Jorge Aspar Martinez has taken the dramatic decision to scrap his Moto2 project with the Italian chassis supplier RSV, switching instead to the Swiss made Suter MMX. It is an immediate decision and the two Suter prototype 600’s are in transit from Switzerland to Spain as of this moment. Taking advantage of the two weekend break between Jerez and Le Mans, the Spanish team hopes be prepared to run the new Suter chassis in France, with Friday practice beginning May 21. Martinez’ choice to ditch the RSV chassis for the Suter is no doubt quite costly, as he has to fulfill his payment contract with RSV while also purchasing two brand new Suter chassis’ at the same time. With the Mapfre Aspar team dropping the Italian frame; it will leave Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham as the sole RSV rider on the Moto2 grid.

One of the reasons for the switch is the paddock rumor the RSV DR600 chassis is around 20 pounds heavier than the Suter, a lot of weight on a motorbike. It is also said to be less aerodynamic than the other prototype 600’s in the inaugural Moto2 class. Mapfre Aspar riders Julito Simon and Mike Di Meglio are currently 13th and 22nd in the title race, with the latter yet to score a point. Showing his faith in last year’s 125cc World Champion, Martinez told the Spanish press that the three riders on Suter MMX ahead of Julito in championship points are below the level of Simon. He would be referring to championship leader Shoya Tomizawa, fourth placed Jules Cluzel and eight placed Roberto Rolfo.

When Aprilia decided to abandon their Moto2 project around November 20, it left Aspar without a chassis for his riders, who just so happen to be the 2008 and 2009 125cc World Champions. He went and tested all the available options, basing his opinion on what Julito Simon and Mike Di Meglio thought of each frame. In the end Simon said the RSV, but Di Meglio wasn’t as sure, the Frenchman liked the Suter as well as the German made Kalex frame. Martinez went with Julito, but it appears (from within the team) the choice has turned against the two Spaniards.

It is an interesting decision and has been made too quickly in my opinion; Simon has qualified the bike 2nd in both Qatar and Spain, something I don’t think possible if the bike was an absolute dog. He retired from Qatar due to a technical problem and finished 8th in Jerez. Di Meglio has had a much more difficult time; he qualified 13th and 28th in the first two races and finished 16th and 22nd. It seems that Aspar must not rate championship leader  Shoya Tomizawa very highly, thinking it is the bike and not the rider, because there are a couple of other frames that have had similar results to the Japanese rider. Riding the Moriwaki, Toni Elias has claimed a pole and a win, the same as Tomizawa. Tom Luthi has also proved the pace of the Japanese prototype, as he currently third in points. The British FTR was also very quick in Qatar with Alex Debon, the Kalex has been fast with Sergio Gadea and Kenny Noyes has been no slouch on his Promoharris.

With eight different chassis ahead of Simon’s RSV, Aspar will be surely hoping he has made the right decision for his Mapfre team. If indeed he has made the right choice, other teams may begin to feel they have a chassis disadvantage. If these teams have the money to purchase new bikes, this might start happening a lot more as the season goes on. Moto2 will face an interesting scenario if there starts be one or two dominant prototypes in the class that dominate, every team will purchase them and the grid will truly be a single make category, much like the final 250cc championship was with the Piaggio Group two-strokes.

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