It seemed like just a footnote to another story, but when Paolo Campinoti spoke to GPOne.com about the future of Niccolo Canepa, he had a very interesting suggestion to make. For the manager of the Pramac Ducati team told GPOne.com that he was interested in setting up a separate association for the satellite teams. "It's true, I wanted an assocation for the satellite teams. My team (Pramac), Fausto Gresini, Herve Poncharal and Lucio Cecchinello put on seven bikes, nearly half the grid. It would be a good thing for our ideas to be heard. I talked to those directly involved about it, but it came to nothing. In the end, there's IRTA for this kind of thing."
IRTA - the International Road Racing Teams Association - represents all of the teams, riders and service companies present in MotoGP. Together with the MSMA, they represent the teams and manufacturers in the Grand Prix Commission, along with Dorna as organizers of the series, and the FIM, as the federation overseeing all motorcycle racing. But the MSMA also has a profound influence over IRTA: after all, all of the factory teams run by the members of the MSMA also have a vote in the IRTA, giving them the power to influence the vote of two of the four members of the Grand Prix Commission.
A separate satellite teams association could potentially give the satellite teams a clearer voice in the decisions which run MotoGP, and more control over rule changes, perhaps even giving themselves a better chance of actually winning a race. But this would still leave them in a difficult position. Dorna pays the team a lot of money to participate in the series, supplying a big chunk of the cash they need to run the teams. It could prove very difficult for a separate satellite teams association to face up to Dorna, and go against rule changes that Dorna may want to force through. That could be seen as biting the hand that feeds them, and such ingratitude is not likely to go down well at Dorna HQ in Barcelona.
Comments
Interesting
This aligns well with my current train of thought about what needs to happen. If racing is going to be made cheaper, the key I believe, is in the satellite teams. If they can gain the voice to make themselves competitive, the costs should go down in relation. As rules are tweaked to support satellite teams, they will naturally lean toward the cheaper of any set of options.
Your last point is the issue though and potentially an even bigger problem that could push the whole series in the wrong direction (if you believe, like I do, that Dorna isn't capable of the wisest decisions regarding racing). If the Satellite teams are receiving a significant amount of their funding from Dorna they could easily become another vote for Dorna in any decision.
re: Interesting
It's not that different here in the US with the new AMA series. With Honda pulling out, and likely no factory support from Susuki or Kawi we get mainly the large semi factory satellite teams. Jordon, Graves, Erion ect ... That could make for good racing. Could it be the same in GP? Yes I love watching the invincible ride unobtanium, but it's unsustainable.
-Mickey SFMC