Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/103759
VOL. 48 ISSUE 23 JULY 19, 2011 of a factory leased bike instead. So what is a CRT bike? Technically it's like the Formula One bikes of the 1970s and 1980s: a tuned production engine in a full-race chassis. In other areas, it's not so clearly defined: actual Claiming Rules have been deferred several times already while the manufacturers bicker with IRTA and Dorna about the details. With only half a season to go before the new bikes start racing. The idea is to boost numbers on a MotoGP grid shrunk to a maximum of 17. And response was good: by the first deadline of May 1, 16 teams indicated interest, all from within Moto2 or 125. By the time names were announced (after a couple of delays) in the latter part of June, this had been whittled down to six teams with nine riders. The test results may whittle them down still further. Calling the bikes "CRT" is all a bit tortuous, and probably deliberately so. You have to look at them in a different context: actually, they should be called Moto1. We've already got Moto2 – tame bikes, crazy racing; next year the last of the racing two-strokes will be replaced by another generation of the same sort of thing. Moto3 replaces the jewel-like 125s with lumbering 250 four-stroke singles. All very cheap, and all very equal. Giving everybody the worst of everything, because it's fairer that way. And CRT bikes fill the same criteria. The Great Leap Forward will be completed when they take over from the imperialist running-dog factory bikes, which will wither and die under the righteous onslaught of the mediocre. Trouble is, like the original Great Leap Forward, it doesn't look like it's going to add up. The consequences of the Chinese experiment in mass collectivization resulted in tens of millions of deaths by starvation; happily the results of a similar failure by the MotoGP equivalent will be less catastrophic. And for its architects, there is more encouragement. Chairman Mao seemed to be finished after the catastrophe of the Great Leap. But he came back, with the equally unpleasant Cultural Revolution. So all is not yet lost. CN 92-93 Backpage.indd 93 P93 LOOKING BACK 30 Years Ago July 29, 1981 Randy Mamola, wheelying his RG500 Suzuki, was pictured on the cover 30 years ago for capturing his first National win at Laguna Seca. Eddie Lawson won the AMA Superbike class… Mark Barnett won both motos at the 125cc U.S.GP at Mid-Ohio with Harry Everts taking second… Hakan Carlqvist topped the 500cc World MX at Farleigh Castle. 20 Years Ago July 31, 1991 Jeff Stanton made it two covers in a row after winning the 500cc National MX at Lake Sugar Tree. Mike Kiedrowski won the 125cc class… Randy Hawkins took top honors at the Magnolia Classic II National Enduro in Missouri… A young Nicky Hayden won five events at the Dirt Track Amateur Nationals in Illinois… Stefan Everts swept the 125cc MX GP in Guatemala. 10 Years Ago July 25, 2001 Ricky Carmichael and Grant Langston shared the cover of Cycle News 10 years ago for topping the National 250 and 125cc classes, respectively, at Unadilla. The win made Carmichael the winningest AMA "outdoor" of all time, surpassing Bob Hannah with 37 victories… Stefan Everts won his 49th GP victory in France… Graham Jarvis won his first-ever World Trials title. 7/18/11 11:29 AM