Carbon fibre makes MotoGP comeback with Avintia

Ducati may have ditched its carbon fibre design at the end of 2011, but the composite will be making at least a partial chassis return during the second round of the 2012 MotoGP season at Jerez in Spain.

According to Motociclismo.es Avintia Racing, which graduated to the premier-class under the new CRT rules, will switch from an FTR to Inmotec chassis on one of Ivan Silva's Kawasaki-powered machines this weekend.

While the FTR uses a conventional twin-spar aluminium design, the Motociclismo report states that the new Inmotec chassis is 'mixed carbon and aluminum'.

Colombian Yonny Hernandez, who defied the team's winter testing form with a creditable 14th place in Qatar, will continue with the FTR.

Inmotec had intended to enter MotoGP with its own 800cc MotoGP prototype and even penned Catalunya 2010 as the planned date of a wild-card race debut.

That never happened, but development continued and the BQR-run Avintia team spent post-2011 testing weighing up both FTR (British) and Inmotec (Spanish) machinery, before opting for the FTR-Kawasaki format.

But Avintia has made much of its Spanish roots, describing itself as "the first Spanish team to develop a MotoGP bike, developed entirely in Spain" when confirming its place on the 2012 grid.

The switch to Inmotec is thus not in itself surprising, although the timing - so soon into the new season - is unexpected.

Silva, 16th in Qatar, was previously the Inmotec test rider.

The premier-class grid will now contain three different chassis materials; aluminium, steel trellis (Ioda) and carbon fibre.

Silva isn't the only Avintia rider rumoured to be switching frames this weekend, Moto2 star Julian Simon is said to be swapping his FTR for a Suter.