MotoGP Confirms The Concession System For The 2024 Season

The MotoGP World Championship will have concessions in the 2024 season. The official site of MotoGP had already advanced this news in recent months, and in recent weeks a first outline of what the new system would be like had already been detailed, something that was confirmed this week after the GP Commission meeting in Valencia.

All the factories in the premier class have finally given their approval to the system “for the good of the World Cup”, which will divide the teams into four ranks based on the points they achieve in two specific periods. These features will determine “allowed test days and drivers, wild card appearances, number of engines, engine specifications and freezes, aerodynamic upgrades and the number of tires supplied for testing.

A manufacturer classified in rank A will have to have obtained at least 85% of the maximum possible constructor points, and will then have 170 test tires, private tests with test drivers only on three grand prix circuits, without ‘wildcards’, a maximum of eight engines per year and a development freeze, as well as a single aerodynamic update per year.

For a B rank, the percentage of points must be less than 85% but greater than 60%, while for C it must be less than 60% and greater than 35%. For rank D, it must be less than 35%. Brands in categories B and C will be subject to the same testing limits, number of engines, development freezes and aerodynamic updates as those in category A, but may have three and six wildcards, respectively. They will also have 190 to 220 test tires. As for category D manufacturers, they will be able to have 260 test tires on any grand prix circuit, six wildcards, a maximum of 10 engines that can be developed freely and two aerodynamic updates per year. In addition, they will be able to do tests with the official drivers.

If a manufacturer changes categories during the second period mentioned above, awards will be adjusted accordingly to reflect this. For the 2024 season, Ducati will have the A rank, KTM  and Aprilia the C, and Yamaha and Honda the D.

This is how they explained it, along with other regulations: “The GP Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (CEO of Dorna), Paul Duparc (FIM), Hervé Poncharal (IRTA) and Biense Bierma (MSMA), in the presence of Carlos Ezpeleta (Dorna sporting director), Mike Webb (IRTA, Meeting Secretary), Corrado Cecchinelli (Technology Director), Jorge Viegas (FIM President), Paul King (FIM CCR Director) and Dominique Hebrard (Technical Director of the FIM CTI) in a meeting held in Valencia on November 23, 2023, approved the following proposals.” 

“The MotoGP concession system has been updated. This revised proposal for the criteria for the introduction and removal of concessions was agreed unanimously with the MSMA (manufacturers’ association). All factories gave their approval to the proposal for the good of the World Cup,” they explained, before detailing what it would be like.

“The concessions will be calculated in two windows. The first goes from the first test to the last of the season. The second is from the first grand prix after the summer test ban until the last grand prix before the ban begins the summer test in the following season. 

“Factories will be classified into four ranks – A, B, C or D – depending on the percentage of the possible maximum points they have accumulated in each window. This rank determines the allowed test days and drivers, wild card appearances, the number of engines, engine specifications and icing, aerodynamic updates and the number of tires supplied for testing.” 

Subsequently, some measures valid for all categories, in force from the next campaign, were detailed: 

• For safety reasons and the duration of the grand prix, starting Wednesday the use of scooters on the track is prohibited except for organization/circuit workers carrying out maintenance tasks.
• If a driver does not record a time that allows him to participate in the classification for reasons of “force majeure”, Race Management may grant a waiver so that the driver can participate.
• During the warm-up lap of the sprint or race, Race Direction may use the white flag to indicate that motorcycle changes are allowed due to rain. Drivers can enter the pitlane to change tires or motorcycles and then start the race from the pitlane without further penalty. The proposal is in the interest of safety to prevent drivers from being forced to complete the warm-up lap and the first race lap on dry tires in wet conditions.
• It is clarified that, at the end of a race, the first three finishers must go to the parc ferme/podium area without stopping in the pits. Celebrations on the track, including stopping after the end of the race, are still permitted.
• To ensure reliability, it is clarified that the position of the timing transponder (GPS), as defined by the Technical Director, must be respected and must not be modified without prior approval.
• A new FIM-specific marking system (declared by the manufacturer by the MotoGP regulations) for rider protective equipment (leather suits, gloves and boots) has been agreed upon with all equipment manufacturers and will be mandatory. from 2024 in all categories.
• The FIM legal working group has made several clarifications and updates to the wording of the Disciplinary Code, to use more precise legal language where necessary.
• The FIM Medical Commission, together with the FIM Medical Officer and the MotoGP Medical Director, has made several clarifications and updates to the FIM Medical Code, to improve procedures and documentation.

In addition, new measures for Moto2 and Moto3 were also explained:

For the Moto2 and Moto3 categories, the Free Practice 1 session on Friday morning will be designated as “Free Practice, not Practice – that is, it will not be used to choose the Q2 cut-off. This is in response to the Requests from all Moto3 teams and a large majority of Moto2 teams for more time to work on the bike set-up, which will also align the sessions with the MotoGP™ category.

The number of private test days allowed for the Moto2 and Moto3 categories will now be counted for contracted riders only (previously they were contracted riders and teams). This update has been made in agreement with the Moto3 and Moto2 teams and in recognition of the fact that many teams also race the same bikes in other championships.

In the Moto3 and Moto2 categories, the weigh-in of the riders in the Parc Ferme area will take place immediately after the rider’s arrival and before they have any interaction with the teams and the media. In the Moto2 and Moto3 categories, the definition of the dimensions and design of the handlebars will be clarified. This will help enforce the regulation that prohibits riding with one hand off the handlebars.