Former CRT rider Michele Pirro says class has a MotoGP future
MotoGP's CRT class will not be rendered obsolete when radical changes - including a spec ECU - are brought in for 2014 according to Michele Pirro
Pirro spearheaded Gresini Racing's CRT effort in 2012, one of nine entries accepted for the category's maiden season.
MotoGP's governing body the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme said the class - originally borne out of the need to combat rising prototype costs and boost grid numbers - would stay for 2013 but could change in 2014 when new rules are slated to come into effect.
Pirro labelled his own experience of CRTs as 'disastrous' after he finished third in class despite breaking into the top 10 just twice all season.
While he accepts that the gap between CRTs and prototypes must be reduced, Pirro says rule changes for both the coming season and beyond 2014 could ensure such a shift.
"CRT can have a future if the gap to the MotoGP prototypes is reduced, Pirro told Motosprint.
"The CRT I raced with was disastrous. We were too limited and too little money was spent.
"If you consider Aprilia, that's different: ART has shown it can get close to the MotoGP prototypes. CRT will have softer tyres in 2013, so it will benefit from that.
"In 2014, with the rule changes, the level of the prototypes will decrease.
"That will make CRTs something else: they will become what satellite bikes are nowadays. That's the future."
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