Would someone please explain how a satellite team differs from a factory team?

I'm especially curious about...
1) how are the bikes different?
2) how are they funded?
3) does the manufacturer have any input in the management of a satellite team?
4) are satellite teams considered second tier?
5) what are the benefits to a rider and a manufacturer to be on or have a satellite team?

Thanks.

About MotoGP

Teams/Manufacturers

To define a typical team competing in MotoGP is not simple, but Grand Prix teams in the main consist of financial backers, management staff, administrative staff, press officers, a group of mechanics, and of course the riders themselves.
Teams in the MotoGP class are generally comprised of two riders and in addition to the riders' and constructors' (manufacturers) World Championships, the teams compete for a title of their own. All points scored by both riders in a team, including substitutes or replacements, but excluding wildcard entries, count towards the Teams World Championship title - which is presented each year at the end of season MotoGP Awards and which in 2007 went to the Ducati Marlboro Team.
Team Names

The official race titles of the teams are composed of three elements: the name of the manufacturer of the motorcycle or engine, the name of the team and/or the name of one principal sponsor. Hence names such as Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, Alice Team or Team San Carlo Honda Gresini.
Sponsors play a key role in supporting the running of the team as they help to cover costs such as administrative fees, bike lease, insurance, travel and staff salaries. In turn the teams provide their sponsors with global media exposure and an association with one of the world’s most glamorous, popular and thrilling sports.
All teams are members of IRTA (International Road Racing Teams Association), an organisation which was formed in 1986 to represent the participants of Grand Prix with a collected voice. The organisation works alongside the FIM and Dorna (see Governing Bodies section) to maintain high standards within MotoGP and to improve the sport overall.
Definitions

The teams competing in MotoGP vary hugely in terms of their available budgets and their structure in terms of staff numbers, from the big name factory teams, to the satellite or private teams participating in the three elite classes of the MotoGP World Championship.
As the name suggests, the factory teams are those most closely linked with the manufacturer they represent. Teams such as Repsol Honda, for whom 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden and his talented Spanish team-mate Dani Pedrosa ride, and Fiat Yamaha, represented by global sporting icon Valentino Rossi and his colleague Jorge Lorenzo, are the MotoGP showcases for the brand and the technology of the respective manufacturers. Proving your worth to millions of motorcycle enthusiasts across the globe cannot be bad for sales.
Private teams, meanwhile, can also have close links with the manufacturers who provide their machinery, but their levels of collaboration with the factory differ from case to case – with some teams being completely separate from factories.
Some private teams lease their race bikes from the manufacturers and benefit from direct technical support and supply of parts from the factories dependent on their agreement. Alice Team (Ducati) is an example of a satellite team with these kind of arrangements. For the factories, feedback from these teams also plays a crucial role in their development of competitive racing machinery.
Many private teams throughout the three categories, meanwhile, are operated completely independently from the factories but again they lease their bikes from the manufacturers - LCR Honda MotoGP Team and JiR Team Scot do this in the MotoGP class.
The Michel Metraux Cup is awarded to the highest-placed privateer riders in the 250cc and 125cc class standings at the end of each season.
All teams have a selected tyre supplier and more information on how they choose their rubbers can be found in the tyres section.









Answered in a round-about way!

Thursday, 15 May 2008
Honda´s satellite teams continue to receive good support from HRC this term and a new clutch is expected to boost performances for the non-factory outfits this weekend in France.



Although Repsol Honda have repeatedly insisted that the strong race starts seen by Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden thus far in 2008 have been solely down to rider ability their Honda RC212V prototypes are clearly set-up well to get away from the grid efficiently, meaning that a clutch update this weekend from HRC for their satellite teams should be warmly received.
Home rider Randy de Puniet is one rider who will hope to improve on a hitherto less than impressive run of race starts with a new clutch on his Honda LCR satellite 800cc machine at his home race this weekend.
As the French rider´s team Technical Head Christophe Bourguignon told motogp.com, `We have a clutch evolution from HRC which we hope will improve our start performance. We have had instability with starts, because we have had some really good practice starts but our four race starts have been average, or even bad.´
`We hope this can give us more stability so that we can at least keep our place on the grid during GPs, because we have been qualifying well and the competition is so high.´
For Antonio Jimenez, Chief Mechanic on Shinya Nakano´s side of the San Carlo Honda Gresini pit-box, his take on upgrade is that, `the new clutch should help reduce rear tyre `hopping´, so that when you shift down a gear you get less rear wheel locking. We also expect to have a better start with this clutch.´
Meanwhile, Andrea Dovizioso´s Crew Chief in the JiR Team Scot team, Pietro Caprara, believes the clutch will be more important to assisting his rider´s braking capabilities than improving his race starts.
He said, `For braking, especially engine braking, this clutch will be much more easy to manage and it should basically decrease the jumping, which we call `hopping´. It will be useful for the rider and his riding style and will improve the character of the engine braking. In terms of starts I´m not sure but I don´t think there will be a big difference from the old one.´




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MotoGP's second Ducati team are set for an overhaul next year with the factory at Bologna taking more of a hands on, day to day role in their running. The Pramac satellite team is running Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli on customer Ducati GP8s this season in the first of a three year deal to lease bikes from Ducati Corse.
Ducati's Livio Suppo says the technical back-up received by the Alice-backed Pramac outfit will remain the same for the rest of 2008: "Nothing really different from where it is now."


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The only new team likely to emerge in 2009 looks like being a one-rider team run by Jorge Martinez (“Aspar”), but all the talk of a Martinez/Schwantz satellite team seems to have dried up. Jorge was shown the numbers that he would need to be supplied a factory Suzuki by Japan and he backed away in horror.
Accustomed to leasing and paying for maintenance of factory Aprilia machines in 125 and 250, Jorge found Suzuki prices excessive.

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ah... was wondering if I had to tax my brain and try and answer this question... with lots of "I think"s attached... good read, Jossik... now we all know definitely, totally, completely... as in, the technical stuff.

All I can add... if a rider had a choice between a factory ride and a satellite team... he'd probably choose factory ride with no pay over satellite team with full pay... lol.