MotoGP Blog

Development never stops in MotoGP, whether the chassis, electronics, tyres or engines are the subject of change. This weekend has become something of a key point in the season for engine developments, with changes happening across more than one team.

Honda pneumatic valve engine
Scheduled, rescheduled and scheduled again, the last test of the engine before it’s appearance in China (specifically for the long straight where top end power is useful for a prolonged period) was scheduled for the days immediately following the Estoril race. This has now been cancelled as, according the the Eurosport commentators, Honda feel the power deliver of the engine is too abrupt. The ideal power delivery is close linear, this giving the rider the ability to predict how the bike will react. An abrupt change in the power delivery over a few hundred revs of the engine makes the bike both hard to predict and difficult to set up; as a result it becomes difficult to maximise the performance of the package. The Honda engine be fastest down the straight in Shanghai but not the fastest over a lap, and Honda will not deliver it until they have confidence in it’s overall ability.

Kawasaki screamer engine
Kawasaki have had the screamer in development for a while now and believe it to be the optimum firing order for an 800cc engine, delivering smooth pulses of power though the entire revolution of the engine rather than grouping cylinders to fire together (big bang). It certainly sounds awesome - see the YouTube video posted by Kawasaki. Turn up your speakers for this one. Information from Estoril implies the screamer will be out and about in China, but only one of the bikes will use it for this race. If successful, expect it to be used for both bikes fairly quickly.

Yamaha Tech 3 pneumatic valves
Tech 3 were promised the latest engine from Yamaha for this season, and Yamaha have delivered. Toseland and Edwards, given their performances with the conventional engines, will be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of having the same equipment as Rossi and Lorenzo. Could we see four Yamahas dominating the top positions? If not this weekend in Estoril (Toseland being new to the track) then perhaps from China onwards?

Yamaha’s support for Tech 3, allied with today’s announcement of the extension of the partnership between the two until the end of the 2010 season, means that Tech 3 are now one of the strongest teams in the championship. Data is shared between all four bikes meaning that the Yamaha package is constantly under development by a very able group of riders. Such support for a satellite team raises a question: will Tech 3 be allowed to challenge the factory riders for the win?