MotoGP to 800cc???????

[Gerrit]

According to Motor Sport Aktuell, the engine size of the 990s will probably be cut back as of 2006 in the interest of safety. There is agreement among the manufacturers that the 990s are producing to much power- 250 hp and speeds of over 330 kph is becoming excessive.
HRC have proposed a reduction to 800cc. The other three Japanese manufacturers and team KR haven't reacted yet, but Ducati and Aprilia are dead against this size; a hidden HRC agenda is suspected as HRC would only have to slash one cylinder from the RC211V (as with the Proton KR5), giving fairly cheap development costs. The other manufacturers would have to start from scratch with the attendant expense. Aprilia and Ducati especially simply can't afford such expenditure.
I am all for this cut- it would instantly make 500 two-strokes competitie again!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hazza]

Hmmm...Why not go back to a 500cc formatt?

[ASCII Man]

I was wondering the same thing...

[429CJ]

Why not just reduce the RPM? Then they'll sound even better.

[ASCII Man]

No!!
They'll sound even more horrible...

2 stroke is the only way!

[f1manoz]

I'm not surprised by this move. The authorities should have known that these prototypes would be sensationally fast, and with bikes going at 330kph+, there are not many tracks out there safe enough.

However, I don't agree with this 800cc deal. There has to be a better way. If this comes about, I expect Ducati, Aprilia and others to leave sooner rather than later...

[Gerrit]

I expect that Aprilia and Ducati will leave in a few years anyway. It simply has become far too expensive for them to race, especially for Aprilia.
Long-term, only the Big Four can afford four-stroke racing. But HRC will simply outspend everybody if that is what it will take. Cutting four-stroke engine size to 750cc would make 500 strokers fully competitive again; smaller factories such as Aprilia could race a 500 without having to break the piggy-bank, and have a chance of winning.
The only REAL reason for the 990 engine size was to guarantee that the two-strokes would be beaten. Even so, they came close- Barros at Assen in 2002, and Jacque at the Sachsenring until Barros stupidly knocked him down. And the performance of the KR3 last year showed that it could beat all but the fastest Yamahas and Hondas.

[asha]

i really cant see this happening

[Gerrit]

FIM President Zerbi stated when the four-stroke rules were introduced that they would be "reviewed at a later date", probably at the end of the 2004 season, and that the two-stroke rules would remain as they were; the FIM made it very clear that they would not accept a ban on two-strokes under any circumstances. So far there have been no definite revisions, but there IS agreement among the manufacturers that the 990 format is excessive, with safety being the major concern.
However, there is NO agreement as to the future size of the four-stroke engines. HRC are pushing for the 800 cc limit; Ducati and Aprilia are opposed to this size though they do agree that a reduction is necessary; the other three Japanese manufacturers have not made their position known yet but it would be very unusual for them to go against HRC openly- seems to be some sort of Japanese protocol thing. Team KR and WCM won't have any influence in this matter.
My guess is that there will probably be a compromise and that the future engine size will be 900 cc.

[racer69]

Any truth to the rumour that they are looking at replacing the 125cc and 250cc classes with a return of the 350cc class for 2006/7 (with 4 stroke engines though).

[Gerrit]

No- 125 never was the subject of possible change, and 250 will remain as it is until the end of 2009 at least.

[asha]

i like 250 as it is.
its my favourite class

[f1manoz]

125s rule!