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| Moto2. Tight grids, great racing. Appalling lap times. Not just in contrast to the 250cc but also to the similar spec World SuperSport class from the parallel world championship. But will the new feeder class manage to c |
| urn out a steady stream of talent to the pinnacle of motorcycle racing? |
The motorcycle racing world heaved a collective heavy
chest when the 2-stroke 250cc class breathed its last at the end of the 2009 Grand Prix
season. And why wouldn't it - spectators loved the close racing action, riders loved the
purpose built, ultra-light and super agile machines which tested their limits and rewarded
good control, and MotoGP teams loved it because those who excelled in this class most
probably went on to become world champions in the premier class as well - apart from Nicky
Hayden who took the 2006 title, all top three championship finishers in the last decade
have cut their teeth on the 250s.
This concept of "cutting one's teeth" lies at the root of all feeder classes, and is
critical for the survival of a sport. So, did the inaugural Moto2 season prepare its
riders for battle in the top class? Hardly. Toni Elias went on to become the world's first
Moto2 World Champion - after a demotion from five straight seasons in MotoGP. Other riders
- most of them ex-250cc racers accustomed to highly evolved razor-sharp machines -
grappled with the awkward Moto2 combination. A regulation engine that did not make near
enough power, plonked in various prototype chassis which were all too heavy, put down on
tarmac by regulation tyres which were way too hard. The result? Average lap records of
Moto2 bikes over the 15 tracks were a shocking 1.7 seconds slower than the corresponding
average 250cc lap records on the same tracks. What's worse? Even the 600cc
production-based World SuperSport bikes were 0.68 seconds faster, considering average lap
records over the five racetracks common between the two. In what world is a souped-up
street vehicle faster than an equal-displacement prototype racing machine?
If lap times are all that matter, then the case is open and shut, as is easy to figure
in this opening lament by a 250cc GP machine lover. Look beyond the lap times though, and
it is not tough to see how Moto2s have saved the feeder class formula from becoming a
one-pony race, which the 250s had jolly well turned into. And while the bikes may be slow
for now, it must be remembered that this was the debut season for the formula - that means
we have had to contrast lap records of completely developed and cutting-edge 250cc race
machines with matching tyres against bikes that are still completely experimental, with a
point to prove about reliability in their inaugural season.
