Ezpeleta: "The 125s Will Stay For A While"

When news came that the 250cc class would be abandoned in favor of the four-stroke Moto2 formula, the first question that everyone raised was whether the 125cc class would be next. The 125cc single cylinder bikes are the last bastion of the two stroke engine, and two-stroke fans both inside and outside the paddock fear that the writing is on the wall for the engine which came to dominate motorcycle road racing for such a long time.

The good news is that the 125cc class is here to stay, at least for a while. The German magazine Motorsport-Magazin spoke to Carmelo Ezpeleta at Estoril, and the Dorna CEO assured them that as far as he was concerned, the 125cc class should be left as it is, at least for the moment. The class serves as an excellent training ground for the champions of the future, Ezpeleta told Motorsport-Magazin. "Young talent gets their first chance to cut their teeth in the class and learn," Ezpeleta said. "The past has shown that nearly all of the riders at the front in MotoGP now were also very strong in the smallest class."

Another consideration for the 125s to stay is the cheapness of the class. It is possible to compete on decent equipment for around 200,000 euros, significantly less than the current 250cc class, and vastly less than is required for MotoGP. The bikes are simple to work on yet fully adjustable, and provide an excellent introduction for the riders into prototype race machinery. Ezpeleta's stated aim is to keep the 125s as a class for teaching youngsters to race at the highest level, and until a formula can be found that matches the 125s for cost, there is little reason to meddle with it.