Dall'Igna: We need to slow down MotoGP, but not too much

While the MotoGP manufacturers' association is considering reducing the volume of power units from 2026 to 1000 cubic centimeters as part of the rule change for the 850 season, Ducati's general manager Gigi Dall'Igna spoke about the high speeds of the motorcycles, which already exceed 360 km/h this year.

"The speeds are too high," he said. "High speeds will cause us problems in the future if we don't act in time. It is necessary to realize that the rules adopted for 2026 will then apply until 2031. If we continue to compete with 1000cc engines and continue to increase speeds every season, we will have big problems.”

Manufacturers cannot find a common language regarding the rules. For example, some support volume reduction, while others do not. "Three and a half out of five manufacturers support the reduction in volume, and one and a half are against," Dall'Igna outlined the position. While at Ducati they are in favor of reducing the volume, at Aprilia they are strictly against it, and at KTM they do not support the move in order to force Dorna to make room for an additional team on the starting line in exchange for a vote.

At Ducati, they are worried that in exchange for a vote, one of the manufacturers could also demand major changes to the aerodynamics with the excuse that everyone will lose the same, since they all use aerodynamic additives. "Then we should also remove the wing from all F1 cars, because they all have them," disagrees Dall'Igna. "I do not agree with this argument. Wings increase safety, as they prevent the tires from losing contact with the ground, which is the most dangerous phenomenon. Air swirl in the lee of the racer existed even before we had ailerons on our engines. In my opinion, we need to reduce the speed for safety, but we must not focus too much on lap times alone, otherwise the 1000cc Superbike bikes will become faster.”

Dall'Igna says that the MotoGP bike is three to four seconds per lap faster than the WSBK, but in his opinion the ideal would be to reduce the gap by one second per lap, but certainly not more than that.