FIM officials confirmed the basic details of the 125cc class replacement today at Brno.
“At a meeting of the Grand Prix Commission during this weekend’s Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno, it was confirmed that the 125cc class – the only two-stroke category remaining – will also be replaced by four-strokes from 2012.
Unlike Moto2, the four-stroke class that replaced 250cc at the start of this year, the new Moto3 championship will not have a single engine supplier.
125cc is the last category remaining from the inaugural 1949 World Championship season.
The statement read:
“Application 2012
“The 125cc class will be replaced by the Moto3 class.
“The basic technical rules of this class are:
– single cylinder 250cc 4-stroke engines with a maximum bore of 81 mm.
– each engine should last for 3 races minimum and cost not more than 10,000 € (final cost will be announced)
– each manufacturer if required should be ready to supply a minimum of 15 riders.
“This proposal has been agreed by the majority of MSMA.”
It was also announced that Suzuki will get 3 new engines each for each of its riders to last for the rest of the season. Rather than specifically NAME Suzuki, the organisers said that extra engines would be allowed to any manufacturer who hasn’t won a dry MotoGP race in the last 2 seasons (how mealy-mouthed can you get?) Presumably this would have had to have been done with the connivance of the other manufacturers and was probably a “sympathy” move more than anything else. Anyway, by announcing the above restriction, the FIM has ensured that no other manufacturer can apply for a similar concession this year anyway.
