MotoGP looks at engine lease agreement

From motogp.com

In an effort to expand the MotoGP field and cut costs, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme - the sport's governing body - is looking to formalize the lease of engines to teams for 2011.

Ongoing talks between MotoGP’s governing body the FIM, series’ rights holder Dorna Sports and the MSMA - the manufacturers association - are shaping up the future of the MotoGP World Championship.

To bolster the MotoGP entry list and also make the sport more affordable to teams, a new agreement with manufacturers is under consideration to implement an engine lease structure for manufacturers to provide 800cc prototypes engines to teams, who would in turn develop their own chassis.

“Looking at the future of the MotoGP class, we’ve been talking with the manufacturers to see how they can provide engines to the teams,” explained FIM President Vito Ippolito. “It would be an interesting way to expand the grid and to give a chance to new teams to join the series, as costs would be reduced.

“At this moment, negotiations are going in the right direction and manufacturers could offer prototype 800cc engines from 2011. We’re still in the process of defining the future of the MotoGP class and for the FIM and Dorna it is crucial to achieve better stability in terms of the number of entries in the long term, taking into account the current technical and economic issues.”

Dorna Sports’ CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta added, “Given the current economic situation, the ever evolving technology in MotoGP and looking at costs cutting measures, we had made a proposal to combine 1000cc engines and the current 800cc engines in the MotoGP class. The MSMA acknowledged the issues we’re facing at the moment and looked for another solution.

“Now their proposal is, that from 2011, they could lease engines to teams with a fair standard price. This would not involve a technical regulation change as engines would be the same as they are now and it would allow us to optimize costs. The MSMA still has to announce what would be the price of the lease and we’re also waiting on an agreement with the manufacturers to commit to the Championship for a precise period of time. Once those two elements are set, it would be a very positive development for the future of the MotoGP World Championship.”