Moto2 to debut this year

How confident are you of them actually getting everything sorted out soon, Rod? I know I'm fairly doubtful. In fact, I'm concerned for the series as a whole going to the wall in the next couple of years on current trends. Dorna and the FIM have created a rod for their own back and it will be interesting to see how they try turn things around after years of neglect.

I'm probably in the minority of one here - but I don't like the idea of Proddy bikes/engines in GP racing. That is what WSBK is for. Also, when I think of GP bikes, I think of 2 strokes. Yeah, they're environmentally unfriendly, but there is something about a 2 stroke. I'm sorry to see them go - and I'm unhappy that Honda have far too much saay in the direction of the sport.
Please forgive me for my outdated ideas......

Can't say I'm impressed by the idea of SuperSportGP (for that is what it is), there is a whole raft of new tech two-stroke ideas being used in a wide array of applications that have relevance to the real world.

The cost alone of this formula would be high, and WSBK would have a legitimate axe to grind with the GP people over the invasion of territory. I can't remember where I read it, but I do recall there being significant issues flagged about 600cc racing capacity and who had the rights to such a class (anyone know anything further?).

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I can't remember where I read it, but I do recall there being significant issues flagged about 600cc racing capacity and who had the rights to such a class (anyone know anything further?).

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Eccles, the support class for WSB, World Supersport, is run by the Flammini organisation. They have the FIM-granted rights to run a world championship 600cc production-based motorcycle racing class and therefore can defend that right against MotoGP/Moto2, should it infringe on the WSS class.

The only way Dorna are likely to get a 600cc class off the ground is with bespoke engines/chassis, unless there's an awful lot of money in it for Flammini. Should Dorna try to go down the production spec motor route, Flammini will have Dorna in the courts straight away. So it would need to be an all-new motor or motors.

Honda, to me, are the most likely supplier of a spec motor. Of course if one major manufacturer is producing race motors for Moto2, we'd quite reasonably expect to see nil involvement from any other manufacturer - and a flurry of activity in the bespoke chassis manufacturers arena. Illmor, Harris, Spondon, Bimota (although I don't believe Bimota has every built a Honda-powered bike before?), Over and other companies would probably at least consider building bikes to take the spec motor. Even start-ups like MotoCzycz could potentially get involved in Moto2 under this scenario. So it could become a fairly interesting class from a chassis perspective.

I also can't at this point see why you couldn't take a current M1 chassis and slot a spec Moto2 engine into it...

We've obviously hit some (hopefully temporary) trouble with the spec engine idea, but a couple of Moto2 bikes have taken to the track at Albacete in Spain as part of the CEV Formula Extreme championship for practice and quali, though won't be racing.

http://www.crash.net/MotoGP/News/145..._albacete.html

http://www.cevbuckler.com/pdfclasifi...TA_EXTREME.pdf

The Moto2 machines are the ones piloted by Angel Rodriguez (a friend of this forum) for Laglisse on a Yamaha-engined bike, and Daniel Rivas on a Honda-engined project for BQR/Blusens, and were pretty competitive straight out of the box from the times. Angel Rodriguez is a former 125 rider, reborn as last year's Spanish Supersport champion and unlucky not to be racing in WSS this year, so is a good yardstick by which to judge the bike.

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Originally Posted by NinjaMaster

How confident are you of them actually getting everything sorted out soon, Rod? I know I'm fairly doubtful. In fact, I'm concerned for the series as a whole going to the wall in the next couple of years on current trends. Dorna and the FIM have created a rod for their own back and it will be interesting to see how they try turn things around after years of neglect.

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Not too confident at all and even less as time passes. In my opinion, unless they have already decided on an engine supplier which is quite on the cards and production is already underway or alternatively, one of the manufacturers already has a suitable engine that is not yet in a production bike, they would be pushing uphill to get an engine designed, tested and into production in time for teams to get a bike ready before the first race of 2010.

I share your concerns over the survival of the Moto GP series and sincerely hope it does not self-destruct.

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Originally Posted by Rod Richardson

Not too confident at all and even less as time passes. In my opinion, unless they have already decided on an engine supplier which is quite on the cards and production is already underway or alternatively, one of the manufacturers already has a suitable engine that is not yet in a production bike, they would be pushing uphill to get an engine designed, tested and into production in time for teams to get a bike ready before the first race of 2010.

I share your concerns over the survival of the Moto GP series and sincerely hope it does not self-destruct.

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Which it seems to be doing - Well especially Dorna/Carmelo Espolito - aping everything Bernie Ecclestone/F1 does. Shouldn't FIM have more of a say in the running of the sport?

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Originally Posted by The Phantom

Eccles, the support class for WSB, World Supersport, is run by the Flammini organisation. They have the FIM-granted rights to run a world championship 600cc production-based motorcycle racing class and therefore can defend that right against MotoGP/Moto2, should it infringe on the WSS class.

The only way Dorna are likely to get a 600cc class off the ground is with bespoke engines/chassis, unless there's an awful lot of money in it for Flammini. Should Dorna try to go down the production spec motor route, Flammini will have Dorna in the courts straight away. So it would need to be an all-new motor or motors.

Honda, to me, are the most likely supplier of a spec motor. Of course if one major manufacturer is producing race motors for Moto2, we'd quite reasonably expect to see nil involvement from any other manufacturer - and a flurry of activity in the bespoke chassis manufacturers arena. Illmor, Harris, Spondon, Bimota (although I don't believe Bimota has every built a Honda-powered bike before?), Over and other companies would probably at least consider building bikes to take the spec motor. Even start-ups like MotoCzycz could potentially get involved in Moto2 under this scenario. So it could become a fairly interesting class from a chassis perspective.

I also can't at this point see why you couldn't take a current M1 chassis and slot a spec Moto2 engine into it...

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Thanks, Phantom.

Oh, yes Bimota have produced a Honda-engined bike -

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/mod...bimota_hb1.htm

It would make a nice Post-classic racer, doncha think?

TFE