MotoGP – Honda and Yamaha prepare their revenge … –

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Honda and Yamaha prepare their revenge…

MotoGP - Honda and Yamaha prepare their revenge ... -

While the pilots take vacations, the R&D work continues internally to tackle 2008 at the top: the engineers of the two Japanese giants have carte blanche until the resumption to develop the machine to regain the honor….

The MotoGP riders have finally taken their vacation, but during the break the research and development work continues internally, in order to tackle 2008 at the top: the engineers of the two Japanese giants have carte blanche until the resumption in Australia, the January 22, to analyze the data and develop the machine to regain the honor…

Rid of the "chore" of the last tests of the year 2007 (read, du and du), the aces of the category can now recharge their batteries and go about their business: now, the ball is in the camp of the manufacturers, who must take advantage of every minute of the winter break to develop their 2008 prototypes !

However, if for some the year 2007 was rewarding (for Ducati obviously, but also for Kawasaki and Suzuki which recorded dazzling progress with the passage to 800 cc), for Honda and Yamaha the pill is harder to swallow: no only their motorcycles have been the subject of criticism throughout the season, but in addition their riders were among the few potential elected officials for the world title … Suffice to say that in 2008, all eyes will be on the developments made to the RCV212 and M1…

While the pilots are having fun…

Released for seven weeks, the Yamaha and Honda riders alternate social life and leisure: James Toseland – new recruit of Yamaha Tech 3 – was recently awarded the title of "Yorkshire Sportsman of the Year" before finishing fourth of the BBC Sports Personalities of the Year Trophy! His teammate is not to be outdone, as for the second year in a row American Colin Edwards was among the distinguished guests of the Motorcycle Show held in Long Beach last weekend..

On the side of the official Yamaha team, Valentino Rossi continues the advertisements for his sponsors and works for a good cause: the Italian has auctioned his AGV helmet (worn during the Mugello GP) for the benefit of the Giannina Gaslini pediatric hospital , in Genoa. Signed by the hand of the master, this helmet decorated by Aldo Drudi found a buyer for 13,500 euros and its happy owner was given his precious possession by Vale himself. Finally, the Italian star was able to discover at the Motor Show in Bologna a special series of the new Fiat 500, which uses the decoration of his M1 used at the GP of Assen this year..

A true festival of motorsport, the Bologna Motor Show is the event of Italian motorsport bringing together car and motorcycle riders: the opportunity to see Randy de Puniet riding a Honda Supermotard, prepared by his Honda LCR team, pull the plug against Troy Bayliss, Alex Hofmann, Regis Laconi, Hector Faubel and many others…

Organized by Red Bull, the visit of Andrea Dovizioso to the Polytechnic of Milan goes off the beaten track: the students were able to face the former 125 world champion … on a game console! The new Honda JIR Team Scot rider will repeat the operation in various establishments and the winner will be offered a day with Andrea and his team during the Mugello race !

… factories are riding high !

It’s a fact: Honda and Yamaha must review their copies this winter … Abused in the championship and challenged by their flagship riders, the two Japanese giants must imperatively raise the bar. Because for the first and the second world manufacturer, the sporting results of this season are far from being up to the means committed: the HRC records only two victories out of the 18 contested races (Germany and Valencia), while the mark with 3 tuning forks only recorded four.

Worse still: only the star drivers of the brand have managed to win (Pedrosa and Rossi), while their teammates (factory and satellite) have constantly complained of design problems, lack of power and exploitability…

A crisis situation for these accustomed to success, especially since the Kawasaki and Suzuki have made a real giant leap this year, without complex showing a more efficient engine (Kawa) and / or a very successful chassis ( Suzuki).

A snub all the more resounding in view of the domination of the "small" Ducati factory: with eleven victories and 17 podiums for only four motorcycles entered – statistics boosted by Casey Stoner – the Bologna brand has truly imposed its law and shows intelligence and daring in the design of its GP7.

Honda: learning from mistakes

These characteristics were lacking in Honda and Yamaha, perhaps a little too timid about the development of their motorcycles: if Honda took advantage of the transition to 800 cc, to go from a V5 to a V4 (open at about 70 ° ), the winged manufacturer in particular preferred to keep a classic spring distribution. A guarantee of safety and reliability, but which is paid for in terms of the revolutions / minute and therefore maximum power: from 16,000 rpm, engine manufacturers are indeed obliged to reduce the valve lift , because the return springs are unable to withstand the forces involved…

Result: the engine is less full and performance stagnates … Which certainly explains why at the start of the season, the RCV212 was one of the slowest motorcycles on the grid..

The 2008 proto will therefore be equipped with pneumatic valve booster – which also has the advantage of reduced weight – but also a revised and corrected injection in order to be able to exploit the benefits of this new engine. Because with the adoption of the 21 liters maximum of on-board gasoline, manufacturers are constantly juggling power and consumption.

Always electronic, the new RCV must also be more usable and more efficient at acceleration: this year, all the pilots unanimously questioned the progressiveness of the arrival of power, deeming it too brutal and therefore difficult to manage.

A situation on which the world’s largest manufacturer is actively working, which has offered several injection maps to its pilots: according to Pedrosa’s latest comments, these adjustments make driving the latest born "easier to fly and faster".

By trying various exhausts during the season, the HRC has managed to restore some torque to its machine and the new physiognomy under the saddle, discovered at the Valencia tests, seems to rally the votes of the pilots even if Pedrosa and Hayden seem for it. moment more comfortable with their 2007 machines. It must be said that Pedrosa’s series of four consecutive pole positions and his landslide victory in Valencia demonstrate the progress made by the RCV 07 at the end of the season !

