MotoGP – Moto GP Guide: all you need to know about the 2012 season – MotoGP and CRT 2012 motorcycle sheets: all the technical information

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Moto GP guide: all you need to know about the 2012 season

MotoGP - Moto GP Guide: all you need to know about the 2012 season - MotoGP and CRT 2012 motorcycle sheets: all the technical information

Exclusively on the web, Site offers its 2012 MotoGP Practical Guide. Driver files, presentation of circuits and motorcycles, rating of title contenders: all the information and key figures of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship !

MotoGP and CRT 2012 motorcycle sheets: all the technical information

The 2012 MotoGP grid is now divided into two categories: on the one hand 12 prototypes built around new 1000 cc engines (4 Ducati, 4 Honda and 4 Yamaha), on the other 9 CRT (4 ART / Aprilia, an Aprilia / Ioda, a BMW / Suter, a Honda / FTR and two Kawasaki / FTR) which adopt "prepared" series Hypersports engines and free cycle parts.

Site reviews in detail the technical characteristics and potential of each of the 21 MotoGP / CRT (Claiming Rule Team) of the 2012 grid.

Ducati Desmosedici GP12: close or close to the goal ?

After a catastrophic 2011 season during which Rossi has not won a single race for the first time since 1996 (!), Ducati had to accept a complete review of its Desmosedici: exit the famous carbon monocoque frame dear to Filippo Preziosi (the director technique of Ducati Corse) and place for a "banal" perimeter aluminum frame as on Honda RC213V or Yamaha YZR-M1 and on Japanese sports cars.

For some Ducati leaders, the pill is all the harder to swallow because they were counting on MotoGP (and Rossi) to promote the new 1199 Panigale, one of whose main features is precisely the use of a monocoque chassis. (read our)…

The GP12 however retains its V4 open at 90 °, its desmodromic distribution and its ultra-fast gearbox. Ducati Seamless Transmission (DST). Cutting short the rumors about the displacement of the Italian, Preziosi recently confirmed that this engine has a cubic capacity of 1000 cc. And on the mechanical level, the Ducati does not seem to "be ashamed": the offseason has shown that the V4 "snores" !

Side cycle on the other hand, the abandonment of the monohull did not obviously solve all the problems: Rossi spent the winter almost a second of the fastest, complaining in particular of a lack of grip on re-acceleration and tendency to widen when entering curves.

The Italian and his teammate Nicky Hayden nevertheless want to be confident, arguing that the new Desmosedici is much easier to drive than before. Still, it still seems to require a lot of development work, while the RC213V and M1 are already badly accomplished…

Technical characteristics of the Ducati GP12

  • 1000 cc V4 of approximately 250 hp

  • aluminum perimeter frame

  • Ohlins pendant lights

  • carbon brake discs

  • Brembo 4-piston monobloc calipers

  • 16.5 inch magnesium forged wheels

  • 21 liter tank

  • injection and electronics Magneti Marelli

  • minimum weight: 157 kg

Honda RC213V: already the benchmark ?

The RC212V of 800 cc "2011 vintage" being a particularly accomplished motorcycle, Honda naturally chose not to revolutionize its base for 2012: the RC213V is still powered by a V4 – whose opening angle is estimated between 72 and 75 ° – inserted in a double aluminum beam frame.

The pneumatic valve return system is renewed, as is the "Seamless Shift" gearbox allowing lightning-fast gear changes. If Honda remains very discreet about the operation of this transmission – while ensuring not to use dual clutch technology, prohibited in GP -, Shuhei Nakamoto, vice-president of the HRC, confided last year that its price exceeded that from his own house…

Estimated according to our information between 500,000 and 650,000 euros, this box is just like the Honda prototype: extremely sophisticated and very fast. In the lead for most of the offseason, the RC213V only suffers from one defect: vibrations (dribbling) that the HRC attributes to the new Bridgestone tires, but also to the 4 kg increase imposed late by Dorna (read).

