Honda MotoGP boss Shuhei Nakamoto has warned that if Dorna go ahead with plans to introduce control ECU’s from 2016 then Honda would almost certainly quit MotoGP.
On the topic of the proposed cost cutting measures he said:
“Should MotoGP go for a control ECU, it’s 99 per cent sure Honda will leave. The reason why Honda goes Grand Prix racing is the need to develop technology; in fact we think GPs are the best test bench for it. If the chance of developing is taken away, then Honda loses a very important reason – in fact a fundamental one – to justify spending all that money. Honda’s position is not new, I said it other times and I wasn’t joking. If Carmelo’s objective is to stop development, then there’s no reason for a manufacturer like Honda to carry on racing in GPs.”
Control ECU’s are already making an appearance as early as 2014 for the new ‘open’ class of machines. In return for running the control ECU and datalogger the ‘open’ class bikes are allowed an additional 4 litres of fuel (over the 20 litres of the factory bikes)
In stark contrast to Nakamoto, new Ducati MotoGP manager Gigi Dall’Igna said his outfit’s future lay in the control ECU ‘open’ class.
“That’s the future of MotoGP, the others are going forward, so we must too,” he said when asked if Ducati was investigating producing an open-class bike.
“We need to immediately start developing this project.”