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Honda NSF250R Coming to America

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HRC’s NSF250R Moto3 race bike was released under much fanfare at the Catalan GP, as the Japanese company singled out Spain as one of the most important markets for the 249cc four-stroke single-cylinder racing machine. The the Iberian peninsula certainly will have more young riders climbing on board the NSF250R than the USA, but that doesn’t mean those Spaniards will get all the fun. Announcing that the Honda NSF250R will be coming stateside, the NSF250R will be race legal in the USGPRU Moto 3 and WERA Motorcycle Road Racing classes.

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Racing

FTR Entering MotoGP with a Kawasaki ZX-10R Based CRT Machine – Also Helping Norton’s MotoGP Effort?

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FTR, the Moto2 chassis manufacturer, has released a Q&A with its Moto Director Steve Bones. In the exchange, Bones talks about FTR’s involvement in making a claim-rule team chassis for the Spanish BQR team, who will use the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R motor as the basis for its CRT entry.

FTR’s racing ambitions don’t end there though, as FTR plans to mimic its success in Moto2 by building a Moto3 offering that will likely use the Honda NSF250R four-stroke 250cc motor. Lastly, FTR has been linked to Norton’s MotoGP V4 race bike, with the engineering firm developing the chassis, while Pr1mo handles building the engine for that machine. But some doubt is starting to be generated around that project.

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More Photos of the Honda NSF250R

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There was much ado at the Catalan GP regarding the Honda NSF250R Moto3 bike, likely because the Moto3 class is a big step in a larger movement currently unfolding in MotoGP, and the Spanish market is an important one when it comes to GP racing. With the 125GP class, which Moto3 is replacing next year, full of Spanish and Italian youths looking to become the next Jorge Lorenzos and Valentino Rossis, Honda no doubt wants to make a strong impression to its target market, even taking the NSF250R out for a parade lap with Alex Criville on-board. We doubt any other Moto3 manufacturer will get such a plug from Dorna, but nevertheless, find the photos the event after the jump.

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Dunlop to be Sole Tire Supplier for Moto3 Through 2014

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Dunlop, the IRTA, and Dorna inked a deal this weekend that sees the British tire manufacturer as the sole-supplier of tires for the upcoming Moto3 Championship, which will replace the 125GP series in 2012. With the deal good through the 2014 season, Moto3 teams will run Dunlops for the next three seasons, just as the Moto2 Championship has done. Speaking of Moto2, Dunlop saw its contract in that series extended to 2014 as well, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the two items were part of Dunlop’s ability to put together a more competitive bid than other tire manufacturers.

With Bridgestone set to supply tires in the 2012 season for MotoGP, Dunlop still only accounts for two of the three GP series, but we expect that a sole-supplier for Moto3, Moto2, and MotoGP will emerge in the coming years. Single-tire rules were put in place not only to help level the playing field between competitors, but also to help reduce development costs for manufacturers, and logistical costs for tire suppliers. If a single tire company provided all the grid’s tires, that overall cost would likely drop further, something Dorna has been keen on lately. Whether it makes for better racing though, we’ll let you decide in the comments.

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KTM Developing Two Moto3 Bikes with Kalex Engineering

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KTM has announced it will be entering the Moto3 Championship, building a 250cc single-cylinder bike in what the company is describing as an 100% in-house operation. This statement is a bit confusing though, as KTM will also be partnering with Kalex Engineering on a second bike, where KTM will help the German company by supplying their race motors. No riders have been confirmed on either the KTM or KTM/Kalex machines.

KTM’s return to international road racing is certainly a welcomed sight, and it’s interesting that the Austrian company is both building its own bike, and supplying motors to other outfits. Both the KTM and KTM/Kalex machines will have to compete against the Honda NSF250R race bike, which Honda debuted at the Catalan GP just yesterday.

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Bikes

Honda NSF250R Moto3 Bike

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The wait is finally over, as Honda has completely taken the wraps off its 2012 Honda NSF250R Moto3 race bike.

Launched at the Catalan GP today, the 250cc four-stroke machine will be one of several options aspiring MotoGP riders will pilot around in the Moto3 Championship.

The new NSF250R incorporates a front-intake/rear-exhaust configuratiom, while the cylinder has been tilted back 15° to help concentrate the bike’s mass.

Titanium valves help power throughout the rev range, and the cylinder design reduces friction between piston and cylinder by offsetting the cylinder centerline and applying nickel silicon carbide (Ni-SiC) for the cylinder surface treatment.