Yet Chris Herring, HRC sports manager, judges the progress of the 2008 RCV "satisfactory"and is reassuring about the machine’s potential for progress:"this is only the beginning of a long period of development. Technicians are still discovering the bike and playing with various parameters such as electronics and engine maps", says the British.

Finally, the engineers and the racing department of the HRC will above all have to solve the problems of the chassis of their motorcycle: by switching from a 990 cc V5 to an 800 cc V4, Honda wanted to emphasize the centralization of the weight by bringing as many heavy elements as possible towards the center of the machine, in order to optimize its maneuverability.

The Japanese were convinced of it: to win with the 800s, you had to be the fastest on the corners! Unfortunately, from the start of the season, the riders and the teams realized the error in judgment of the Honda racing department: MotoGP must continue to be able to rely on a powerful engine – something Ducati demonstrated from the start. opening in Qatar – and a chassis to match.

Honda has gone too far in its quest for speed in the corners and the machine is sorely lacking in front feel and tilts too easily on the brakes. Worse: the rear axle is not to be outdone, since these poorly controlled mass transfers lead to evasions from the rear and / or initiation of guidance and wheelies…

This is why from the first tests, the official drivers paid close attention to the new directions taken on the chassis: "the new machine has less tendency to go wheeling and mass transfers are better controlled", reported to Valencia the American Nicky Hayden.

By changing the thickness of the aluminum sections that make up the frame, the HRC has played on the overall flexibility to improve the overall feel of the machine. Finally, everything suggests that the new RCV212 saw its engine lowered into the chassis to improve its stability and overall balance..

Yamaha: in search of power

The brand with three tuning forks is paying for its technical immobility: if the arrival of Valentino Rossi in 2004 had made it possible to alleviate some of the M1’s shortcomings, the Italian star is now demanding significant development of his machine, too far behind technically to win.

Ranked second in 2006 and third this year, Vale has suffered greatly from the uncertain reliability of its mount and its lack of competitiveness: next year, Yamaha must therefore strike hard to get its head out of the water and compete in engines and in reliability over the duration of the championship…

Spearhead of the 2008 proto: maximum power and top speed! Trolling all season, the four Yamaha were irreparably taxed in a straight line! Blame it on an insufficiently powerful engine, which lacks extension and trunk.

Like Honda, Yamaha racing engineers preferred to stay true to the classic spring-actuated valve recall and just like Honda, pilots saw their maximum revs peak at around 18,000 rpm, while the competition developed motors capable of running at 20,000 rpm !

As a result, the plant responded by offering an air valve engine this summer with the limiter set higher. However, the result was not convincing, especially in terms of reliability. And according to Masoo Furusawa, technical director of Fiat Yamaha, the springs constitute an ideal balance between power and consumption: "we are not yet decided on the 2008 engine, the pneumatic valves are sometimes good and sometimes bad"…

According to Yamaha, the bulk of the winter work will focus on "traction control" and fuel consumption, recurring problems this season. The M1’s fuel management did not allow it to use its full engine potential. Clearly, the teams and engineers had to restrain the 4-cylinder to be sure of reaching the finish line! This is why the factory is working hard on a controlled fuel injection adapted to need: to grab a few deciliters, the electronic control unit depletes the mixture at low revs and delivers full power at high revs. Result: the bike benefits from fully controlled consumption, but at the same time is offered a more brutal response to throttle in curves…

Another solution is to use direct petrol injection: Mr. Furusawa confirmed this week that this option was being studied at Yamaha.

The principle is relatively simple: the fuel injection takes place directly into the combustion chamber and no longer downstream of the valves as is traditionally done with indirect injection. The advantage is the absolute precision of the system, due to the fact that the gasoline is injected directly "on" the spark plug.

What is more, by adjusting the dosage of the gasoline air mixture (by making it richer near the spark plug), consumption can be controlled more finely and can show a reduction of 10%! A "miracle" solution, of course, but which requires space in the already crowded combustion chamber of the in-line 4-cylinder of the M1 …

Along with the quest for power and fuel management, Yamaha has developed a brand new "traction control" much more elaborate than the previous one: unveiled at the Jerez tests, it takes into account the inclination of the bike to decide response to the accelerator, all thanks to an onboard gyroscope and GPS. Thus, once developed, the device will allow the pilot to no longer worry about his full-angle go-around and to reduce his risk of falling and excessive slipping (source of overconsumption)..

On the chassis side, Yamaha has already had Valentino try two different versions at Motegi: very capable in this area, the 2008 M1 retains its rearward turning crankshaft – a source of agility – and only needs to improve its stability under braking. For this, the new chassis has new reinforcement points and the new 48mm TTX 25 fork (used by Rossi at the end of the season) is equipped with a wider piston of 5mm, in order to better control the fluids and therefore the behavior of the machine when entering a curve.

Details of course, but Yamaha does not want to revolutionize its concept at the risk of seeing the dribbling problems of the 2006 season reappear. !

Finally, the Iwata plant will also work to resolve its chronic engine overheating problems, which has been the cause of many concerns in recent years: improvement of heat dissipation (via smoothed fairing sides), optimization of air inlets. side air, all combined with better aerodynamics to better protect the pilot and maximize top speed.

Of course, Japanese engineers will also closely study the data collected on the behavior of Valentino Bridgestones: because rarely has a factory had to develop a new motorcycle on different tires! Imposed by Rossi, the Japanese envelopes will, according to him, highlight the qualities of the M1: an opinion shared by Furusawa himself, who in view of the tests of n ° 46 affirms that the Bridgestones give more agility to the machine…

Will this be enough to relaunch Valentino and his teammates in the title race? Will the new Honda conquer its demons and allow Pedrosa and others to run for first place? Start of response during the next tests at Philipp Island … on Site !

Alexandre BARDIN – Photos DR

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