Ducati and Aprilia bosses clash: “Eight bikes? It’s absolutely fair”
Ducati currently have eight bikes on the 2023 gri🌌d - factory rider Francesco Bagnaia is the reigning champion while Mooney VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi leads the MotoGP standings.
Aprilia added RNF, who previously belonged to Yamaha, as a satellite team but still belꦛieve their Italian rivals have an unfair advantage, with double the quantity of machines at thei𝄹r disposal.
"I think it's abso♛lutely fair in MotoGP," Ducati Corse general manager Dall'Igna told .
"What we do is allowed by the regulations. Each [team] receives a compensation of £3m from the championship organiser🦩 if it supplies a customer team.
“No subsidies are paid for the other customer teams. These regulations have existed since the beginning, they are the saꦕme for alဣl [teams].
“If a private customer team wan♔ts to use Du𝕴cati bikes, they do it because our bikes are better than certain others. That's my view.
“We have f﷽ree compe🐻tition. I don't see what's unfair about that. On the contrary, it's totally fair.
“If Aprilia wants to have more bikes on the gr🦄id, they can make an effort to co🐻nvince more teams.”
Aprilia CEO Rivola had previously called Mot🧜oGP a “﷽one-team cup” due to Ducati’s dominance.
He insisted✱ that a “maximum number of teams per ma✅nufacturer should be set”.
There is no indication that thﷺe quantity of Ducatis on the grid w🦹ill be reduced any time soon.
"We are working t🎀o maintain ❀the current situation for next year,” Dall’Igna said.
“F😼rom a sporting point of view, it is therefore very important that we supply and support some customer teams.
“ The regulations look the same for everyone. Honda has also had a lot﷽ of customer teams in the past, ꦜno one has complained.
“KTM𝓰 or Aprilia can decide to copy our strategy if they want to."
James was a sportꦓs journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
