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2013 FIM Superbike World Championship begins April 7
There will be lots in store for the Indian bike racing enthusiasts when the 65th edition of the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Road Racing World Championship begins April 7, writes Jyotsana Gupta of BikeDekho.com
Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix, the biggest championship of motorcycle road racing, is soon going to be back with yet another sizzling race season, once again bringing along an enthralling series of breakneck speeding sessions, starring the most sensational rides of all times, driven by the most celebrated riders from across the globe on the most popular race tracks of the world.
Starting April 7, at the Losail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar, with what is undoubtedly going to be a race to remember, this year's Moto GP will be the 65th edition of the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Road Racing World Championship.
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2013 FIM Superbike World Championship begins April 7
The origins of this legendary motorbike racing championship dates back to the year 1949 when its inaugural season presented some seriously breathtaking races organised in four different classes namely, 500cc, 350cc, 250cc and 125cc.
By the time the 1990 season came along, the four constituting classes had been reduced to three known as 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP.
In 2010, once again, a major change in the Grand Prix racing classes was witnessed when Moto2 600cc four-stroke class replaced the 250cc two-stroke segment, leaving the 125cc two-strokes to be substituted by Moto3 250cc four-strokes bearing a maximum weight of 65kg (with fuel), and the MotoGP engine capacity grew from 800cc to 1,000cc in 2012.
2013 FIM Superbike World Championship begins April 7
For the 2013 season of the Grand Prix, a spectacular route that runs across half the globe has been planned by the FIM with a total of 17 stoppages in four continents, involving some of the most dangerous racetracks of the world.
2013 FIM Superbike World Championship begins April 7
Starting from Asia at the Losail International Circuit, the championship will be heading towards North America to set camp at the Circuit of the Americas on April 21, crossing several race tracks including the illustrious Le Mans Bugatti Circuit in France on May 19 and the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia on October 13 on its way to the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Australia for the October 20 event to finally come to a close at the famous Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia on November 10.
2013 FIM Superbike World Championship begins April 7
Two pre-season-test-run sessions have already been organised for the Moto3 World Championship this year, both of which were immensely successful for the solitary participating team from India known as the Mahindra Racing. Having welcomed two new riders to the team this year: the world-renowned rider from Spain, Efren Vazquez and the immensely talented teenage racing sensation from Portugal, Miguel Oliveira, Mahindra Racing, it seems, is intent upon setting the race tracks on fire this time.
2013 FIM Superbike World Championship begins April 7
While the first test run organised in Valencia saw Vazquez and Oliveira easily making it to the top 10 on the timesheets, ending up in positions eight and ten respectively, the second session in Jerez had Miguel Oliveira advancing spectacularly to the fifth position with Efren Vazquez skilfully recording the eighth fastest time on the test once again.
To accompany the new bikers on the racetrack, the Mahindras have also brought a spanking new bike to life that is being expected to be just as amazing on the track as its riders are known to be.
2013 FIM Superbike World Championship begins April 7
Driven by a mighty 249.9cc, liquid-cooled, 4-stroke DOHC mill featuring 81mm bore and 48.5mm stroke, the newly-developed MGP-3O from M&M has been built on a tubular steel frame chassis.
Weighing 85kg in total, this new GP racer comes equipped with inverted telescopic suspension for the front and progressive rate linkage suspension for the rear end. The braking system designed for the bike comprises of two front discs measuring 215 mm in diameter and a single rear disc measuring 188mm in diameter.
2013 FIM Superbike World Championship begins April 7
M&M and two-wheeler specialists from Italy, Engines Engineering, have designed the MGP-3O jointly.