Ducati and Aprilia bosses clash: “Eight bikes? It’s absolutely fair”
Ducati currently have eight bikes on the 2023 grid - 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 believe their Italian rivals have an unfair advantage, with double the quantity of machines at their disposal.
"I think it's absolutely fair in MotoGP," Ducati Corse general manager Dall'Igna told Speedweek.
"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 same for all [teams].
“If a private customer team wants to use Ducati bikes, they do it because our bikes are better than certain others. That's my view.
“We have free competition. 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 grid, they can make an effort to convince more teams.”
Aprilia CEO Rivola had previously called MotoGP a “one-team cup” due to Ducati’s dominance.
He insisted that a “maximum number of teams per manufacturer should be set”.
There is no indication that the quantity of Ducatis on the grid will be reduced any time soon.
"We are working to maintain the current situation for next year,” Dall’Igna said.
“From 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, no one has complained.
“KTM or Aprilia can decide to copy our strategy if they want to."
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
