Four-strokes to replace 125cc from 2012?
The 125cc World Championship looks set to be replaced by a new, single-cylinder, 250cc four-stroke class from the 2012 season.
According to GPOne.com, the new class - which will presumably be named Moto3 - will not have a single engine supplier, like Moto2, although "any manufacturer wishing to participate will have to build a minimum number of engines, from 10 to 15, at a price of 10,000 Euros".
The 125cc World Championship looks set to be replaced by a new, single-cylinder, 250cc four-stroke class from the 2012 season.
According to GPOne.com, the new class - which will presumably be named Moto3 - will not have a single engine supplier, like Moto2, although "any manufacturer wishing to participate will have to build a minimum number of engines, from 10 to 15, at a price of 10,000 Euros".
The end of the 125cc class, the only remaining engine-size from the original 1949 world championship season, will also mark the end of two-stroke machinery in grand prix racing.
In 2001 all three grand prix classes consisted of two-stroke motorcycles, but their lack of production relevance saw the premier 500cc World Championship replaced by a new (990cc) four-stroke MotoGP class in 2002, while 250cc was replaced by (600cc) Moto2 four-strokes at the start of this season.
The success of Moto2, with its huge 40-rider field and unpredictable racing, is sure to have accelerated the process of replacing the 125cc class.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
