Not long ago, it was unthinkable that the Japanese would change their rigid working methods and open themselves up to merging the worlds of two and four wheels. The severe sporting crisis at Honda and Yamaha, however, has led their top managers to make relatively radical decisions, at least for companies based on tradition and a notable rigidity when it comes to executing their established processes. The golden wing brand, for example, merged its Formula 1 and MotoGP departments in 2022, while the tuning fork company chose to hire an engine manager, the Italian Luca Marmorini, with a past in the top category of motorsport with Ferrari and Toyota.
“A brilliant engineer is brilliant in any discipline. It’s like calling an aeronautical engineer from NASA. They don’t know this world, but if the guy works, which they usually do, he brings interesting things,” explains Alberto Puig, Honda’s sports director, in conversation with EL PAÍS. “Honda’s center in Japan, in Sakura, is super advanced. Although making an engine for an F1 is one thing, making one for a motorcycle is a very different thing,” he warns.
“What technicians with a Formula 1 background can bring is interesting, although it is not easy. The physics of bikes and cars are very different. If you come from another field you can bring new ideas, different experiences, but developing a bike if your origins are four wheels is not easy,” agrees Gigi Dall’Igna, Ducati’s top sporting manager and the main technical guru of the category. Their solutions in team management, electronics and aerodynamics have made the Bologna factory a practically unbeatable rival over the last three years, as was seen this Saturday at the Emilia Romagna GP, with pole and victory for Pecco Bagnaia ahead of Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini, all three once again in another world. This Sunday (13:00h, DAZN), the Italians can already seal their sixth constructors’ title.
Dall’Igna conceals the role that a former German driver and astrophysicist, Robin Tuluie, has played in the development of his unbeatable machine. This secret cog in the Ducati machinery was a member of the technical team that made the difference in Fernando Alonso’s Renault in 2005 and Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in 2014. Several of the technologies he pioneered were banned because of the huge advantage they provided over the rest of the grid. Since 2016 he has collaborated on the project that has brought the Desmosedici back to glory by applying concepts used even in the construction of skyscrapers.
“I would not only highlight people from Formula 1, since in the paddock “There are people who come from very different fields,” says Massimo Rivola, who has been in charge of the Aprilia project since 2019 and has two decades of experience in the four-wheel elite, where he was former Ferrari sporting director. “What really makes the difference is being able to bring together different visions of people, who have already done certain things in a different way, and being able to interact and compare experiences and different points of view. This is the best way to make a company grow,” he believes. The European factories, with a more daring and dynamic style than the Japanese ones, have clearly taken the lead in terms of innovation, an essential requirement in the category.
Although Yamaha is still far from reaping the results of these new synergies, it is not for lack of initiative. They are working on a new V-four engine for 2025, thus moving away from their traditional in-line conception. “When you see that all your rivals are running with another configuration, and that the change in the 2027 regulations is on the horizon, it is important to understand the difference in potential between the V4 and the inline 4,” notes Lin Jarvis, their technical director. It is another bet that seemed unthinkable not long ago, and in 2021 Fabio Quartararo took the crown in the premier class before the definitive collapse of the Japanese factories. Although it has only been three years, the difference on the track is so noticeable that they have no choice but to grit their teeth and dedicate themselves day and night to the development of the prototype of the future.
“I often say half-jokingly that the only thing similar is the track’s asphalt,” says Davide Brivio, head of Aprilia’s Trackhouse satellite team. He is the one who has the most recent experience in F1 in the team. paddock After working with Alpine between 2021 and 2023, it was a no-brainer. “The world of motorcycles follows some of the Formula 1 solutions a posteriori, such as the issue of aerodynamics, but it is different. Starting with the budgets and the size of the human groups. If there is more money, there is more technology and resources to develop it,” he points out.
With a background in Suzuki and Yamaha, and more than 20 years behind him in the championship, Brivio provides interesting examples. “There are engineers who have come from F1, but there are not that many. Bear in mind that there they are in charge of very specific areas, whereas in MotoGP you have to have a broader vision at all times. In F1, a performance engineer is only in charge of the brakes. Here, now, the same thing happens with the tyres, where there is a specific technician.”
Looking ahead to 2025, the synergies will not only be technical. After the acquisition of the championship by the American multinational Liberty Media, which has also owned Formula 1 since 2016, MotoGP will also benefit from certain commercial solutions that have helped give a new dimension to the top category of motorsport. “When Liberty entered F1, it transformed the discipline in a matter of five years,” adds Brivio himself. “In the United States, everything is a show. It’s about making everything spectacular. If you go to watch basketball, it’s the same. They try to entertain the fans at all times.”
For now, both Dorna and Liberty have specified that there will be no substantial modifications on the sporting and technical side, beyond the changes announced for 2027, with a reduction in engine power and the impact of aerodynamic elements. “We must once again give a central role to the riders, who are superheroes, and also to the show, which is fundamental,” says Rivola. “We must also maintain MotoGP as a kind of two-wheeled plane, like a fighter that is difficult for an ordinary person to pilot. In this sense, it is a bit like Formula 1, something unattainable. MotoGP must be aspirational, a dream, it does not have to be something that one can buy in a shop,” he concludes.
