The 2018 season will be the last year that Honda powers the Moto2 World Championship, with the intermediate grand prix series set to use Triumph’s 765cc three-cylinder engine from 2019 onward.
This should be cause for quite a shakeup in Moto2, with the British brand making a stronger effort in recent time to be part of the racing scene. That effort will be ancillary though, because the real magic in the Moto2 class comes from the various chassis-builders.
As such today, we get to see the first completed Moto2 machine for 2019, and it shouldn’t surprise us to see that it is a Kalex.
The German company has dominated the Moto2 Championship with its machines, save for one special year where an unstoppable Marc Marquez blew away the competition on his Suter race bike.
Every other year though, 2011 and 2013-2017, has belonged to Kalex however, and the company’s regard is easily seen in the Moto2 paddock, with the majority of entries sporting Kalex motorcycles.
For the 2019 season, there will be a new sound in the paddock, as we will also see more Moto2 machines favoring a right-side exhaust mounting, rather than the preponderance of left-side exhaust exists the CBR600RR motor seems to be creating.
Performance from Triumph’s triple should be on par with the 130hp at the rear wheel of the Honda-powered Moto2 bikes, and we wouldn’t expect too many chassis changes coming from brands like Kalex, Suter, et al.
Will these new engine design, the machines it spurs into creation, be the golden ticket to making Moto2 the bar-bashing good time fans enjoyed in the early years? That remains to be seen – it should be interesting though.
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