2009 Rule Changes

The FIM has been changing rules for MotoGP in a quest to improve rider safety for quite some time now, we have seen many changes related to engine capacity and type in the last few years but this time the FIM has gone one step further in a quest to reduce the amount of money spent by motogp teams & also to increase reliability of the engines.

In 2007 we saw the engine capacity reduced from 990cc to 800cc. The idea was to reduce the speed and power of bikes which in turn would reduce intensity of crashes. The funny thing is the lap times have not reduced at all, smaller engine means lighter bikes and one that has the red line even higher and one that corners faster than the previous generation bikes. The only thing that reduced was the size of bikes due to smaller engine size.

Analyze this, fastest lap at Qatar circuit in 2006, 2007 & 2008 were by Casey Stoner which were 1'57.305, 1'55.153 & 1'55.153 respectively!! The lap times have actually reduced even though the engine capacity has gone down by full 200cc.

The 990cc bikes had so much power that no rider at any race could make use of it completely, that brings the topic of rider skill which means that only the most talented ones out of the rare species of motogp riders could actually steer the bike quicker than others to make it first to the finish line. Not that 800 cc bikes are less powerful with the figures touching 200+ bhp for a bike weighing 150 kgs, a very respectable amount for a car weighing 10 times as much, but its more usable power which brings down the skill level required to do the task.

This time, following footsteps of FIA, which imposes new rules to reduce the money teams spend on Formula One, FIM has reacted too which sounds like a right decision after hearing that Kawasaki factory team will not be racing in Moto GP. Marco Melandri riding the Hayate Racing bike is actually the only single rider team to get Kawasaki power.

The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Claude Danis (FIM), Hervé Poncharal (IRTA) and Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA), in the presence of Messrs Vito Ippolito (FIM President), Ignacio Verneda (FIM Sport Director), Javier Alonso (Dorna) and M. Paul Butler (Secretary of the meeting), unanimously decided to introduce the following amendments to the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations – with immediate application.

1. Standard time schedule

Friday
13:05-13:45 125cc Free Practice 1
14:05-14:50 MotoGP Free Practice 1
15:05-15:50 250cc Free Practice 1

Saturday
09:05-09:45 125cc Free Practice 2
10:05-10:50 MotoGP Free Practice 2
11:05-11:50 250cc Free Practice 2
13:05-13:45 125cc Qualifying Practice
14:05-14:50 MotoGP Qualifying Practice
15:05-15:50 250cc Qualifying Practice

Sunday
08:40-09:00 125cc Warm Up
09:10-09:30 250cc Warm Up
09:40-10:00 MotoGP Warm Up
11:00 125cc Race
12:15 250cc Race
14:00 MotoGP Race

2. From Czech GP, maximum 5 engines can be used in the last 8 races. No changing of parts will be permitted except daily maintenance.

Manufacturers now will have to make their engines more reliable rather than just engineered for sheer performance. Ducati is know to have taken measures to ensure their engines run double kms, currently the team can extract around 600 - 800 kms from their Desmosedici engines.

3. Ceramic composite materials are not permitted for brakes disc or pads.

I`m not sure what was the reason behind this decision though, how will reduction in braking performance result in cost reduction, nor does this increase the level of rider involvement as opposed to electronics doing the bits like traction control. I just hope the teams find some new materials which are better than ceramic brakes.

4. Launch control system is not permitted.

Laying down almost 250 bhp on the tarmac considering the surface area of rear tyre in contact with road is no bigger than that of a credit card, we will see more of wheel spins at the start line, may the best rider get the best start.

5. Electronic controlled suspension is not permitted.

On a race weekend starting Friday, the team will have just 120 minutes including the Saturdays qualifying round to crack the tracks code, predict how things will change as they proceed to race in terms of whether which hugely affects the tyre & engine performance. The bike suspension plays the biggest role in handling of the bike and the tyre performance.

The pressure on the team mechanics is going to be huge to setup the bike perfectly for each GP with the reduced Friday practice times.

6. Only two post race tests at Catalunya and Czech GP for development purposes using test riders only are permitted.

Again the tsting times have been reduced to ensure the teams do not over spendon bike development. The sport is slowly evolving with more focus on reliable and consistent bike and rider performace, will this take away the excitement associated with the most elite class of bike racing in the world and turn it into a more slow and economy dependent sport ?Well we will find out at the first race at Qatar.