CRT: MOTOGP’S SAVIOUR?
If you’ve seen any of this year’s GP races, chances are you’ve been enthralled.But it wasn’ tthat longago thatthe blue-ribbon championship had come unstuck, witnessing dwindling grids and top manufacturers such as Suzuki and Kawasaki leaving the paddock without a promise of return. Unfortunately, Kawasaki’ sstill absent without a hint of coming back, but Suzuki have returned, and so have the likes of KTM and Aprilia. The grid si n GP, Moto2 and Moto3 are very busy and manufacturers such as Ducati are sporting an all-time-high of six bike son the grid, with four satellite efforts supporting the factory team’s Lorenzo and Dovizioso. Y es, things are in a very good place and that’s arguably down to the hard decision made in 2012 to introduce the Claiming Rules Te am directive (CRT). It was a system introduced to help draw more manufacturers to the empty Moto GP grid, by permitting the utilisation of tuned-1000cc street bike motors onto the grid. Models such as B MW’ s S1000RR and Aprilia’s RSV4 proved popular options for these hybrid out fits, that we repaired with be spoke frames fromthe likes of Suter, and permitted to run better electronics and carry more fuel to try and even out the natural deficit of competing against bespoke, million pound Moto GP machines. Despite initial reservations and pessimism, the class proved to be a masters troke and helped draw riders and teams onto the GP grid. It’s a rule that’ snow come and gone, but it proved the stop gap needed to bridge a difficult time, following which the Moto GP series has continued to peak with every season. It’ sun likely thatthe championship wouldhave folded without the CRT rule’s introduction, but it certainly would have made the series far less accessible, and consequently less exciting. It proved to be the right decision at the right time.