After the GP Commission convened at Assen to meet regarding rules for the 2011 season, and other GP affairs, talk quickly began to spread that rumors of a Moto3 class were true. Seeing the success of Moto2 in replacing 250GP, the GP Commission seems to think that a similar race series could successfully replace the 125GP class, making all of GP racing a four-stroke affair as early as 2012 or 2013.
American Honda has announced that it will field a Moto2 wild card at the 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis GP, using the Moriwaki Engineering MD600 race package for their entry. Moriwaki is one of the more popular chassis manufacturers in Moto2, with Toni Elias winning two rounds on his Gresini Racing sponsored MD600. Honda’s aim is to help promote the new GP racing class, and to also raise awareness for two good causes.
As things at the Isle of Man get underway for the 2010 Isle of Man TT, FTR Moto is set to take an Isle first: the first Moto2 race bike to take on the Mountain Course. 22-year-old Olie Linsdell will race his FTR M210 in the six-lap Senior TT event on Friday, June 11th. For those doing the math, that’s a 226 mile race on a “prototype” machine, going race pace on city streets.
Linsdell’s FTR Moto2 has the same chassis setup as the Moto2 race bike, but features a race-prepped Honda CBR600RR motor, instead of the Moto2 modified lump from the same paterfamilias. The CBR600RR motor was prepared by the Joe Darcey Team, and is built to World Supersport specification.
MCN is reporting that the days of 125GP may be numbered as Dorna and the FIM get ready to replace the small displacement GP series with what’s being called the new Moto3 race class. Drawing from the formula found in Moto2, Moto3 features prototype bikes with 250cc four-stroke single-cylinder motors. However instead of a single-spec motor rule, as found in Moto2, Moto3 appears to be open to multiple engine manufacturers.
Alex de Angelis had some rotten luck last weekend while competing in the Moto2 race at Le Mans, France. Minding his own business, de Angelis was unaware that wildcard Xavier Simeon had crashed behind him. He was also unaware that Simeon’s bike hadn’t crashed, and was careening straight for de Angelis. The rest writes itself, check it out in the video above.
Eskil Suter is a popular man in the Moto2 paddock. Not only is his Moto2 chassis one of the cheapest, but it’s also one of the best performing units. It should be no surprise then that his Moto2 solution (shown above) is one of the most popular in the race series, and Suter sees that as a great jumping off point to enter back into the MotoGP fray (Suter helped engineer the Kawasaki ZX-RR, the Ilmor X3, and the Petronas FP1 SBK race bikes).
With the MotoGP rules in 2012 to allow for claiming rule teams, the door has been opened for a Moto2 styled team (production motor in a prototype frame) to play with the big boys. Suter for his part is looking to draw on his current chassis success, and base his design around the very potent BMW S1000RR motor. The result should be a fairly inexpensive solution to a high-performance race bike as the S1000RR has been popping up on the internet with 190hp stock.
A crash caused by Shoya Tomizawa and Simone Corsi sent riders tumbling yesterday in the Moto2 race at Jerez. Colliding in the apex of the corner with Corsi, Tomizawa’s Moto2 race bike spilled oil onto the Spanish track, which saw eight other riders hitting the tarmac. With nine bikes in all falling victim to the oil slick, the Moto2 race had to be red flagged and restarted. Watch the bikes fall like dominos in the video after the jump.
Along with the MotoGP and 125GP qualifying events, Qatar is playing host this weekend to the first running of the Moto2 race class, which is replacing the 250GP race action from this day forward. 41 riders were on hand for qualifying on Saturday, and despite the large field of entry, only 4.4 seconds separates all these racers (3.5 seconds if you drop Bernat Martinez and his last position Bimota). While the names may be unfamiliar, the racing is sure to be extremely close (we can’t even fathom what Turn 1 is going to look like).
Our friends from over at RareSportBikesForSale.com have tipped us off that Motorrad Hertrampf in Northern Germany, a Bimota, MV Agusta, and Cagiva dealer, has just posted a for sale ad on Jameslist (yes, the German rip-off of Craigslist), where they are offering a 2010 Bimota HB4 for sale. That’s right for €169,000 (without VAT), you too can own your very own Moto2 race bike complete with 145hp Honda 600cc power plant, and all the Italian goodness you’d expect from Bimota. You’ll just have to wait 10 weeks for the Italian firm to build it from the time you pay your deposit.
Late in 2008 Antonio Banderas bought the 125cc/250cc GP teams of Motomondiale to the tune of €6 million. With Moto2 starting for the first time in history this week, Banderas has unveiled his new team: Jack & Jones by Antonio Banderas. At a press launch Monday, Banderas personally unveiled the Moto2 race bikes the team will be using. Unfortunately, he left his mask, cape, and sword at home.
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.