‘Hit by the ban’

Simon Patterson - MotoGP reporter

Yamaha aren’t the only manufacturer to lose a year of being competitive thanks to MotoGP’s in-season engine development ban. It in part cost Marquez and Honda a title in 2015 and nearly cost them another crown in 2017 when their engine was no match for Ducati. It also played a large part in how poor a season Suzuki had last year after they had to seal their engine when Alex Rins was injured and only Andrea Iannone was fit enough to test it. But with no firm willing to give any other a break, the odds of getting unanimous agreement to change the rule is slim.