Forced to bring the Honda from 153 to 157 kg between the first tests in Valence in 2011 and the tests at Sepang in early 2012, the HRC had to put ballast on a perfectly balanced motorcycle: a real torture for the engineers who had to design a new chassis for which it remains to find the ideal balance…

Honda RC213V technical characteristics

  • 1000 cc V4 of approximately 250 hp

  • double beam aluminum frame

  • Ohlins pendant lights (Showa at Gresini)

  • carbon brake discs

  • Brembo 4-piston monobloc calipers (Nissin at Gresini)

  • 16.5 inch magnesium forged wheels

  • 21 liter tank

  • injection and electronics HRC

  • minimum weight: 157 kg

Yamaha YZR-M1: more watts but no less wadding !

A little lost in the development of its M1 at the start of the 2011 season (the backlash from Rossi’s departure?), Yamaha gradually corrected the situation after a few Grands Prix: according to Lorenzo, the only weak point of the M1 800 cc against the Honda lay in its lack of acceleration.

The Japanese engineers have therefore worked all winter on the 4-cylinder in-line with "crossplane" setting of 1000 cc, which is clearly more efficient. So much so that the Mallorcan is already worried about supersonic speeds (over 350 km / h!) That prototypes will not fail to reach on circuits like Barcelona or Mugello. !

But this additional power also has another counterpart: it puts more strain on the Deltabox chassis (double aluminum beam) which had to be stiffened, at the risk of upsetting the envied balance of the M1 and its relative ease of being driven….

In addition, the higher torque induces a marked tendency to wheelies: to muzzle it, the Japanese adopted a longer swingarm while trying to keep the wheelbase short which gives the Yamaha its superior agility..

On the technical level, Yam ‘has also worked on reliability (thanks to better lubrication, in particular) so as not to risk exceeding the quota of six engines allocated to each driver for the season (12 for the CRTs). Finally, during the second tests at Sepang, the M1 released – very discreetly – a new gearbox which allows faster shifts.

2012 Yamaha YZR-M1 technical characteristics

  • 1000cc crossplane inline 4-cylinder of approx. 250 hp

  • Deltabox frame (double aluminum beam)

  • Ohlins pendant lights

  • carbon brake discs

  • Brembo 4-piston monobloc calipers

  • 16.5 inch magnesium forged wheels

  • 21 liter tank

  • injection and electronics Magneti Marelli

  • minimum weight: 157 kg

CRT / Aprilia – ART (Aprilia Racing Technology)

ART (Aprilia Racing Technology) is without a doubt the most competitive CRT (Claiming Rule Team) … and the most controversial! Built around a "World Superbike" version of the, it adopts a perimeter frame also developed by Aprilia.

Clearly, the ART is a kind of "Super Superbike" which differs from the bike of Biaggi and Laverty only by its original fairings, its carbon discs and its more rigid frame, designed to adapt to higher constraints and to Bridgestones.

So much involvement on the part of Aprilia obviously annoys Ducati, Honda and Yamaha who blame Noale’s coat of arms for flirting with the limits of the CRT regulations….

The ART adopts the WSBK electronic control unit (developed jointly with Magneti Mareli and Aprilia) but does not have the famous cascade distribution of pinions – probably for reasons of reliability. This does not prevent his V4 to breathe deeply: Randy de Puniet, author of the best times in CRT during the offseason with his team Aspar, estimates its power at more than 220 hp. !

Technical characteristics of the CRT / ART

  • 999.6 cc 65 ° V-4 engine with over 220 hp

  • Aprilia aluminum double beam frame

  • Ohlins pendant lights

  • carbon brake discs

  • Brembo 4-piston monobloc calipers

  • 16.5 inch wheels

  • 24 liter tank

  • injection and electronics Aprilia and Magneti Marelli

  • minimum weight: mini 157 kg

CRT / Aprilia Ioda TR 003

While four drivers out of the nine representatives of the CRT category will compete in the 2012 season with a 100% Aprilia ART (De Puniet and Espargaro at Aspar, Pasini at Speed ​​Master and Ellison at Paul Bird Motorsport), the Came Ioda Racing team has chosen to develop your own chassis around the Aprilia V4.

