27 teams offered provisional entries in Moto2 class

This is like selecting a footy team mid-week - the best are picked, but if they don't come up there are reserves waiting in the wings.

And so it is in next year's Moto2 world championship road racing class, the eventual full replacement for the thoroughbred 250cc two-stroke machines.

Forty-seven teams applied to join the fray, including one 'dissident' which still wants to run a 250 against the four-stroke Moto2s.

However, a selection committee, comprising the FIM, MotoGP rights holder Dorna and the International Racing Teams Association has already pruned that back to 27 teams and 41 riders. Ten teams have been refused applications.

The teams provisionally accepted will now have until the Portuguese Grand Prix on October 2-4 to confirm the details of their entry including the team structure, machines to be used and riders contracted.

Decisions on the teams accepted will be made in Portugal based on this information.

The Moto2 class will run machines with Honda engines - basically, tweaked versions on the CBR600RR powerplant - housed in prototype chassis.

Last week saw Italian ex-MotoGP rider Roberto Rolfo successfully test a Team Siemens Gigaset Laglisse Moto2 machine at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia - but he was using a Yamaha engine before a Honda one is slotted in around August.

The experienced rider, who has been a world superbike pilot in recent years, undertook 118 laps over two days, putting in 58 laps on the first day achieving a best lap time of 1:37.50.

With a number of 250cc GP riders testing on the same day, Rolfo's effort compared well with the fastest time by any of those riders, a 1:37.16 put in by Mike di Meglio on a factory Aprilia.

On the second day he improved his best time to 1:36.80, the same lap time as the fastest 250cc rider on that day, Héctor Barberá.

Rolfo was also helping Dunlop with tyre development, and the English firm had technicians working with Team Siemens Gigaset Laglisse staff.

"It was great for me to have the chance to try the Moto2 bike that will ride in 2010 world championship," said Rolfo. "The good weather helped us to follow the program we had planned and I concentrated on testing the setting of the bike with the chassis and testing the Dunlop tyres.

"The team was very professional and all the guys working were very good. I always like to follow a good work program because that is the way to make improvements. We are at the beginning of the project and there is a lot of work to do, but I think the potential is very high."

Dunlop will be the single tyre supplier for Moto2 from 2010-2012. The wheel sizes will be limited to:

Front -- 3.75 x 17
Rear -- 6.00 x 17