If MotoGP team budgets are anywhere comparable to F1 budgets, then that is hard to fathom. Between estimating the amount they spend on aero R&D and estimating how much that legal defense ended up costing, it's really mind boggling.
Going by approximate 2018 figures, F1 team budgets nowadays can range from anything in the region of $120 to $400+ million. By comparison, although MotoGP budgets are a bit difficult to nail down, rough figures thrown around by various sources normally fall between €15 to €40 million.
Teams normally have just 10 days of aerodynamic R&D budget to work with per season. Considering how important that field of development is starting to become in MotoGP, losing even a single day can be painful enough, let alone five!
Not to mention, it also seems like one very intense/dramatic/hectic start to the season. I can understand protests and defense cases dragging on for a bit, but after only 1 race and already so much has been spent; that is a bit surreal.
It's because this sort of case has never been encountered before in the series, mostly because the wording of the guidelines are actually quite vague. A point proved by Honda in the build up to the race weekend in Argentina.
They had created their own swing arm "scoop" in the wake of the Court of Appeal ruling in favour of Ducati, but when they presented it to technical director Danny Aldridge's team for approval on Thursday, it was denied because Honda had stated its primary use was for aerodynamics, which in the guidelines is illegal. However when the team returned the following day and stated that the device's use was for tyre cooling, it was approved... despite the fact that no physical change had been made to the device whatsoever.
And that is the crux of the issue. The wording of the guidelines states that the use of such device has to be either tyre cooling, rain deflection or debris deflection, with the purpose/intention being whatever the manufacturer claims it to be. Any secondary effect can be ignored. But if the word "effect" had been used in the guidelines instead of purpose, then nothing that we've seen or heard so far would've happened. If the guidelines had read that swing arm attachments were allowed as long as "their effect is not to generate aerodynamic forces", then both the Honda and Ducati "scoops" would have been ruled illegal, unless proven that they didn't generate any downforce.
However, whilst it's clear that more clarity is needed, the rules are something that Aldridge's team cannot change: their job is to analyse and interpret the rules presented by the MSMA, the joint association of manufacturers racing in MotoGP. The reason for the gaping loophole was because the MSMA had (unintentionally?) put it there in the first place. Under the terms of the contracts the manufacturers have with Dorna (the series rights holder), the MSMA has sole control over the technical rules, as long as they agree unanimously among themselves. If they don't like them, then it's up to the MSMA to change them or propose alternatives.
Given that Ducati has invested heavily in aerodynamics, while the other manufacturers are more reserved about going down that road, that could well be no easy task...
