The 2018 Moto2 season will have a special flavor for chassis manufacturer Kalex, which is the dominant species in the industry. Dominant, certainly, but very contested by KTM which won the last three Grands Prix of the 2017 financial year with Miguel Oliveira while his teammate Brad Binder played for the podium, demonstrating the good form of the Austrian machine. The Germans of Kalex understood the danger. And will regroup their forces.
Forces which will consist of 18 pilots. The number is therefore for Kalex which saw one of its competitors eliminated in the person of Suter. But the problem is not the Swiss. He is the Austrian with KTM, who blocked Kalex's victory counter at 49 since Japan. The troops ofAlex Baumgärtel hoped to celebrate the fiftieth achievement before the end of 2017. No effort: “ that damn Oliveira! » commented the boss on the subject... Who decided to define his priorities.
First, the Forward case, which would like to be displayed with the MV Agusta logo. Kalex doesn't want to hear about it so the team tested a Suter which therefore disappeared from the landscape. However, at Kalex, we remain firm: “ we will no longer provide Forward. Maybe that will make it easier for us to stand up to KTM, because providing a lot of chassis also makes us slower to react ". Here are the drivers of this team Eric Granado et Stefano manzi warned…
While waiting for Forward’s reaction, here is the Kalex strategy: “ Oliveira, Binder, Bagnaia, Pasini and Márquez are the riders of the moment in Moto2. Pasini in particular achieved five pole positions in 2017. He has a great understanding of motorcycling and technique. He is a valuable driver for us ».
« Pasini, Bagnaia and Márquez have already tested the 2018 parts. From the frame to the fork with other elements. For Bagnaia, it was the first tests with Öhlins suspensions. He also worked on the chassis and a new swingarm. Everything was positive, including the aerodynamics. The general behavior was better as was the grip when accelerating. The three drivers confirmed despite different settings. The new parts will therefore be produced in 2018 and we will continue to improve them following the next information from the tests to come next year ».
Baumgärtel finished : " we are under pressure from KTM. Oliveira and Binder did a good job. Now we need to do more. We are working on the new milestone to cross ". Which will leave some by the wayside…
