MotoGP's opening cost-cutting measure in response to the coronavirus will be a freeze on engine and aerodyn♌amic development until the 2022 season.

The move - unanimously agreed by Dorna, MSMA (manufacturers), IRTA (teams) and FIM - me🔯ans the main aspects of bike spec at the start of this season will remain unchanged until the end of the 2021 campaign.

That will not only slash development costs for the six manufacturers, which won't need to build a 'new' bike for next year, but also result in lower leasing costs for the Independent teams꧙.

"We all decided unanimously to keep the 2020 spec, which basically means the bikes we shipped to Doha to start the championship. The engine spec, as well as aero spec, will be frozen until the end of 2021," IRTA president and Tech3 team owner Herve Poncharal told mahbx.com.

"It was a very good decision. It w♍ill reduce the investment for the manufacturers because it means most of the R&D for next year is already done. That will help the manufacturers in this tough situation but also the teams because the lease fee, which is the main technical cosꦛt for the teams, will need to be reduced because the 2021 bike will be the same."

Although full details are yet to be published, once rubber-stamped by the Grand Prix Commission, it seems the 2020 and 2021 seasons will be 168💟澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:'merged' from an en𝔉gine and aero point of view.

Currently, the four non-concession manufacturers (Honda, Ducati, Yamaha and Suzuki) must use the same engine design throughout each season, but can then introduce a new spec at the opening round of the following year. All riders 🐭are allowed a maximum of two fairing designs per season.

KTM and Aprilia are currently exempt from the in-season engine freeze and so might have the chance to gain more ground on the 'big 🔯four' due to a❀n extended freeze, but:

"They won't use it, I believe. On paper, the Concession rule might not change but I'm pretty sure it wil𓃲l be the least of their worries," Poncharal explained. "Right now, the question is not how to spend more money, I think f🃏or every manufacturer the target will be to save their company.

"More development means spend🎃ing more money. Nobody wants to spend money now.♍ Everybody wants to freeze everything we can and 'hibernate' for a while. Use as little energy as possible to keep the heart beating."

The b🌱iggest fear with any development freeze is that b𒈔ike spec will be locked at a stage where one manufacturer has a clear advantage or where big performance gaps exist throughout the field.

Fortunately for MotoGP, there has ra🦩rely been a better time to freeze the grid, with the top 18 riders covered by just 0.972s at the end of pre-season testing.

"Freezing the spe🌠c doesn't hurt the show, be📖cause we have incredible bikes for this year," Poncharal said. "During testing in Malaysia and Qatar the lap times were unbelievably close.

"So we don’t need to spend on that departmen🐼t because we have incredibly high-tech, high-performance bikes already. Let's ke♏ep them like this."

Although MotoGP is yet to hold its first race of the year, the 2020 engine spec was homologated remotely on March 25, when digital drawin✃gs of each team's first fairing designs were also submitted.

Chassis and electronics are not currently covered by an🐟y developmenꦬt freeze.