Mahindra unveils 2016 Moto3 racer
Mahindra Racing has unveiled the 2016 MGP3O Moto3 machine in front of its home fans at the New Delhi Auto Expo.
The latest Mahindra is 'significantly upgraded in almost every area' as the manufacturer seeks to break the Honda/KTM stranglehold on Moto3 race victories.
The new bike has been developed at Mahindra Racing's European headquarters at Besozzo near Varese in Italy, where changes to the 2016-specification MGP3O have focused on improved power delivery and acceleration, top speed and further improvements to the handling.
The improvements are also designed to make the bike easier for teams and mechanics to work on during the high-pressure race weekends. New engine, gearbox and aerodynamic packages are matched by several refinements to the chassis and electrical components.
All these changes combine to offer greater performance in tune with a new double exhaust system developed by Arrow.
Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group, said: "We are delighted that the new Mahindra Racing 2016 MGP3O motorcycle is making its global debut at the Auto Expo. This new motorcycle is the first all-new product that has emerged from Mahindra Racing's development centre in Italy.
"It is also evidence of Mahindra's growing technical skill in the development of world-class high-performance racing machinery. We are also very proud to be bringing back the Peugeot Motocycles name to international racing."
The new Mahindra will be campaigned by factory entry Team Aspar with retained riders Pecco Bagnaia (19, ITA) and Jorge Martin (18, SPA). Three Mahindra customer teams will see six further machines on the grid run by Team CIP, the Outox Reset Drink Team, and MTA Team Italia, all running two-rider outfits.
New to the Mahindra family in MotoGP is Peugeot Motocycles factory team, SP Racing. Alexis Masbou (28) and Briton John McPhee (21) will contest the Moto3 World Championship on an MGP3O-derived Peugeot.
"We have a very strong line-up both on and off the track for 2016," commented Mufaddal Choonia, CEO, Mahindra Racing. "We've bolstered our own engineering team under our R&D chief Davide Borghesi, significantly enhanced our procurement, quality control and vendor partnerships through a team led by Michele Ciappina.
"A mixture of continuity and new young talent in our rider line-up makes me confident that we'll see some good results from our teams. We are looking forward to further pre-season testing and will continue to make positive strides in our motorcycle racing programme in 2016".