Mated to the motor is a six-speed gearbox, while the frame is based off the RS125R design, with modifications to suit the power delivered by the four-stroker. Total cost: €23,600, VAT included (Spain). Full technical specs are after the jump.

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Photo of the Week: The Passing Scent of Two-Strokes

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I love the smell of two-strokes in the morning…or the evening, or the afternoon. But just as Hiroshi Aoyama became the final 250cc two-stroke champion in 2009, at the end of this season we’ll have one last 125cc world champion. Most money is on Spaniard Nicol Terol, who without last season’s rival Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro to get in his way, has dominated the 125cc season so far.

Rumors that his current competitors let him get far ahead so they don’t have to look at the color scheme of his livery are untrue: Terol is just that fast on a tiny 125cc machine. Next season, the kids and odd grown-up who don’t move on to Moto2 will be on the replacement Moto3 class bikes. In a nutshell these are 250cc 4-strokes, but for all the details look here.

MotoGP will of course be leaving the 800cc engines behind to return to liter engines, so many changes are in store for 2012. One of the most notable will certainly be the absence of the approaching bee swarm sound as the little bikes and little riders approach on their out lap, the 2-stroke whine growing louder as the wind carries it across the track, and the pleasant odor of the oil and gas mix as the crowd goes by for the first time. Another chapter in the history of Grand Prix motorbike racing is coming to a close in 2011.

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Bikes

Honda NSF250R Moto3 Race Bike Breaks Cover

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Honda has finally given us an unshaded photo of its 250cc four-stroke Moto3 race bike, dubbed the Honda NSF250R. Despite the clearer view, there are no real surprises here (this actually looks like the same photo as used before, sans photoshopping), as the majority of the bike is still covered by the primer-painted fairing. Honda says the new NSF250R is designed to be like the RS125R it replaces: high-performaning, lightweight, and compact. This should make the switch from two to four-strokes easier for young riders, and limit the need to adjust riding styles for the new machine.

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KTM Begins Testing Moto3 Race Bike

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At the end of last year we learned that KTM had committed itself internally to competing in the upcoming Moto3 class, which is slated to replace 125GP in 2012. At the time of that news, the Austrian company was still in the early stages of planning for its 250cc four-stroke single-cylinder race bike; but not wanting to let Honda take all of the Moto3 development spotlight with its NRS 250, this past week KTM began testing Moto3 chassis configuration at the Cartagena track in Spain.

Arriving with a modified 125cc chassis and 350cc SX-F thumper, KTM’s IDM Supersport rider Michi Ranseder took to the helm of the prototype race machine over the two day testing session. More of a prologue than the first chapter to KTM’s Moto3 story, this event makes it clear that KTM is still getting its bearings on what direction it wants to take its entry-level GP program.

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Video: Honda NRS 250 Moto3 Contender Teaser

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Perhaps as a belated holiday treat, Honda has finally seen it fit to give a better glimpse of its HRC NRS 250 Moto3 contender. With a few quick cuts and some blurry shots, HRC isn’t completely giving away the 250cc single-cylinder GP bike, but the footage does give us a better idea of what the final shape of the Honda will look like, and perhaps more importantly what it will sound like. If you’re a four-stroke fan, you’ll love the video after the jump…two-stroke fanatics, probably not as much.

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GP Commission Modifies 2011 Rules

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The GP Commission has seen it fit to modify the rules for MotoGP, Moto2, and 125GP during the 2011 season, with perhaps the biggest alteration coming in the form of FP3 being reinstated to the Saturday schedule. For MotoGP, all practice and qualifying sessions will be returned to their one hour format (up from 45 minutes), which should make the sessions more useful for teams who has to scramble to make changes during the 45 minute format (Moto2 and 125GP will remain at 45 minute session). All the classes will see a three-wide grid format, which should be especially interesting in the compacted Moto2 field. All teams will also be allowed the use of generators on the starting grid.

Special for MotoGP, Dorna seems intent on limiting the level of electronics being used in the premiere class, and has inserted a provision that says that “in MotoGP, only the GPS provided by Dorna is permitted.” Currently MotoGP teams employ GPS systems that know which turn, and where in each turn, the bike is, and adjusts the bike’s suspension, engine map, and other settings for that corresponding section of the track.

While hyper-precise GPS systems could shave tenths of seconds off lap times, they also create an arms race in electronic controls, which in-turn raises the costs of racing. With Dorna supplying the unit, or failing to provide a GPS entirely (plot twist!), the use of such advanced electronics could no longer exist in 2011.

In addition to these provisions, Dorna has also requested applications for the 2012 Moto3 ECU supplier. Find the full release on the technical regulations and specifications after the jump.

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