The key justification for a factory run race team is brand exposure and a platform for R&D. Focus on the factory run teams as they are the core of MotoGP. They leave, it’s all dead.

MotoGP has tooled itself up for essentially speed at all costs, but that isn’t where the market is. The bikes are already plenty fast. The real challenge is efficientcy, noise and emissions. MotoGP doesn’t care. By being locked into a complete prototype package, the cost of productionising any benefits are large and long. And since they can’t use production anything really, MotoGP effectively becomes a full on factory in its own right with no rapid or easy way of merging the road and race business. The priorities are different.

The second justification is exposure. And this is MotoGP’s biggest pain. And that pain has a name. Its’s World Super Bike.

SBK is cheaper, easier and has vast amount of higher credibility in engineering and marketing terms then MotoGP. The link between SBK and the fan in the stand is short, tangible and understandable. MotoGP is a hard-on for the afficianado’s, not the masses. SBK gets the eye balls.

Anyway, the FIM were stupid to allow this situation to develop. Production is production, prototype is prototype. I don’t think its a particularly smart divide, but if that’s what it is, then that’s what it is.

But since the FIM are Dorna’s bitchslap, they’ll float anything if asked.

this should be fun!
-peter