Montiron's plea

Montiron (pictured with his rider Shinya Nakano), who runs the Konica Minolta Honda team, was present at a meeting between championship bosses Dorna and team chiefs at Barcelona this week, and has become the first to speak out about the discussions.

"In the last few years MotoGP has seen an escalation in term of popularity and cost, basically the MotoGP world has not been able enough to follow this escalation and we are now in the transition period," said Montiron.

"For the motorcycle manufacturers this isn't a big problem: even if the manufacturers would like to reduce the cost of their own racing departments, the main problem at the moment is for the private teams who have to survive in this period.

"I think that in the third millennium we need to approach motorsport with a more commercial and aggressive mind."

The past seven years has seen Moto GP grow hugely in popularity, with TV audiences and race crowds at an all-time high.

But the growth has not transferred into the teams, with grid sizes dropping from almost 30 bikes to just 20 and major brands are still reluctant to plough money into teams.

Already the Ilmor squad have pulled out until they can find a sponsor and the KR and Gresini Honda teams are perilously close to the brink of collapse, and the Monaco-based Montiron has called on the manufacturers to cut costs.

Montiron added: "I think we have a topic here that needs time to be dealt with and really needs the collaboration of all the parties involved.

"For a private team sometimes it is difficult to open a dialogue with the manufacturer because both parties have different needs and objectives, even if the best sport result remains the main goal for both.

"I think it is a rule for everybody, if the income is not sufficient, it's necessary to consider how to reduce costs.

"I think that the manufacturer can reduce the machine rental cost and also reduce the number of winter tests. This year Dorna made a financial contribution to both manufacturers and to the teams and this helps everybody."