Suzuki boss expects axe for 800s

Suzuki’s factory MotoGP boss Paul Denning believes the current generation 800cc four-stroke bikes will race for only one more season after 2010.

Denning believes that every manufacturer entering the MotoGP world championship in 2012 will do so with a prototype 1000cc four-stroke motor.

Major rule changes for 2012 are still being debated by Dorna, FIM and the Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers Association, with details of the new regulations still being thrashed out in a series of high-level meetings.

What is definite is that four-cylinder bikes up to 1000cc with a maximum cylinder bore of 81mm will be allowed to compete in MotoGP in 2012.

That left the door open for some factories to continue racing with the current 800cc four-strokes, with the additional cost of building a brand new prototype causing concern in the current bleak economic climate.

Yamaha revealed it intended to race its YZR-M1 800cc machine in 2012 back in February, but now appears set to commit to a new engine project.

And Denning told MCN: “I think the four manufacturers that are in MotoGP at the moment, my gut feeling is I don’t see any of them staying with 800s in the short or long term. There is no substitute for capacity. Lap time wise I think an 800 might still be better but I can’t imagine for the long time the 800s will continue. I think there is an appetite to go back to the 1000s.”