HRC: No extra RCV1000R bikes on 2015 MotoGP grid

Honda will not expand the number of production RCV1000R machines it has on the MotoGP grid for 2015.

HRC has confirmed that it will enter a maximum of four RCV1000R machines next season, despite big interest in the Open class bike because of a Honda vow to massively upgrade the bike for 2015.

The RCV1000R was introduced as a more affordable alternative to its factory RC213V prototype for the new Open category in MotoGP this season.

The bike can run softer tyres and more fuel than the factory bikes but doesn’t feature exotic and expensive technology like a pneumatic valve motor and seamless shift gearbox.

That will change next year, with Honda upgrading the RCV1000R to include a pneumatic valve motor to improve acceleration and top speed, which has been a major weakness of this year’s project.

Scott Redding, Nicky Hayden, Hiroshi Aoyama and Karel Abraham are racing the RCV1000R this season.

Redding’s Gresini squad and the Spanish-based Aspar outfit that runs Hayden and Aoyama have already publicly started their intention to continue with the RCV1000R machine.

And HRC boss Livio Suppo told MCN: “There is some interest but we will not change the number of bikes on track. There will be a maximum of eight bikes and that’s four official bikes and four production machines.

“I still believe in some tracks that the performance of this bike (RCV1000R) is more than enough to show the potential of a rider, but we will be upgrading the engine spec.”