Of the many concessions in the regulations, only one has really paid off for Honda in the 2024 MotoGP season, according to Luca Marini
Private tests with test drivers and regular drivers allowed; private tests allowed at all Grand Prix circuits; 260 tires per season for test drives (instead of 170); six wildcards per season (instead of none); two aero updates per season (instead of one); nine engines per season (instead of seven); free engine development (instead of frozen): These are the concessions that Honda and Yamaha will enjoy in the 2024 MotoGP season as part of the concessions valid for them compared to Ducati, KTM and Aprilia.
But will all the concessions really make a noticeable difference in terms of increased performance, enabling them to close the gap on the leading manufacturers? Honda factory rider Luca Marini has a clear opinion on this, shortly before the end of the 2024 season. In his view, only one of the concessions really has an effect.
“In the past, the concessions have had more of an impact, no question about it,” says Marini. ”Now it’s just that you have a little more leeway for the further development of the bike. For example, we were allowed to use a different engine specification in the middle of the season.”
According to the Honda rider, only this concession, namely the freedom to develop the engines, “really made a difference”. Because if you take a wrong turn in this area at the beginning of the season, your hands are normally tied. But we were able to further develop the engine during the season”.
Marini does not consider it a great advantage to be able to test on all Grand Prix circuits, even as a regular driver. “We are allowed to test more, but the tire contingent is still limited,” he notes, alluding to Honda test driver Stefan Bradl, adding: “For us, it was the case that we divided the tires among ourselves during many tests.”
And so Marini concludes: “In my opinion, free engine development is the only good thing about the current concessions. All the other things are negligible.”
In the four-group concession system that has been in place since the beginning of 2024, Ducati is in Group A, KTM and Aprilia are in Group C, and Yamaha and Honda are in Group D. From now on, a manufacturer’s allocation to a group will be re-evaluated twice per season and adjusted if necessary.
For 2025, however, the current allocations will not change. Why? Even before the season finale in Barcelona, it is clear that KTM, Aprilia, Yamaha and Honda will finish in the same percentage range as world champion Ducati in the manufacturers’ standings for the 2024 season as they did in the 2023 season.
