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Hervé Poncharal isn't only the owner of the Red Bull KTM Tech3 MotoGP team with its riders, Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales, but he's also been President of the IRTA (International Road Racing Teams Association) for almost 20 years. In this role, the 67-year-old Frenchman is currently negotiating the new contracts of the six MotoGP satellite teams with World Championship promoter Dorna. The owner of both a Moto3 and MotoE team, he feels jointly responsible for the success of the entire championship, which is expected to experience a significant boost in upcoming years after the takeover by F1 promoter, Liberty Media.
So, before the Texas GP, GPone.com asked Hervé Poncharal if he understood the request from Aprilia Racing CEO, Massimo Rivola, who's demanding permission for his injured world champion, Jorge Martin, to undergo private MotoGP training before his return to racing, which is possibly planned for the Qatar GP in mid April.
The GASGAS Tech3 team faced a similar situation with Pol Espargaró in 2023, when the Spanish rider couldn't ride from the end of March until the first weekend of August at Silverstone, following his terrible fall in Portimão. At the time, KTM had also suggested a private MotoGP training session for Pol. And Marc Márquez was also not allowed to practice with his MotoGP Honda RC213V following four upper-arm surgeries after he fell in Jerez in 2020 and after not having ridden for a month.
Hervé, in every other sport like tennis, skiing, cycling, or soccer, athletes are free to train with their equipment as often as they like. So, do you get Rivola's suggestion?
"A MotoGP team principal doesn't often face this kind of problem. But we're dealing with a highly professional sport, and our motorcycles are high-performance machines. That's why I agree with Massimo Rivola's proposal. However, a change to the regulations requires a unanimous decision within the MSMA (Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers Association). But there never was a vote of the manufacturers on this committee about this matter in 2025. So we cannot have a change of the regulations during the 2025 season. But I repeat: I understand why Massimo Rivola wants a change. I have nothing against his point of view. But this is an issue which can only be decided by the manufacturers. At the moment they never had a vote. But that doesn't mean the existing regulation has to remain in place forever."
Davide Tardozzi mentioned to some journalists, Ducati would simply not agree to this approval for 2025, because Ducati submitted a similar request for Enea Bastianini in 2023, which was rejected.
"I cannot speek for Ducati. But maybe the MSMA will change this rule during the next winter, so all MotoGP factories can start the new 2026 season on an equal footing concerning this subject".
Another topic of discussion is the tire pressure issue in the MotoGP. Since drastic penalties have been introduced, results are often changed, retrospectively. In Thailand, Marc Márquez had to let his brother Alex go first for several laps, to increase the tire temperature and, therefore, the tire pressure. These incidents distort racing, and many TV viewers and also spectators are annoyed.
"We've tried to avoid this tire pressure issue for many years, but every tire manufacturer will tell you that, if you play around with the tire pressure too much, the tire's performance can change drastically. And what's the point if you have standard tires and some teams don't adhere to the recommended limits? Safety is put at risk. For many years, we worked together with the tire companies, and also the promoter, Dorna, the teams, and factories, in order to get this problem under control using sensors. So, we got sensors, but there were no penalties. Then, mandatory penalties were introduced in 2024 and, for 2025, we expanded the permitted range even further, to reduce penalties and problems. I personally believe that we need these regulations."
"At the same time, I understand why some spectators are annoyed and don't fully understand the issue. But, if you don't have precise regulations with penalties, it can lead to very serious safety problems. And we can't make any concessions when it comes to safety because, at some point, not only does the tire's performance suffer but, in the worst case scenario, the construction and carcass could also be destroyed. That's why you need these regulations and these penalties. Otherwise, no one will follow them. We all know that. And what happened in Thailand wasn't so bad for the show. Without worrying abou the front tire pressure, Marc Márquez would've ridden off on his own. But, without a slipstream, he was worried about the tire pressure and had to slow down. He then had to chase his brother, which created tension. And, as for the spectators at the racetrack, we had impressive attendance figures in Termas ... 209,000 over three days. We already had almost 65,000 on Friday. The town was absolutely packed, even though it's a very sparsely populated area and the big cities are far away. But the fans came from all over South America on their bikes. From Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, and Uruguay ... from everywhere. I was very happy to see the huge crowd around the track. There was an excellent atmosphere. This is proof of the appeal the MotoGP product has."
