Bimota to build chassis for new Moto2 600 class

Italian manufacturer Bimota is planning to become a chassis developer for private teams entering the new Moto2 600cc racing prototype class.

It's a return to the roots of the original company for Bimota, which began in the early 1970s making components for GP racing bikes.

The plan is to make chassis and swingarm parts that can be bolted onto the racing 600cc engines from whichever manufacturer the private teams choose to use.

Bimota's Anacleto Bernabei said: "This is an important move for Bimota and a real return to the very essence of what Bimota is all about."

MCN understands that Bimota staff attended this week's 125 and 250GP test in Jerez to make teams aware of its future plans, while also gauging the level of interest.

Four-stroke 600 bikes will replace the current two-stroke 250GP format in 2011, though many expect the new Moto2 machines to race in a combined class next year before 250s are banned.

The philosophy of the new 600cc class is to make racing more affordable, with bikes costing around 100,000 for teams to lease.

It is thought that several teams starting a project from scratch would be looking to source key components like chassis, while also using tuners to tweak the four-stroke engines.

Bimota is the first company to express interest in building chassis, while Scott Redding's Blusens Aprilia team will unveil its own Moto2 machine in Spain next Tuesday.

The only other bike designed for the new class seen in public was unveiled by Moriwaki at the Suzuki Eight-hour endurance race in Japan last year.