– Until just a few race weekends ago, most MotoGP manufacturers assumed that from the 2027 season onwards, teams would remove one of the two motorcycles per rider from the front area of the garage during the training sessions on race weekends, only to bring it back out from the rear area of the garage or from the transporter for the rest of the weekend. This is the so-called “one-motorcycle rule” that was on the table.
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Currently, however, this is no longer the case. According to information from our colleagues at the Spanish edition of Motorsport.com, a sister platform of Motorsport-Total.com in the Motorsport Network, disagreements within the Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers Association (MSMA) have led to the proposal, which was almost decided, needing to be reconsidered.
As things stand now, the initiative to introduce the “one-motorcycle rule” has reached a dead end and it currently seems highly unlikely that it will be implemented. The proposal – put forward by Aprilia and supported by Ducati – was originally presented as a cost-saving measure.
However, opponents of the idea believe that the real motivation behind the push was different. They believe that the two Italian manufacturers wanted to secure a technical advantage, which both believe they have with their 850cc prototypes for 2027.
Theoretically, limiting each rider to a single motorcycle during training sessions would slow down development work and make it harder for competitors to catch up on existing deficits. The decisive factor for the loss of momentum of the “one-motorcycle rule” proposal is the resistance from KTM.
Although the Austrian manufacturer at times appeared to soften its stance, it is now categorically against the idea. The satellite teams also reject the proposed regulation change as they see no tangible benefit in the proposal.
Honda has avoided taking a firm position throughout the discussions and has always stated that it would follow the decision of the majority. However, the situation has dramatically changed over the course of just over a month.
During an MSMA meeting on the Sunday morning of the Hungarian Grand Prix at Balaton Park, the manufacturers assumed they had reached an agreement on the regulation originally referred to as the “WorldSBK rule.” The internal name was a reference to the production-based Superbike World Championship, where riders only have one motorcycle available in the garage. Later, the proposal was internally renamed to “two-motorcycle restriction.”
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Although the manufacturers had verbally agreed to the deal, nothing was formally signed that would have had sufficient legal validity to make the agreement binding. This allowed KTM to revise its position.
KTM informed the other MSMA members of this during the weekend of the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen. And that in turn means that the unanimity required for submitting the proposal to the Grand Prix Commission was no longer given.
The Grand Prix Commission – consisting of representatives from FIM, MSMA, IRTA, and MotoGP SEG – is responsible for approving changes to the MotoGP regulations by simple majority. But without the unanimous support of the manufacturers, the proposal was effectively blocked before reaching this stage.
“The proposal for the one-motorcycle rule is not off the table yet, but currently it looks much more difficult to enforce,” explained one of the key people involved in the process last weekend on the sidelines of the German Grand Prix to Motorsport.com Spain. The race weekend at the Sachsenring was the last stop on the MotoGP calendar in 2026 before the summer break.
The disagreements between the manufacturers could not be resolved at the Sachsenring, partly because Ducati CEO Gigi Dall’Igna and Yamaha racing director Paolo Pavesio were both absent.
The talks are to continue in three weeks in Silverstone. A final decision is expected there on the proposal that has the entire paddock – including the riders – on edge. Behind closed doors, several MotoGP riders have already described the idea of only being allowed to use one motorcycle in training as downright crazy.
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