With more power, more torque, and electronics, Moto2 which debuted in 2019 at Qatar has entered a new era. Certainly, but in figures, from one season to the next, what does that look like? Here are the differences…
Since its launch in 2010 until the 2018 season, Moto2 has barely evolved. Year after year the same 600 cc Honda unit engines, of slightly lower power, were used. Electronics had no place on these machines. An ice age that is now over.
With the 2019 season, in fact, a new era has now been born in Moto2. Triumph took over the engine monopoly from Honda and the displacement increased to 765 cm³. The new three-cylinder develops around 140 hp and produces around 20 newton meters more than the four-cylinder Honda engine. Magneti Marelli's electronics package includes, among other things, launch control, different options for engine braking and several engine maps, but no traction control. The riders are all excited about the new Moto2, and this was also reflected during the first race weekend in Qatar in the numbers.
The new Triumph engine has more horsepower than its Honda predecessor, which was demonstrated in the final finishing straight of more than a kilometer that characterizes the Losail International Circuit. Joan mir et Brad Binder were the fastest drivers with a speed of 285,6 km/h. In 2019, Xavi Verge et Alex Marquez announced a speed of 294,4 km/h. Or 8,8 km/h better.
But the new generation of Moto2 is not just straight-line progress. In each of the six testing sessions, the lap time improved significantly compared to the previous year. The slightest difference was still in qualifying, where Marcel Schrötter was "only" 1,714 seconds faster thanAlex Marquez last year. In FP3, however, the 2019 generation was 2,333 seconds faster, with an average improvement of 2,09 seconds in lap times in free practice, qualifying and warm-up.
The difference in the race was a little less noticeable. The Qatar Moto2 Grand Prix was shortened by 22.693 seconds this year, or 1.134 seconds per lap for a distance of 20 laps. This is probably explained above all by the tires made available to Moto2 riders. The middle class is slowed down in a more or less artificial way, the supplier Dunlop being asked by Dorna not to deliver too many good tires to keep a sufficient distance from MotoGP. In Qatar, it was around five seconds per lap according to data from motorsport.magazin.
