This weekend the second round of the World Championship in MotoGP will be held in Doha. Maverick Vinales will defend his lead in the World Cup standings after his victory in Qatar. But such a machine, what does it actually cost? The RTBF asked an expert.
Christophe Bourguignon is a Belgian who works for LCR, Honda’s satellite team. He knows perfectly what costs are incurred for a MotoGP machine that can handle more than 350 km / h.
The team of drivers Alex Marquez and Takaaki Nakagami has a budget of 60 million euros. This allows two motorcycles to be registered. A satellite team like LCR rents a total of four machines from the manufacturer to return them at the end of the season. This does not apply to the so-called factory teams. But at LCR they rent motorcycles.
“The machine and spare parts are therefore covered,” said Bourguignon at the RTBF. “But all costs for the wheels, suspensions and brakes, for example, are for our account. To give an idea. You need 150,000 euros in carbon brakes per driver, we start with 25,000 to 30,000 euros in wheels and around 100,000 euros for the rental of springs at Ohlins. We are obliged to return this material at the end of the year. We start at 14,000 to 15,000 kilometers per year, which gives us an idea of the parts throughout the season. ”
But of course falls also have to be taken into account. “A small fall equals costs a few thousand euros. We then talk about the steering wheel, for example. A serious fall with greater damage can quickly amount to 100,000 euros. ”
And problems with the engine are even more serious when you know that his engine block quickly costs 200,000 to 250,000 euros. “In a normal season we have seven copies at the start.”
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