Paton announces plans for Moto2 assault

Paton announces plans for Moto2 assault.

Italian motorcycle builder Paton is going to return to motorcycle grand prix racing with a new Moto2 bike wrapped around a Honda CBR 600 engine in 2018 and then a 765cc Triumph triple engine for the following season.

Paton is pretty well known in GP racing circles, largely for making a pukka privateer 500 two-stroke back in the 1980s and 90s which – in truth – spent a lot of time in the lower third of the action at a time when the 500 two-strokes were the nastiest motorcycles on the planet. More recently Paton has been turning out some sweet 650cc bikes to take part in the Isle of Man TT’s Lightweight race where it’s bagged a trio of very respectable finishes.

The bike making group was put together under the watch of the exhaust makers SC-Project which is now expanding things to take on the Moto2 championship. Based on the outskirts of Milan, SC-Project has been producing some gorgeous (and quick) exhausts for top flight bikes in the Premier class for the like of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa. So they have form at this racing game.

SC-Project was formed 12 years ago by Stefano Lavazza and Marco de Rossi, the driving force behind the rebirth of the Italian marque.

“Paton is the passion and we have our team in Moto2 that we will build. This team will become the heart of what we do in racing and from that heart we will fight on the world circuits,” said Lavazza.

The new Paton outfit will continue to contest the Isle of Man TT races also. Recently the outift’s Lightweight bike – based around a Kawasaki ER-6 – has been a staple in the 650cc race on The Island, making its debut in 2014 with Olie Linsdell who rode it to a sixth place finish, first time out.

Since then the bike has been contested by the likes of Michael Rutter (third in the bike in 2015) and Stefano Bonetti who got it across the line for a fifth place finish last year.