TECH TALK
long-term reliability. But the factories said: the cost is already there because we already employ the engineers. We will just tell them to do a different job. “From that side, it’s worked ... and talking to the senior factory engineers it’s made a huge difference in component life and taught them a fair bit, which they can pass on to production engineering guys.”
Questions to the major factories as to how much costs had actually been reduced and how many fewer engines were actually being built met with no immediate answers, these things being as usual shrouded in secrecy. It is also hard to establish how much of the cost is in the design and how much in the component parts. But there have certainly been significant savings, if only in engine numbers and materials.
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Over at Ducati, the 2010 engine was actually an improvement: revised cylinder firing intervals had made a Bigger Bang engine giving riders more feel and more traction. “It’s not just the engine, it’s the whole package,” said Nicky Hayden, of his carbon-chassis machine. “But for sure the engine feels stronger and works better.” Nor were there engine complaints at Honda. That factory’s end-ofyear 2009 engine was already planned out to 2010 specifications, and there has been little change for this year to the factory machines. As for the satellite riders, against all expectations, last year’s overcautious rev limit has in fact been raised by some 500 rpm this year. Now and then in the latter part of 2009 riders (especially Stoner) chose not to go out in some wet practice sessions, to save engines, but there has been none of this in 2010.
The real judge is the stopwatch, and no significant change in performance is Normal practice in previous observable over the first four years, according to factory races, compared with 2009, mechanics, was to use one when engine use was still new engine for every race. free. Top speed figures have That would mean each rider not so far been affected. would get at least 18 for a full The difference was highest year, plus any more used for at Qatar, where last year The engines are sealed by means of wiring and identication tabs. ./// testing, damaged in crashes Pedrosa’s Honda clocked or over-revved and blown 338.67 km/h, and this year up. Say 24 per annum, plus Stoner’s Ducati topped out or minus. at 329.1 km/h. At the slower tracks of Jerez and Le Mans speeds were much closer last year to Now each rider gets just six for the races – and even if he uses the this, and actually faster this year at Jerez. And at Mugello, with its same number again in testing or destroyed in crashes, he is still only fearsomely long straight, this year’s 345.7 (Hector Barbera, Ducati) was not much slower than Pedrosa’s 349.3 of last year. use half the number of engines as before. So how have the new rules affected various people in the paddock? THE RIDERS The greater impact on riders came halfway through last season, when the first long-life engines arrived at Brno. Rossi put it succinctly: “It feels a bit flat;” while others like Colin Edwards bemoaned new restrictions in rev limits. The 2010 engines are second-generation long-lifers, and now riders spoke of a restoration of power, in spite of lower rev ceilings. Rossi described his 2010 M1 as “feeling like my last-year’s bike” (meaning that from the start of the year). It is as Webb explained: having dropped the rev ceiling, re-engineering work was then directed to restoring previous levels of power.
FI M M AGAZINE .73 / // MAY JU N E 2010
Nor have lap times suffered. Pole position times have been better everywhere except at Jerez, where Lorenzo was less than threetenths faster last year than this. And Pedrosa has set new lap records at two out of four races, at Jerez and Mugello. THE PIT WORKERS Fiat Yamaha’s Jerry Burgess, crew chief to Rossi (and World Champions Mick Doohan and Wayne Gardner before him), explains what the changes have meant behind the pit wall. “Less work for us, really. “We seldom see the inside of an engine now – only if you ask to. It’s a unit that you bolt in. We work on the gearbox, put the oil in, change the clutch plates every now and again and clean it ... and away you go.
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