Why Aprilia and KTM are closer to Yamaha and Honda than to Ducati

The concession system introduced last year in MotoGP to help manufacturers is set to allow KTM and Aprilia to develop their engines and conduct tests with their factory riders from August.

Out of the four existing MotoGP manufacturer categories (A, B, C, and D), both the Austrian and Italian manufacturers are currently classified in category C, which prohibits their riders from carrying out any private testing and prevents them from modifying their engines, which are frozen by regulation.

Ducati belongs to group A, while Honda and Yamaha are in group D, which allows unlimited testing with official riders and full engine development.

This framework was created to try to close the massive performance gap Ducati has opened over its rivals.

The current performance situation and the results from the first five rounds of the season suggest that KTM and Aprilia are likely to join Honda and Yamaha in group D starting in August.

The clearest case is Aprilia, which has been significantly hurt by the long-term absence of world champion Jorge Martin. He has only participated in one of the first five rounds, Qatar, where he competed while unfit and suffered further injuries in a crash.

Concessions are evaluated over two periods, based on the number of points earned by each brand’s best-placed rider in both the sprint and main races. The first window spans from the first round of the year to the last before the summer break. The second runs from the first event after the summer break to the final race before the following summer.

To remain in category C, Aprilia and KTM must have earned at least 35% of all possible points between the 2024 British GP and the Czech GP at Brno on 18-20 July – which equates to 298 points out of 851.

The maths makes it clear that Aprilia faces a tough challenge in reaching that threshold. The team needs to collect 118 points over the next seven races – an average of 16.8 points per weekend. Their current 2025 average is only 10.6 points per race.

The outlook is more favourable for the Austrian manufacturer, which has 220 points thanks to a strong finish in 2024. KTM needs just 78 more points across the seven remaining races until Brno. Their average of 11.6 points per round this year would be just enough, but the margin is only half a point.

Yamaha’s concessions will remain

Fabio Quartararo’s strong performance in Jerez – finishing second on Sunday to claim his and Yamaha’s first podium in a year-and-a-half – was a huge relief for the Iwata-based team.

Despite inconsistency at the start of the season, the French rider’s second place helped Yamaha climb to second in the constructors’ standings with 62 points. Still, Ducati remains far ahead with 185 points, having scored perfect results in the opening five rounds.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Jorge Guerrero – AFP – Getty Images

Taking into account points from late 2024 and those earned in 2025, Yamaha has a total of 139 points. To move up a category before the Brno event in July, they would need to add 159 more points – an almost impossible task, considering that it would require an average of 22.7 points per grand prix, given Yamaha’s current 2025 average is just 12.4 points per race.

Additionally, Yamaha is heavily invested in developing its future V4 engine project, which likely means the brand prefers to stay in group D as it is the only one that allows engine development and on-track testing with factory riders.