2012 Archives - Page 6 of 6 - Asphalt & Rubber

Racing

Suter Working on S1000RR Based MotoGP Bike

By Jensen Beeler 05/27/2010 6 Comments

Eskil Suter is a popular man in the Moto2 paddock. Not only is his Moto2 chassis one of the cheapest, but it’s also one of the best performing units. It should be no surprise then that his Moto2 solution (shown above) is one of the most popular in the race series, and Suter sees that as a great jumping off point to enter back into the MotoGP fray (Suter helped engineer the Kawasaki ZX-RR, the Ilmor X3, and the Petronas FP1 SBK race bikes).

With the MotoGP rules in 2012 to allow for claiming rule teams, the door has been opened for a Moto2 styled team (production motor in a prototype frame) to play with the big boys. Suter for his part is looking to draw on his current chassis success, and base his design around the very potent BMW S1000RR motor. The result should be a fairly inexpensive solution to a high-performance race bike as the S1000RR has been popping up on the internet with 190hp stock.

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MotoGP Set for Singapore GP in 2012 at New Track

By Jensen Beeler 03/31/2010 No Comments

Late in 2008 we reported that Dorna had signed a deal to bring MotoGP to the Asian country of Singapore. With no track to actually host the event, the Singaporeans have been busy making a venue for the premiere two-wheeled racing class. That bit of business seems to be coming to a close, and MotoGP seems headed to Singapore in 2012 with the new Changi Motorsports Hub.

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Yamaha Sticking to 800’s in 2012?

By Jensen Beeler 02/26/2010 2 Comments

With the announcement that MotoGP would “allow up to” a 1000cc format in 2012, there was a hinting that manufacturers would be allowed to use their current 800cc machines in the coming years. The provision comes from the concern that another switch in engine rules will mean another financial blow to the teams that have already spent so much time developing their 800cc race bikes. We’ll skip the economic dissertation on what a sunk cost is, and go straight into the news that Yamaha will reportedly not make the jump to 1000cc’s, and instead continue to use its 800cc M1 in 2012.

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GP Commission Hammers Out 2012 MotoGP Rules

By Jensen Beeler 02/17/2010 7 Comments

The GP Commission (FIM, Dorna, IRTA & MSMA) met this week to discuss and further refine the rules that will be implemented in the 2012 MotoGP season, namely the return to the 1,000cc format. The new rules lock in the amount of gas a bike can carry, as well as other details pertinent to GP racing, but the rule everyone is talking about is the 1,000cc switch. Interestingly enough, the 2010 rules allow for motors “up to 1000cc”, but provide different bike weight for bikes under and over 800cc. Check out the details after the jump.

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MotoCzysz Makes 2012 MotoGP Bid? [Updated]

By Jensen Beeler 12/14/2009 30 Comments

In a candid perspective on the current rule changes to MotoGP, Michael Czysz detailed his thoughts on the switch to the 1000cc format for 2012, and what it means to MotoCzysz and it’s racing goals.

After Czysz’s hopes of racing in the pinnacle motorcycle racing series were dashed by the switch to the current 800cc format, the new rules adopted for 2012, which will bring the racing format back to 1000cc’s, may not only breathe life back into the company’s ICE racing hopes, but also give MotoCzysz some advantages as they consider another MotoGP entry.

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MotoGP: 1000cc Formula for 2012 – 81mm Bore

By Jensen Beeler 12/11/2009 11 Comments

The Grand Prix Commission met today, and came to a resolution on what direction the MotoGP series would take in the coming years. As expected the committee members agreed to a 1000cc format for the 2012 season, and finally revealed some of the details of that switch, such as a maximum of four cylinders allowed in the race motorcycles, and a bore size that can be no larger than 81mm. The announcement was devoid of any further details about “production motors“. More after the jump.

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Ezpeleta on 1000cc Engine Switch in MotoGP: “Production Engines” Won’t be in the Rule Book

By Jensen Beeler 12/08/2009 7 Comments

There’s be some trouble brewing in the MotoGP/WSBK camp after news hit that MotoGP would be switching back to a 1000cc format by the 2012 season. In that story, several possibilities on how that format would work were put forth by various sides, one such proposal being the running of production based motors in MotoGP.

These motors, which would be based off those found on streetbikes, could be tuned to any degree, provided it met the criteria in the MotoGP rule book (1000cc & four-cylinders are the only regulations agreed upon currently). This news of course drew the ire of World Superbike promoter, Infront Motor Sports, in the form of Paolo Flammini, who believes that format would infringe on his license to exclusively run a production based race series.

Refusing at first to define what a production engine is, Dorna’s Carmelo Ezpeleta is now switching gears and saying the term “production engine” won’t even appear in the new MotoGP racing regulations.

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MotoGP Adds Bulgarian GP for 2012

By Jensen Beeler 02/28/2009 No Comments

The FIM MotoGP World Championship will arrive in Bulgaria as of 2012, following a preliminary agreement reached between the Bulgarian Motorcycle Federation and Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder for MotoGP. The new five year deal, which will take MotoGP to Bulgaria from 2012 to 2016, marks another step into Eastern Europe for MotoGP, and who recently signed a similar deal for a Hungarian GP.

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