Kalex Engineering was established by Klaus Hirsekorn and Alex Baumgärtel, with the company name formed by combining the two founders' first names. The firm initially focused on high-performance component design and manufacturing for motorcycles before pivoting to full chassis construction when MotoGP's governing body introduced the Moto2 class as a feeder series to the premier class in 2010. The new category mandated a controlled Honda engine for all competitors, concentrating development competition on chassis, aerodynamics, suspension setup, and electronics.
Kalex began providing its chassis to the Pons Racing team from the class's inaugural season. The relationship between Kalex hardware and competitive results grew rapidly across the opening years of the series.
Stefan Bradl became the first rider to win a world title using a Kalex chassis when he claimed the 2011 Moto2 World Championship with the Viessmann Kiefer Racing team. The achievement validated Kalex's approach and accelerated its adoption across the grid.
In 2013, Kalex won the Manufacturers' Championship outright when teams running their chassis occupied the top four positions in the overall standings — a sweep that demonstrated both the performance ceiling of the design and the breadth of its adoption. The dominance intensified further in subsequent seasons. In 2015, Kalex-mounted riders won all but one race of the season and occupied the top three places in the final standings alongside nine of the ten highest finishing positions overall.
The 2016 campaign produced a historic benchmark: Kalex riders won all 18 rounds of the championship, taking the top nine positions in the final classification. The feat was repeated in both 2020 and 2021, when Kalex machines again achieved maximum points totals by winning every race in the respective seasons.
The Moto2 class launched in 2010 with all competitors using a standardised Honda CBR600RR-derived engine supplied by the same source. From the 2019 season, the engine supplier switched to Triumph, with a purpose-built 765 cc triple-cylinder unit replacing the Honda. Kalex engineering adapted to accommodate the new powerplant, maintaining competitive performance through the transition. Older Kalex chassis designs, once superseded on the world stage, continued in use domestically, with the British GP2 classification — operating within the British Supersport Championship from 2018 — adopting earlier Kalex frames.
The Kalex chassis's dominance in Moto2 is without parallel in any current world championship class. By the mid-2010s, competing constructors — including Suter, Speed Up, Moriwaki, and others — had largely been marginalised or exited the market as team managers increasingly chose the Kalex package. The chassis's combination of adjustability, reliability, and outright performance made it the default choice for teams at every level of the grid, from full factory-supported operations to independent privateers.
For riders, graduation from Moto2 on a Kalex chassis to the MotoGP class has become a near-universal step on the modern Grand Prix ladder, with virtually every frontrunning Moto2 title contender of the mid-2010s through 2020s having developed their skills on Kalex machinery.
Kalex Engineering's rise from a small Bavarian component supplier to the definitive machinery producer of an entire world championship class represents one of the most complete examples of constructor dominance in contemporary motorcycle Grand Prix racing. The company's sustained ability to win constructors' titles, adapt to changing engine regulations, and supply the champion rider in multiple seasons has cemented the Kalex name as synonymous with Moto2 itself.