British championship promoters MSVR have confirmed the introduction of a new Moto2 category which will coincide with the Dickies British Supersport Championship at the BSB rounds.
The British 600cc intermediate category has regularly provided some of the fiercest and hardest-fought racing ever seen and, for almost three decades, was exclusively limited to series-based models.
After two years of evaluation, prototypes of similar specification to those seen in the Moto2 World and European Championship will be officially accepted into the British championship.
The new category, called British GP2, will allow the use of Moto2 Honda machines currently used in the world or European championships, as well as new projects from independent manufacturers using four-cylinder 600cc or three-cylinder 675cc engines very close to the Stock 600 regulations.
The British Supersport and British GP2 categories will compete in the same races and will be classified separately, with a combined classification to see who is the best of the best...
“This is a critical point for this category of racing. For some time we have been concerned as some manufacturers have stopped producing 600cc sports bikes, which directly affects the sustainability of the Supersport category”, said the category director, Stuart Higgs.
“The integration of independently built motorcycles with a racing chassis and a standard engine has proven to be fair with the Supersport technical level of a standard chassis and a prepared engine.
At the level of the World Championships, they are about to migrate to a new generation of Moto2 machines and engines, which will allow previously unavailable equipment to be brought to market. This, coupled with a surge of interest from independent engineering companies keen to develop bespoke racing equipment, makes now the perfect time to refresh this all-important racing category.
Personally, I am very much looking forward to seeing a new level of prototype machinery in the British Championship, I think the public will enjoy the spectacle and, for the drivers and teams involved in the development of the chassis, it will be a huge benefit to their progression . »
Photo credit : Nykos
