Was NRS250, Now Honda Shows NSF250R Moto3 Race Bike Hot

Honda's NSF250R Moto3 BikeWhen Honda first announced their up and coming race machine bound for the new FIM Moto3 World Championship, they called it the NRS250. That was supposed to be for ‘New Race Standard’, according to the press information provided at the time. That all changed once the Japanese factory released the first ‘official’ photo of the NSF250R Moto3 bike which they will actually produce. The name was changed, though no reason was specified, and it will carry the NSF nomenclature into its 2012 season debut.

Honda NRS250Honda did not provide any technical details about the NSF, but they must adhere to the new Moto3 rules as stated. That should mean a bore of no more than 81mm and the engine may not exceed the 14,000rpm upper limit set out in the regulations. Honda Racing Corporation did say that they new race bike is a direct descendant of the esteemed Honda RS125R Grand Prix machine.

That historic race bike managed to win 130 Grand Prix race victories. In that time, it also earned World Championships for nine riders including current Honda MotoGP stars Dani Honda Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso. Unfortunately, that machine has had declining appearances in the last few seasons with only one rider, Marcel Schrötter, riding it for Interwetten Honda in 2010.

In time there will be announcements of which teams will be campaigning this machine, and we hope to get more details on the design along the way too. Honda Racing Corporation will likely put much of what they have learned in MotoGP and Moto2 into the NSF; and considering the early MotoGP practice times, that will be a significant boost. The Moto3 World Championship will not begin for another year, but Honda is already getting it together with the NSF250R.