With theScheduled arrival of Triumph in Moto2, chassis manufacturers have two years left to design and develop their product.
The Spanish site motorlunews questioned Alex Baumgartel, Director and Chief Designer of Kalex engineering GmbH, to find out what this will mean for the German brand which currently dominates the field.
Alex Baumgartel: “With any new engine, even if it's the same dimensions and weight, it will result in a more or less new frame design, just because of the difference in stiffness of the engine itself. But if it happened to be the Triumph engine, it would be quite different. The Triumph engine has 2 mounting points on each side for the front engine mounts, and quite high ones. The Honda engine has only one point on each side, positioned much lower. This difference has a significant impact on the design of the frame and the cycle part. »
Could this change threaten your dominance?
“Every regulatory change can change the situation, not just one regulatory change. We are heading into the 8th season, with more or less unchanged regulations. All bikes are of a high standard and all Moto2 manufacturers have tried a lot of solutions and modifications over the past years. The gap between manufacturers is actually quite slim, so it's easy to make a small mistake in the annual evolution, and it can cost 0,1 seconds per lap, which would put you off the pace. But back to the new engine for 2019: at present, as we have not worked with any engine other than the Honda engine, we do not know what we can take from the current concept of the bike, and what works or not .
Yes, a new engine can change the hierarchy. »
