MotoGP rights holder Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta said that "Honda, Yamaha and Ducati have approved of a project that will come into effect starting in 2017 in which Suzuki, Aprilia and KTM will join the grid," according to Mela Chércoles of AS. Ezepleta said of a possible date of an official announcement, "We would like to have a press conference together with the brands to announce this officially and explain it in Assen, Netherlands at the end of June." The plan is that in '17 there will be 24 motorcycles, 12 official and 12 customer teams -- four per factory. Dorna will pay the brands a significant amount -- this year the figure is €70M ($74M) -- and it is expected to increase by 30% in '16. This is in "exchange for the manufacturers fulfilling a five-year contract from '17-21, and if one decides to leave, it will owe Dorna everything it has received up to that moment." Dorna also agreed to give the customer teams enough money to buy the motorcycles from the factories at a price agreed upon with Dorna. This stability will "make the championship extend its calendar to 20 races during the five-year agreement." Next year's schedule will either include 19 races -- with the entry of Austria, or 18 if Brno drops. Thailand "is secure" starting in '17 (AS, 4/11).
