Sunday, December 19, 2010

Pit Pass: MotoGP Moto2 Machines - A New Stepping Stone

Motogp Moto2 Machine Right Side


MotoGP's new 600CC four-stroke Moto2 class replaces the two-stroke 250CC GP bikes as the stepping stone to the premier category
From the February, 2010 issue of Sport Rider
By Henny Ray Abrams
Photography by Graeme Brown/Geebee Images/2Snap, Gold & Goose

The sweetest Grand Prix racing machines ever built are no more. Starting in 2010, the 250cc two-strokes that honed the skills of world champions such as Kenny Roberts, Wayne Rainey, Freddie Spencer, Valentino Rossi, and Casey Stoner will be replaced by "Moto2" machines, a much cheaper 600cc four-stroke alternative stepping stone to MotoGP. And as much as 250s will be missed, it was clear that they were an anachronism in a changing world.


The Moto2 concept was floated in 2007 at the meeting of the Grand Prix Commission when it became clear that manufacturer support for 250s was cratering. "At this point we reached the stage that we were talking to all the manufacturers via the MSMA about finding a solution for the evolution of the 250 class, so everything was on the table at that point," IRTA Race Director Paul Butler recalls. "Dorna proposed that the next step should be to try to find consensus for 600cc, four-stroke, four-cylinder engines as previously proposed with a common ECU. That single engine proposal was firmed up in Qatar, April '09."
"The Grand Prix commission has the final shout, but obviously it was Dorna, they negotiated," with all the manufacturers, Butler said, of how the choice was made. "But it was offered to all and there were some expressions of interest, but Honda were the only one who were actually ready to nail it." The contract runs for three years. Honda will make a control ECU, which will be monitored by a 2D data-logger that the FIM will have access to. Eskil Suter will make the slipper clutches and Dunlop will supply the tires. On the tire side, only Dunlop and Michelin expressed interest and "in the end," Butler said, "Michelin pulled out. I don't know why. The way that Carmelo (Ezpeleta) told it, they just couldn't

 

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