There is a parallel market in MotoGP. Once the riders have their contracts signed, and this year it happened extraordinary early in the season with Valentino Rossi renewing his contract at Losail, all the other pieces in the garage start to fall into place.

KTM’s arrival in 2017 makes a total of six factory teams on the MotoGP grid and that brings with it an important increase in the demand for experienced and qualified personnel. In addition, the switch of top riders, like Jorge Lorenzo in Ducati or Andrea Iannone to Suzuki.

It has kicked off a merry-go-round of crew chiefs as Dani Pedrosa has recruited Giacomo Guidotti from Scott Redding to replace Ramon Aurin, who goes to Jack Miller who has lost Cristian Gabbarini to Jorge Lorenzo in the works Ducati team.

Historically, when it was mainly Honda and Yamaha in the championship, the goal of every rider and technician was to end up in the box of one of these two factory teams. They represented the pinnacle of technology which also translates to status and money. The return of Suzuki, Aprilia and next season KTM has had a very positive side effect in the paddock also in terms of recruiting of engineers, technicians and mechanics. A boost in a labour market.

KTM caused a shift because the manufacturer had to build a MotoGP team from zero. One of the first important pieces was the arrival in the orange squad of Mike Leitner, historical crew chief of Dani Pedrosa, who found himself with nothing to do as he was shuffled out to make way for Aurin. Leitner, thanks to his long experience and knowledge of the key persons in the paddock supported the Austrian manufacturer in building a very strong team.

The domino effect was perpetuated by Miller’s crew chief Cristian Gabarrini, who will return to the Ducati box where he was Casey Stoner’s crew chief, to be at the side of Lorenzo in his new challenge.

The big surprise of the paddock was the change of Pedrosa’s chief mechanic - the second after he worked many years with Leitner. At times, a rider need a new boost in motivation and some changes in the team, especially the closest persons he is working with, can help. Look at Rossi replacing Jerry Burgess with Silvano Galbusera. Experienced Italian Guidotti will be at Pedrosa’s side next season as he leaves Pramac team and Scott Redding to wear the colours of HRC.

Spaniard Aurin is set to join Miller in the Estrella Galicia team. It seems a logical choice, especially because Honda always tend to protect technicians, as happened in the past when Marquez imposed his Moto2 technicians on his second year in HRC. That time, qualified personnel like Gabarrini became responsible for the Open class bikes. For Aurin to work with Jack Miller could be a very interesting challenge but the decision is not, apparently, final.

With Guidotti moving to HRC, his place is also available, who goes to Pramac, an appreciated private team that this year boasts 15 years in the premier class? The most logic choice would be to look to the resources already present in the team. Former Andrea Dovizioso’s crew chief Cristian Populin is currently working in the Ducati satellite team and he could be the first option.

Another name being mentioned in the paddock is Frankie Carchedi, former technician of Leon Camier and James Toseland in the World Superbike Championship and then in MotoGP with Aspar. This option seems more difficult, unless the rider could support him.

With the 13th round of the season now done, the technicians’ movement are hectic and crucial for a team as well as the riders’ market. In order to win, perfection is needed and this starts from every single component of the team – engineers and technicians included…

Of course none of this is new. The first rider to take a garage to a new manufacturer was probably Rossi who created a shockwave in the paddock when he took his entire Honda team to Yamaha in 2004. The example was followed by Casey Stoner, when he switched from Ducati to Honda, and also by Marquez in his second season in the premier class.