Why Moto3 is heading for a bigger, but cheaper future - Exclusive
Moto3 is heading for a bigger future, but costs could also be slashed by 50%.
Moto3 is heading for a bigger future, literally, in terms of engine size.
After using 250cc four-strokes ever since the end of the 125cc two-stroke era in 2012, the junior class is rumoured to become a 500cc single-make series from 2027.
“It’s no secret that we’ve been looking at changes to Moto3,” Dorna’s chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta confirmed last season.
Ezpeleta added that the current gap between Moto3 and the 765cc Moto2 class is “probably a bit too big”.
MotoGP director of technology Corrado Cecchinelli declined to comment on specific future engine regulations but outlined why Moto3 needs to change.
“There is more than one reason,” Cecchinelli told Crash.net.
“The first is to have something more suited to the [larger] body dimensions of the young generation, which is amplified by the increase in the minimum age limit that the FIM introduced in recent years.
“So the current Moto3 machines seem to be too small and not powerful enough for heavier and bigger riders. That also conflicts with the idea of preparing these riders for an ideal path that takes them all the way to MotoGP.
“So, we don't want a category where only small bodies can excel.”
Meanwhile, costs have been rising.
Although Moto3 operates with price caps for engines, gearboxes and other components, it remains a prototype category with competing manufacturers, currently KTM and Honda.
“Moto3 is becoming much more expensive than we envisioned,” Cecchinelli explained.
"There's price-capping currently in Moto3 but still, the competition between manufacturers is raising the cost, which they don't want to bear anymore. So, this is another important item.”
To gain a competitive edge, Moto3 manufacturers can build machines that exceed the price cap, using track success to mitigate the losses.
But rivals are then forced to respond, and so costs continue to escalate.
“We have to make Moto3 consistently affordable,” Cecchinelli said.
“That means not only keeping to the price-cap structure, but the big change is removing competition among different manufacturers.
“That, in principle, is already a way to make cost-capping effective.
"Because we have cost-capping in place now, but the truth is that [manufacturers] put more money than that into the game because they want to win.
“So, even with the same [cost cap] ‘numbers’, if you have just one single supplier, you are sure nobody will go beyond that cap.
"But on top of that, we are reducing a lot this cost cap [in future].”
The financial impact of removing competition and slashing the Moto3 price cap could be dramatic.
“Maybe we will retouch the numbers, but imagine something like half of the present figures,” Cecchinelli said.
“So the cost for the final user, which is the team, will be much lower than now. Also, it will be a much more affordable racing. And, at the same time, we are confident this [cap] will be consistent.
“I mean, there will be nobody spending more than [the price cap] - and then complaining that they are spending more than that!
“One thing is having a price cap. Another thing is that this is effective. You have to work on both.”
If Moto3 moves to a one-brand class it would fall more into line with Moto2, which features open chassis competition but mandates a single engine supplier (Triumph).
MotoGP allows for full prototype rivalry between manufacturers, except in the areas of tyres and electronics.
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