When we first heard the news about the upcoming Moto2 series, we were excited about the rumors of Bimota coming back into the racing scene; after all the 600cc prototype class seemed like the perfect place for the Italian company to show off its amazing chassis designs. So understandably it saddened us to see Bimota not taking a dominant role as teams and the series itself matured. As the situation would have it, only FB Corse signed on to use the HB4 race bike. This however seems to be no longer the case, as another team has shown interest in what we believe is the best looking bike in the Moto2 paddock.
Moto2 team Stop & Go is apparently set to drop its Suter powered race bike in favor of the Bimota HB4. This move comes after Stop & Go switched from their planned FTR chassis to the cheaper Suter unit. While Suter currently is the cheapest bike in the Moto2 paddock, and consists of over 1/4 of the 40 provisional entrants, the contract between the chassis designer and Stop & Go team fell through reportedly because of the level of technical support.
“We had a preliminary agreement with Suter but there were some terms in the final contract with which we did not agree and in the end we have decided to go with Bimota,” said team principal Edu Perales. “We are pleased because it represents a more direct, more human contact, and if there are problems it will be much easier to resolve them.”
Stop & Go wanted more direct contact with bike builder, which Suter wasn’t able to provide. Fortunately for the team, Bimota, with its comparatively smaller client list, was able to offer the level of support the Stop & Go was looking for as they go Moto2 racing. Accordingly, Stop & Go’s Bimota HB4 is expected to be outfitted with Showa suspension, which will make it the only bike to stray from the Öhlins standard. Stop & Go and will likely debut in Jerez at the next Moto2 test, after testing the HB4 first at either Valencia or Almeria.
This news also confirms the death of FB Corse’s Moto2 team, which was originally to run the HB4 in the 600cc prototype series. We still don’t have word on the team’s demise, but budgeting is probably to blame.
2010 Bimota HB4 Moto2 Race Bike:
Source: Moto.Caradisiac
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