Dato’ Kamarudin Bin Meranun, Co-Chairman of Caterham Group, confirmed today that the newly formed Caterham Moto Racing Team will contest the Moto2™ World Championship from the start of the 2014 season. Dato’ Kamarudin also confirmed that American rider Josh Herrin will be one of the team’s two riders in 2014, and that a technical partnership has been signed with Suter Racing Technology to jointly develop a Caterham-Suter chassis over the next two years. This announcement marks the beginning of Caterham Group’s foray into the two wheeled industry. Caterham’s lineage has been to learn in motorsports and translate its philosophy of fun, performance, and accessibility to great vehicles for global customers. Motorcycle products by Caterham Bikes will add to its already established four wheel roadcar partnership with Renault and Caterham Cars.
Josh Herrin joins the team as the reigning AMA Superbike Champion, a title he won two weeks ago at the final round of the US series at Laguna Seca. The second Caterham Moto Racing Team rider will be announced in due course. Josh explained how much the announcement means to him: “I could not be more excited about the opportunity to race with the Caterham Moto Racing Team. It has been a goal of mine since I was young boy to race in the World Championship and it seems almost surreal now that the opportunity is finally here. I have been training very hard and I am ready to fight for great results in the super competitive Moto2™ class. I can’t thank my manager Bob Moore enough for working so hard to get me on the best team for next year, and I want to thank everyone at Caterham Moto Racing Team for helping make my dream come true.”
Eskil Suter, Suter Racing Technology, commented: “We are proud that Caterham Moto Racing Team took the decision to collaborate with us in their new engagement in Moto2™. As the team has the full support of their F1 organisation it will open new possibilities for development besides well-known motorcycle technology.
“Bringing together the two different worlds of F1 and Moto2™ can bring to us (Suter Racing Technology) opportunities to develop certain components such as aerodynamics in different ways and therefore to improve performance. The collaboration will add value to the sport and us as a manufacturing company.”
Speaking at the Malaysian Grand Prix round of the 2013 championship, Dato’ Kamarudin explained why Caterham Group is expanding its motorsport interests into the two-wheel arena, in addition to four wheels: “I am delighted to confirm that we have had our entry into Moto2™ accepted, and to be able to make this announcement at our home track of Sepang is a proud moment. Through AirAsia, Tony Fernandes and I have been passionate supporters of motorbike racing for many years and the establishment of our own team in Moto2™ is the natural next step for Caterham Group.
“I am also very pleased to confirm our first rider, Josh Herrin, who is a very exciting talent and comes to us as the reigning AMA Superbike Champion. He shares our belief that we can achieve the ambitious goals we are setting for 2014 and beyond and we are all excited about seeing him continue to develop on the world stage. We are also going to continue to support Fahmi’s burgeoning career in Moto3™, a young Malaysian rider whose potential develops every season.
“In addition, we can now confirm that we have signed a technical partnership with Suter Racing Technology for the supply of chassis. This is a pragmatic move, one that gives us access to proven design and manufacturing skills and allows us to build our team with the best possible partners from day one.
“We will be making more announcements in due course on the second rider who will join Josh, and providing more details on our team structure and goals. For now, we can say that we will be on the grid from 2014 with the experienced hand of Johan Stigefelt as our Team Manager, and this is just the start of our ambitions on two wheels. We announced in November 2012 that Caterham Cars is now in a joint venture with Renault to build a new range of roadcars, and we will soon be making further announcements about our plans for taking Caterham’s two wheeled interests from the track to the road.
“This is another exciting milestone in the life of Caterham Group, and Tony and I are already looking forward to seeing Caterham Moto Racing Team line up on the grid at the Losail Circuit in Doha, Qatar at its first race in 2014. With the team we are putting in place we have a strong chance of making good progress in our first year, and for many seasons to come.”
