Honda’s RC213V in 2018 – when MotoGP bikes were like most other motorcycles, just much, much faster. Now they are more like two-wheel Formula 1 cars
Riders Club
For the first 53 years of motorcycling’s world championships, from 1949 to 2001, the premier-class engine capacity limit was 500cc. By the time MotoGP‘s 2027 technical regulations are in force, the engine size will have changed four times in 26 years, from 990cc to 800cc to 1000cc to 850cc four-strokes, with two-stroke 500s banned from 2007.
There have been dozens of other changes to the technical rules in the past two decades or so, during which time MotoGP’s rulebook has got fatter and fatter and fatter. In 1999 the technical regulations section of the rulebook numbered 18 pages. This year’s technical regulations run to 183 pages – 1000% bigger!
Why? Because racing gets ever-more complicated, especially when extra rules are introduced to narrow the performance gap across the grid and reduce costs (in theory, at least).
Technical rules have been under constant evolution during the last two decades largely due to two events: the tobacco sponsorship ban, from the end of 2006, and the Global Financial Crisis, which began in 2008.
The consequence of these events was much less money coming into the championship. By 2011 there were only 14 starters and 10 finishers at some races. MotoGP stood on the edge of the abyss.
Dorna, with good reason, hit the panic button. CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta embarked on an austerity drive to reduce costs to stop more teams quitting. He also started working at changing the rules to make the racing closer and more attractive to fans, thus increasing MotoGP income.
The AJS 500cc twin, winner of the inaugural 1949 500cc/MotoGP championship, and two Ducati Desmosedici GP24s at Silverstone last year. Technical rules rarely changed in the past; now they change all the time
Dorna/MotoGP
The changes have included pretty much every part of the motorcycle: engine capacity, engine dimensions, quantity of engines allowed per season, fuel capacity, quantity of tyres allowed per GP, single-make tyres, practice and qualification formats, testing restrictions, electronics hardware, electronics software, number of wheel-rim sizes, number of gearbox ratios, aerodynamics restrictions, tyre pressure restrictions and even the admission of road-bike engines.
The next big change, due in 2027, is mostly about reducing performance. When the raft of new measures – 150cc engine-size reduction, downforce aero trimmed and ride-height/holeshot devices banned – were announced in early 2024, MotoGP technical staff predicted they would slow the bikes by 2.5-3 seconds per lap.
Marc Márquez was on another level at Losail, while Viñales magicked amazing speed out of nowhere in the 2025 MotoGP Qatar GP, Honda made another step and Martin put himself back in hospital
However, Michelin’s new-for-2024 rear slick cut times by up to a second and, if Michelin introduces its new front slick next season, lap times will fall again.
Therefore there’s a real chance that this latest rules change won’t meet its intentions — slowing the bikes down. If that happens, perhaps those in charge will finally understand that the surest way to contain performance is via reducing grip.
Downforce aerodynamics are now subject to regulations and will be trimmed from 2027. This is Aprilia’s midseason upgrade from last year
Aprilia
Ride-height adjuster plumbing in the fairing nose of a 2025 Ducati. All such devices will be banned from 2027
Mat Oxley
Seat downforce aero on a 2024 Honda RC213V. Seat aero isn’t restricted like other aero bodies, but from 2027 it will be included in aero homologation rules
Mat Oxley
