite team may not be working out for Andrea Dovizioso this season, but he still believes the performance difference between Official and Independent status is now negligible.

Herve Poncharal charts the rising importance of satellite teams in the MotoGP world championship.

Aprilia weighing-up Satellite team alongside move to its own Factory MotoGP grid places for 2022.

Satellite MotoGP riders won more races than Factory team riders last season, by a score of 8–6. That's quite a milestone. To put it into perspective, there was a not a single satellite race winner in MotoGP from Toni Elias at Estoril in 2006 until Jack Miller at Assen in 2016.

Yamaha has officially joined fellow manufacturers KTM, Ducati and Honda in committing to MotoGP for the next five-year contract cycle with Dorna, from 2022-2026. "Yamaha this year is celebrating its 60th year in grand prix competition," said Yamaha Racing managing director Lin Jarvis.

Suzuki project leader Shinichi Sahara is not excluding the possibility of a satellite MotoGP team for 2022, despite disruption caused by the departure of factory team manager Davide Brivio.

The Motorcycle Grand Prix history books will record that Franco Morbidelli got within just 13 points of becoming the first-ever satellite world champion of the four-stroke MotoGP era.

One theory is that, as a MotoGP season goes on, factory team riders gain a greater advantage over their satellite counterparts because they are first to receive technical upgrades.

With the halt to racing caused by the coronavirus wreaking havoc on team finances, Dorna has confirmed it will be providing assistance to the Independent MotoGP outfits to 'guarantee their economic well-being.'

By the time the MotoGP World Championship returns to Silverstone in 2020, Petronas team principal Razlan Razali hopes they will have made history by claiming the first race victory for a satellite Yamaha.