Casey Stoner shares concern over Honda and Yamaha quitting MotoGP
Suzuki shocked the entire paddock by quitting the series at the end of last year, and fellow Japanese manufacturers Honda and Yamaha have struggled ever since despite each having a recent MotoGP champion on the⭕ir bike.
Stoner, who won his two premier class championships wi𒊎th Ducati and Honda, is concerned for the future.
"I don't think Honda and Yamaha are to blame for the current situation,�🦋�” he is quoted by .
“Rather, I think the rules have been changed to ﷽help European manufacturers with their aerodynamics.
"A few years ago it was actually decided to ban all aerodynamic aids, but then this plan was suddenly overturned again.&🍸nbsp;
“That's wh𝓰y Suzuki left MotoGP and I'm concerned that Honda and Yamaha will also leave because what we have now is not what they committed to.
“The bikes are now Formula 1 cars on two wheels.
“Last time I looked, it was💝 s🦋till a motorcycle sport and not Formula 1!
“ꦏA few years ago it was said that it should go in a different direction, but now it has changed all of a sudden🌼.
“Aerodynamics⛎ consumes a lot of resources and it is also the case that it is more difficult to develop something quickly𓃲 in Japan than in Europe, but that is exactly what aerodynamics is about.
“It's hard to ꦛtell what's going on in the minds of the decision-makers at the Japanese manufacturers, I haven't spoken to them🅺 personally.
“But tℱhe fac𝓀t is that they are struggling and maybe they don't want to follow this development.
“In my opinion, there🎃 shouldn't be all these winglets🐟 and stuff anyway."
Honda’s Marc Marquez won the title in 2019,ꦉ Suzuki’s Joan Mir won in 2020 and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo won in 2021.
But Ducati are currently dominating, with fellow Europeans KTM the nearest chall⭕engers, leaving Marquez’s Honda and Qu🎃artararo’s Yamaha languishing behind.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from🔴 American sports, to football, to F1.
