General Sport: The Big To-do: Moto2

Olaf Wolff
All About Bikes Sr. Staff-Writer

“One engine manufacturer, one tire supplier, one frame maker, one rider. One load of crap.”

That’s pretty much the medium opinion expressed on discussion boards regarding the new Moto2 class. The Grand Prix Commission announced not long ago that the new Moto2 class would be contested by 600cc four strokes. That was the simple part. Since that decision Moto2 has ignited more then a fair share of controversy, bickering, and bitterness – nearly killing the series before the first flag ever drops.

Here’s the low-down. Infront Motor Sports, the organization that runs World Superbikes, has an exclusive contract with the FIM to race production motorcycles. To circumnavigate that snafu, Dorna, FIM and the teams, put together the novel idea that a single supplier would provide the engines – thereby tiptoeing around the “production” issue.

Here’s where it get interesting, early on information started leaking that the Moto2 engine deal would be awarded to Kawasaki as a way of keeping them in the series. That angered even more people, because it was viewed that a quitter was being rewarded. Kawasaki pulled out of MotoGP nearly 20 years ago. They only returned after the series went to four-bangers.  And so the barbs flew. Besides, that kind of deal would dismiss new, independent candidates, from getting a shot at the big leagues.

There has been a good deal of interest from smaller companies in producing the motor, and there are many worthy of the opportunity, including US-based Cosentino Engineering. Taking that option would certainly have gotten them around the production problem, not to mention it would have added a element of freshness to a often times same-old, same-old that we get from the Japanese quartet.

Of course that would have been too simple and reasonable a solution. The debate quickly turned to typical commercialized reckoning. The most likely party to be awarded the contract would no doubt be one of the major Japanese manufacturers. The reasoning being that they already have the facilities in place to supply the 100-plus engines that would be needed.

Many people have expressed their belief that the single engine supplier rule for Moto2 is a complete circus. That the original regulations for Moto2 already limited what could be done engine-wise. That potential engines produced by independent engineering companies such as Cosentino, or even Ilmor Racing, would be the way to go. But, like they say about these sorts of disputes – always follow the money.

As of Saturday, May 3, FIM and Dorna released a joint statement announcing that Honda had won the contract to supply the standard engine for Moto2. The announcement was noticeably detail-lite. The only other explanation at this time is “Honda offers a high-level performance engine," and that "the horse-power will be over 150."