A Spec ECU and datalogger system will be made compulsory in MotoGP from 2014, governing body the FIM has announced.
Factory teams will however be granted the allowance of being able to use their own software systems, but only if they also agree to run on 20, rather than 24, litres of fuel for each race.
The FIM stressed however that the changes will only become law at the successful conclusion of negotiations between Dorna and the manufacturers over the supply of prototype chassis and engines.
The announcement comes after months of debate about the sport’s future.
Honda threatened it could quit should the introduction of 2013′s optional ECU system pave the way for a mandatory policy.
Click here to read what MotoGP’s ECU row could mean for the sport’s future
The impasse has effectively been solved by the decision to allow the factory teams to use their own software systems at the expense of four litres of fuel.
In addition to that change, factory teams will only be permitted the use of five engines over one season, compared to 12 engines for every other team. Engine development will be frozen during the season.
With Suzuki being heavily linked with a 2014 return, the FIM also confirmed that a new factory outfit would be allowed nine engines in its first season.
Dorna chief Carmelo Ezpeleta said he expected a deal for the factory teams to supply prototype machinery at a set cost, as reported by AUTOSPORT last month, to be imminent.
The FIM has set a deadline of the first race of 2013, effectively 31 March, for contract talks to be concluded. Should they fail, spec ECU systems are not certain be written into the sport’s regulations.
“We’ll do a commercial deal with the manufacturers to have satellite bikes leased for a maximum price of 1.5 million Euros,” Ezpeleta told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Purchasing the bikes for others will cost 1 million instead: Honda has already agreed, probably Yamaha will do so too and Ducati is welcome to as well.
“I’ll ask each manufacturer for the bikes, based on teams’ requests, while I’ll directly guarantee for the payments.”
Alongside the MotoGP changes, the FIM announced that Moto2 will now operate a minimum weight of 215kg for bike and rider. The current regulations impose only a minimum bike weight.
Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/motorcycles/motogp/spec-motogp-ecu-mandatory-for-2014
Dan Gurney Hubert Hahne Mike Hailwood Mika Häkkinen Bruce Halford
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