Carlos Ezpeleta EXCLUSIVE - Will MotoGP ever see an F1-style cost cap?

Dorna chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta says no MotoGP manufacturer has proposed a Formula 1-style cost cap but says the series owner wouldn’t “resist” one.

Cost controls in MotoGP became a talking point earlier in the year in the middle of KTM’s financial crisis, which has now been resolved following recent investment from Indian company Bajaj.

In January, Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola said MotoGP had to take KTM’s struggles as a warning and spoke of a need to bring down operating costs within the championship.

Restrictions are already in place in MotoGP surrounding elements such as testing and in-season engine and aero development as part of cost-saving measures.

In Formula 1, a cost cap has been in operation for several years aimed at limiting spending in all areas to reduce the performance gap across the grid.

In an exclusive interview with Crash.net, Carlos Ezpeleta says no manufacturer has proposed a similar system in MotoGP but it wouldn’t stand in the way if a cost cap is jointly requested by the manufacturers.

“I mean, there’s other championships that have cost control regulations,” he began.

“Never has a manufacturer proposed a cost cap to us in the past.

“We’ve always proposed and continuously strived for cost reduction policies regarding testing.

“MotoGP has always been very pragmatic in trying to be as efficient as possible with the development of the bikes.

“The most practical way to control costs is to have very strict regulations and I think in terms of what you’re allowed to do, what you’re not allowed to do, and how much impact that makes on your lap time.

“So, single engine, only one aero upgrade. So, that makes a very, very big difference to what you’re allowed to.

“It depends to who you talk to in the paddock, because I think from an engineering point of view they will always spend as much as money as they can, as much money as they have, to make the bike a millisecond quicker.

“Our job till now has been to make sure a million of investment is not one tenth if we can make it one millisecond, because of the regulations.

“If the manufacturers jointly decide they want to have a cost cap, it’s definitely not going to be for Dorna to resist that or the paddock.

“Of course then comes how do you police that. As the sport continues to evolve, it does so in all its aspects what happens, to the bikes on track, the tyres, the performance of rider gear, the protection, the marketing of the commercial partners.

“It sort of happens across the whole sport and it will probably come sooner or later, I’m sure of it.”