MAHINDRA MGP30
RACER TEST
P114
motorcycle like this one: momen-
tum.
"Each time I hit the limiter, it's
like someone's stabbed me in
the heart!" said Oliveira. That's
how important momentum is
on a Moto3 bike. But this is a
lovely motor, far from the peaky
package I was expecting to find,
which might need to be rowed up
the rev-range via constant gear-
shifts to access competitive top-
end power.
First gear was very long thanks
to the high overall gearing chosen
for the full Silverstone GP circuit
the Mahindra had been racing on
the day before, so I needed to
slip the clutch quite fiercely to get
going from rest, especially with
my 55 more pounds aboard than
Miguel, who just to rub things in
asked me how heavy I was, and
on being told the truth exclaimed
"But that means you weigh more
than the bike!"
Indeed so. And thanks for
pointing that out, Miguel.
Actually, don't feel too sorry
for the Mahindra minimono, be-
cause its engine is plenty torquey
enough to lug my extra pounds
around, thanks to a considered
design choice by Suter in creat-
ing the engine.
"We could have gone for an
81mm-bore engine design un-
der the rules, but we chose not
to build something this extreme
with such a short stroke," said
Mahindra Racing's Moto3 proj-
ect leader Davide Borghesi. "We
chose instead a 78mm-bore de-
sign, with a longer stroke which
helps deliver more torque."
And that it does, because
while it's absolutely vital that you
pay attention to the shifter lights
(and get ready to grab another
gear on the sweet-action race-
pattern wide-open powershifter
as soon as the first of the row of
(Above) Portugal's Miguel
Oliveira raced the Mahindra to
sixth in final Moto3 points tally
ahead of all Honda riders. He
had one podium finish.
(Above right) Cathcart found the
bike to be a bit unstable – until
Oliveira gave him some hints.