Under the leadership of Giampiero Sacchi – who was competition director at Aprilia – the Ioda team built an elegant tubular trellis frame. Called "TR 003", this CRT seems well born but it still requires the development. However, his driver, the young Danilo Petrucci (pictured opposite with Sacchi and the TR 003), has no experience in Grand Prix…

Technical characteristics of CRT / Aprilia Ioda TR 003

  • 999.6 cc 65 ° V-4 engine with over 220 hp

  • Ioada tubular trellis frame

  • Ohlins pendant lights

  • carbon brake discs

  • Brembo 4-piston monobloc calipers

  • 16.5 inch wheels

  • 24 liter tank

  • injection and electronics Aprilia and Magneti Marelli

  • weight: mini 157 kg

CRT / BMW-Suter

The first MotoGP rider to announce his move to the CRT category, Colin Edwards signed with NGM Forward Racing (ex-Kawasaki Hayate) where he rides – and develops, above all! – the only BMW engine CRT on the platform.

Built around the 4-cylinder in-line and an FTR aluminum perimeter chassis, the bike did not really spark off this winter: at Sepang, the Texan was 3 to 5 seconds behind. to MotoGP prototypes.

The team uses a "World Superbike" version of the S1000RR engine supplied by BMW. But the "support" of the German brand stops there and NGM Forward must manage on its own to tame the overkill "4-legged" Teuton. In addition, Edwards and his team are slowed down by the development of the Bosch-BMW electronic control unit, which comes standard with the engine….

Technical characteristics of the CRT / BMW-Suter

  • 999 cc in-line 4-cylinder engine with over 200 hp

  • double aluminum beam Suter

  • Ohlins pendant lights

  • carbon brake discs

  • Brembo 4-piston monobloc calipers

  • 16.5 inch wheels

  • 24 liter tank

  • Bosch / BMW injection and electronics

  • weight: mini 157 kg

CRT / Honda-FTR

In 2012, Fausto Gresini will be the only team manager to field a 100% prototype MotoGP (a Honda RC213V driven by Bautista) and a CRT. Faithful to the world’s leading manufacturer, Gresini has chosen an engine of) to power his motorcycle, whose chassis design has been entrusted to FTR.

Led by Michele Pirro, the project was however significantly delayed: in charge of developing the 4-cylinder, Ten Kate returned his copy on time, but this was not the case with the British from FTR whose frame s ‘is made to wait…

Results: Pirro has only driven his CRT twice during the entire offseason! The first time in March during private tests in Imola (Italy), the second during official tests in Jerez (19th time 3.4 seconds from Stoner) … Suffice to say that the CRT-Gresini is far from being at the point: during its first outing, the team had to interrupt its tests because the fairings were rubbing in curves !

Fortunately, the Gresini team has resources and can count on the exceptional talents of Ten Kate as engine manufacturers to spit an impressive number of horses (more than 220 according to the team) at 4-legged Honda..

Technical characteristics of the CRT / Honda – FTR

  • 999.8 cc in-line 4-cylinder over 220 hp

  • double beam in FTR aluminum

  • Showa pendant lights

  • carbon brake discs

  • Nissin monobloc 4-piston calipers

  • 16.5 inch wheels

  • 24 liter tank

  • weight: mini 157 kg

CRT / BQR-FTR

Born under the leadership of Raul Romero, the By Queroseno Racing (BQR) structure is one of the few teams with Aspar, Gresini and Idoa to be entered in all three categories in 2012 (Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP).

Thanks to the financial support of the Avintia group, the structure developed its CRT around an English FTR chassis and the in-line 4-cylinder of the Kawasaki ZX-10R (the only one used in 2012).

Unfortunately, between the inexperience of its pilots and its flagrant lack of development, the BQR-FTR is far from ready: in Sepang, Ivan Silva and Yonny Hernandez each took more than six seconds per lap…

Technical characteristics of the CRT / BQR-FTR

  • 998 cc in-line 4-cylinder engine with over 200 hp

  • double beam in FTR aluminum

  • Showa pendant lights

  • carbon brake discs

  • Brembo 4-piston monobloc calipers

  • 16.5 inch wheels

  • 24 liter tank

  • weight: mini 157 kg

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