AMA Daytona Sportbike / American Superbike racer J.D. Beach has snagged himself a Moto2 ride at the Indianapolis GP, riding with the Aeroport de Castello/Cartellon Mediterraneo Blumaq team. Beach will be on board the FTR M211 Moto2 bike, prepared by the company’s US Distributor GP Tech. Unlike last year where Roger Lee Hayden rode the Moriwaki MD600 Moto2 bike for American Honda’s entry, Beach will not be considered a wild card entry. Instead, the former AMA Pro SuperSport East Champion will be considered a substitute rider, filling-in presumably for Tommaso Lorenzetti.
As such, Beach will not be able to test the the FTR Moto2 machine at the upcoming AMA Pro Racing test at Indy on August 18th & 19th. Instead, Beach will do his testing on a Honda CBR600RR provided by Peak Powersports, since the Moto2 machinery features a Honda CBR600RR motor in its prototype chassis. A strong 600cc rider, it’s hoped that Beach can adapt quickly to the Moto2 format, though if Hayden’s performance last year is any indication, there is a steep learning curve to the MotoGP’s feeder series.
The hope from this endeavor is that it will promote a greater American presence in the Moto2 Championship, and pave the way for American riders to race in that series, as well as MotoGP down the line. Currently the path to MotoGP for American riding talent stems from jumping to World Superbike from AMA Pro Racing, and then from WSBK moving onto MotoGP.
With the very different riding styles involved in all three of those classes, it is a tall order to expect a young rider to be able to adapt and succeed in that process. That being said, one could argue with Toni Elias’s performance this year that Moto2 is proving not to be the stepping stone to MotoGP that Dorna hoped it would be.
Source: RRW; Photo: AMA Pro Racing
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