The Mahindra Group acquired a 51% stake in Peugeot Motorcycles, the world’s oldest motorcycle maker, in 2014 and this year, a Mahindra-Peugeot MGP3O racer took the Riders’ and Constructors’ titles in the Italian CIV Moto3 championship in the hands of 16-year-old Marco Bezzecchi. Mahindra seems to be doing well and so the Mahindra Group has decided to debut the Peugeot name on the Moto3 grid in the 2016 season.
Two Peugeot MGP3O machines are set to be campaigned by the successful Saxoprint Racing Team Germany in the hands of experienced French rider Alexis Masbou and 21-year-old Scot John McPhee. Now the historic French marque, that produced its first motorcycle back in 1898 and recorded victories in famous races such as the Bol d’Or during the 1950s, will be back at the top-level of international motorcycle racing.“We are delighted to add a Peugeot Motorcycles entry to our Moto3 line-up for 2016 and are looking forward to next season being the biggest and most successful so far for Mahindra Racing,” affirmed RuzbehIrani, Mahindra Racing Chairman.
The Peugeot MGP3O will share its mechanical DNA with the Mahindra Racing bikes on the grid, but Peugeot Motorcycles will contest the series as a Constructor in its own right. The addition of the two Peugeot racers further underlines the growing presence of Mahindra in international motorcycle racing. The only Indian constructor in MotoGP will continue to run programmes in the CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship and the Italian CIV series.