Honda have been officially confirmed as the single-engine supplier for the Moto2 class for another four years. In other words, Honda will make engines available to ExternPro, who manages the official Moto2 engines, until the end of the 2018 season.
The confirmation of Honda as official engine supplier means that Moto2 is to remain a single engine class until at least 2018. The chances of it changing after that are very slim, despite occasional expressions of interest from other manufacturers, such as KTM.
Any proposal to introduce competition in engine supply is met with immediate opposition from the teams, who are very keen on there being only a single Moto2 engine.
They believe it radically reduces costs – competing in Moto2 is significantly cheaper than contesting the Moto3 championship – and it eliminates one variable from the competition equation. Teams do not have to worry about choosing an engine supplier, and being stuck with an underperforming engine all season. The official press release appears below:
Honda to continue to power Moto2™ racing through 2018
Honda Motor Corporation, in continued collaboration with Spanish company ExternPro, will remain as the official Moto2™ engine supplier for the next three years extending until 2018.
Since its inauguration in 2010 as the replacement for the 250cc two-stroke intermediate class, Moto2™ has run a single specification Honda CBR 600cc engine. Amongst the aims of the category are driving chassis evolution and developing rider talent and the class continually produces great racing, helping to prepare riders for MotoGP™.
From 2013, ExternPro, part of the Parque Tecnólogico de MotorLand Aragon, have been preparing the engines for competition, ensuring reliability and taking care of enigne maintenance. The three-year extension agreement will see ExternPro-prepared Honda engines featured in Grand Prix competition until at least the end of 2018.
Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta commented: “Moto2™ has been a success from the start, and just continues to get better! Honda has been our sole engine supplier since the inaugural race in 2010 and I am extremely pleased that we will continue to use its machinery for the next three years. The Honda engine has not only proved an exciting addition to the paddock, but has also been a technically very reliable asset, which is extremely important in motorsports. I would also like to welcome ExternPro on board, who have so far done a very good job during pre-season testing, and will no doubt continue to do so throughout the next three seasons.”
Shuhei Nakamoto, HRC Executive Vice-President added: “The Moto2 category continues to advance and prepare riders for the premier class and Honda are very happy to support this class for a further 3 years. Together with ExternPro and Dorna we will continue to work hard to provide the best equipment for this class”.
Photo: © 2014 Scott Jones / Photo.GP – All Rights Reserved
This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.
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