The FIM has announced a MotoGP engine freeze for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
As reported by Autosport last month, the MotoGP world championship will stop engine development for the next two seasons, before the new regulations come into force in the top class of motorcycle racing from 2027.
This will allow manufacturers to focus on preparing bikes for the new regulations, without having to invest in engine development after the beginning of the 2025 season.
Under the current rules, manufacturers could submit completely new engines before the first Grand Prix of each season. These were sealed and could no longer be modified for the rest of the year.
With the engine freeze now agreed unanimously by all the manufacturers, the sample engine that each team submits on Thursday at the 2025 Thai Grand Prix, the first round on next year's calendar, will be identical to the ones they use all season. They will be limited to eight engines for each year’s racing.
Exempt from the freeze will be the two manufacturers who currently enjoy concessions, namely Honda and Yamaha. Their concessions status is only likely to change if there is a dramatic improvement in their results over the final few rounds of this season.
Both factory and private teams will be subject to the freeze ahead of 2027, when the current 1000cc engine formula will be cut to 850cc. This will be accompanied by a considerable restriction of aerodynamic elements and other devices, such as the ride height adjusters. The latter will essentially disappear, apart from those used specifically for race starts.
The move makes sense given the desire of the championship’s governing bodies to limit investment by the factories with only two seasons left before the current technical framework changes.
This is not the first time that MotoGP's highest decision-making body has played the engine freeze card to contain spending and stabilise budgets. The most recent case of this measure being taken was during the pandemic, specifically the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
In August 2020, Yamaha asked for permission to open the M1 engines of Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales, claiming there was a problem with the valves. That request led to considerable distrust from the other representatives of the Manufacturers’ Association (MSMA).
In the FIM statement announcing the engine freeze, it confirmed changes for safety or reliability would be permitted if no performance gain can be proven.
“Engine specification in the MotoGP class will be frozen for 2026, requiring all manufacturers to use their 2025 specification the following season. This is in order to control costs and maximise parity ahead of the introduction of the new regulations in 2027,” the FIM statement read.
“Certain allowances may be made concerning corrections for safety or reliability, or proven nonavailability of components, providing no performance increase will be gained.”
