BROOKLYN, NY, DEC. 11: The 600cc era of Grand Prix racing will begin in 2011.
The switch from 250’s to 600cc four-strokes was confirmed by members of the Grand Prix Commission at a meeting yesterday in Barcelona.
The class, renamed Moto 2, will feature 600cc four-strokes with spec ECU’s in a prototype chassis.
The four-cylinders will be limited by the spec ECU’s to 16,000 rpm, with a 15,500 rpm limit for triples and 15,000 for twins. The engines must run on unleaded “pump gas.”
Pneumatic valves, currently the standard for the Japanese teams in MotoGP, are banned, as is direct fuel injection into the cylinder/head/combustion chamber.
The ECU/fuel injection control units supplied by Dorna will include the timing transponder, engine RPM control, and datalogger systems. The new regs prohibit any other electronic control or datalogging systems. The ECU’s will be more restrictive than the traction control units currently in use by 250 teams.
Each engine manufacturer must make the ECU available for sale for 650 Euros/$861 USD.
The prototype chassis parameters will be governed by the FIM Grand Prix Technical Regulations, but in order to further differentiate them from the FIM Supersport World Championship, the frame, swing-arm, fuel tank, seat and fairing can’t come off a road bike.
The four-cylinders have to weigh 297 lbs., triples 286 lbs., and twins 275 lbs.
The class will use slick tires and the numbers will be controlled. There was no mention of whether it would be a control tire or who the control tire company would be.
In an effort to keep down costs, exotic materials are banned from the major engine parts including valve springs, camshafts, crankshafts, connecting rods, and piston pins. Cast aluminum alloys are mandated for pistons, engine crankcases, and cylinder heads. Carbon brakes are banned.
In yet another nod to cost, each team can only scrutineer one motorcycle per rider and only two complete engines are allowed at each event.
Engines will be available for claiming by other competitors in the same race for 20,000 Euros/$26,567USD within an hour of the race. That figure doesn’t include the exhaust, throttle bodies, or ECU.
