Moto2

How To Build A MotoGP Calendar, Part 1: Carlos Ezpeleta On Balancing Politics, Logistics, And The Weather

By David Emmett | Mon, 24/07/2023 - 13:45

There is nothing quite as frustrating as the MotoGP calendar, to those inside the sport as well as those outside. Each time MotoGP's schedule is published, it is met with a mixture of excitement about the coming year, and irritation about the inevitable back-to-back races, gaps, clashes, and choices of venue. Fans are thrilled to see MotoGP at their favorite track, or disappointed that the series is going back to their least favorite track. And different fans will have diametrically opposite views of which tracks are best, and which should be ditched.

That is hardly surprising. You can't keep everybody happy, not least because putting together a calendar of 20+ events is an incredibly complex task. There are so many different factors to balance, many of which people outside the process are not even aware of. There's the logistics of getting from one circuit to another, weather, track availability, medical facilities.

You want to avoid clashes with F1 – something which gets harder as the F1 calendar expands – and try not to schedule races in the same country too close together. And there are only a limited number of circuits which are safe enough to hold a MotoGP race. Adding new circuits can be a process of years, and slotting them in means making space elsewhere.

Juggling act

In short, it is a complicated process fraught with a million headaches. The devil is indeed in the detail, and the details run deeper than most people realize.

From WorldSBK To Moto2 - Giorgio Barbier And Philipp Öttl On The Hows And Whys Of Pirelli Taking Over In Moto2 And Moto3

By David Emmett | Sun, 23/07/2023 - 14:53

The news that Pirelli is to take over as official tire supplier in Moto2 and Moto3 from 2024 came as something as a something of a surprise. Dunlop has been the sole supplier in Moto2 and Moto3 since the start of those classes, and were the de facto sole supplier in the 125 and 250 classes pretty much from the turn of the century.

It is an expansion of Pirelli's racing activities. The Italian tire maker has been the official tire supplier to the World Superbike championship since 2004, and is also the official tire for the F1 car racing series. Pirelli has no plans to leave the World Superbike championship, but is keen to expand into the grand prix paddock.

So Pirelli's move into Moto2 and Moto3 a lot of questions as to how they will be approaching it. For the Paddock Pass Podcast, Steve English spoke to Pirelli Racing Manager Giorgio to get more insight into the hows and whys of their decision to enter the grand prix paddock.

Broadening their reach

Barbier pointed out that this is not so much a new venture, as an expansion on their project with Ohvale and Dorna to supply the MiniGP series, which was itself the first step on the path to much more. "We're actually following the path that we started two years ago with MiniGP. For our intention is to follow Dorna into the project of Road to MotoGP, giving young riders all over the world the opportunity to start their career riding bikes with Pirelli tires," Pirelli's Racing Manager said.

Marc VDS Racing And Sam Lowes To Compete In WorldSBK Championship In 2024

By David Emmett | Thu, 13/07/2023 - 14:03

Sam Lowes is to make the switch from the Moto2 to the WorldSBK paddocks for 2024. The 32-year-old Englishman will race a Ducati Panigale V4R in World Superbikes next year for the Marc VDS team, who will be expanding their current project to include a one-rider WorldSBK team. Marc VDS will continue to race in the Moto2 championship in 2024 with a two-rider team.

The decision is an interesting one for Marc VDS, but especially for Sam Lowes. Lowes started his racing career on production bikes, coming up through BSB before heading to World Supersport, where he won the 2013 title racing a Yamaha R6 with the Yakhnich Motorsport team. Lowes had intended to move up to the World Superbike class with Yakhnich, but bought himself out of his contract when Yakhnich chose to race MV Agustas rather than the Yamahas Lowes had been hoping for.

Pirelli To Replace Dunlop As Official Tire Supplier In Moto2, Moto3, And Support Classes

By David Emmett | Thu, 29/06/2023 - 15:31

A major change is on its way to grand prix racing. Today, Dorna and Pirelli announced that the Italian tire manufacturer would be taking over from Dunlop as official supplier for the Moto2 and Moto3 classes, as well as all classes on Dorna's official Road to MotoGP, which includes the FIM Junior Moto3 Championship, the Red Bull Rookies Cup and the Talent Cups, including the Northern Talent Cup and the Asia Talent Cup.

This will make Pirelli official tire supplier to all WorldSBK classes, including support classes, and to the Moto2 and Moto3 class. The Italian tire maker also supplies the British Superbike championship, as well as the Italian championship.

2023 Assen Moto2 Practice 3 Result: Ogura Snatches Lap Record 

By Zara Daniela | Sat, 24/06/2023 - 08:09

If Moto3’s final practice session was more of a slow-burner, the pace hotted up quickly in Moto2 and the lap record was under threat straight away. Having been the clear favourite on Friday, Jake Dixon continued to string together fast laps to show off his unrivalled rhythm, but ultimately it was Pedro Acosta who broke the eight-year-old lap record on fresh rubber with six minutes remaining of the session. That was plenty of time for Ai Ogura to challenge him and soon claim the record for himself with four minutes to go, dropping Acosta to second.

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