Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa (Photo: HRC)

Both Lorenzo and teammate Ben Spies said, however that they believed that they would be able to use a wider variety of corner entries with the 1000cc bikes and that overtaking would be more frequent.

As factory technicians have been saying all along, an increase in capacity under existing rules means a big jump forward in power unless revs are capped.

And that is exactly what Ezpeleta intends to do. "I have never changed by mind about this. Now that we have the bore established at 81mm we need only decide on a logical RPM limit so that there is no advantage in even thinking about a shorter stroke. I am thinking that 14,500 RPM would be correct -- perhaps 15,000 but no more."

None of these proposals from Dorna has been officially approved yet, but the following changes are being put forth. Dorna, now that the MSMA no longer has exclusive control of technical regulations, has the power to get them approved and implemented by the Grand Prix Commission. Dorna, nevertheless, will seek a consensus and Ezpeleta has told me that that consensus will be reached.

Strong support from the FIM on rules that will encourage factories to build specials like the Aprilia ART is certain to come from FIM President Vito Ippolito. The Venezuelan has been encouraging factories to build over-the-counter races like the Yamaha TZ500 and Suzuki RG500 of the 80s.

These are the ideas currently under discussion:

14,500 To 15,000 RPM Limit

A 1000cc engine with an 81mm bore and a 48.5mm stroke turning 15,000 RPM would produce a mean piston speed of 24.25 meters/second, nothing "out of this world," but enough to provide big, usable power. As we have seen with Moto2 bikes, making around 120-horsepower but with prototype frames, pure power is not what distinguishes GP prototypes. In fact six of the MotoGP CRT bikes at Jerez turned slower lap times than the best of the Moto2s (1'41.9). A 230-240 horsepower 1000cc engine would have ample power and beefy torque, but would not push MotoGP much beyond the current 205-210mph speeds reached on the fastest GP straights.

Five Engines Per Season For Factory Bikes

As of 2013, the factory level MotoGP bikes will be limited to five engines per season per rider rather than six. CRT machines will continue to be allowed twelve engines (or engine rebuilds). Fuel capacity will remain unchanged with 21 liters for factory bikes and 24 for CRTs.