MotoGP regulations were changed in 2007, going from 990cc to 800cc. FIM has announced a switch back in this regulation 2012 onwards. iSport.in MotoGP expert Kunal Ghate puts the jigsaw puzzle together to answer why is this happening.
First thoughts after reading the news were more than just joy, a feeling that my wish has been granted or even ‘there is a God’! Be it in 2012 but as they say better late than never. The growling sounds of the 990cc started playing in my head and I could see the blue tyre smoke from the sideways corner entries, I admit I was tripping on this great news!
Yes, MotoGP is going back to 1000cc engine regulation from 2012 onwards. For ones who may not know, currently engines with a maximum of 800cc capacity are allowed. The current set of regulation was introduced in 2007 and will last till end of 2011. So then I began to wonder, if they are mending it now then what was the problem with the 990cc engines in the first place and since the 800cc is no longer the maximum capacity, there must be a reason behind it too.
Part of the answer lies in reasons of reducing the engine capacity. Which in 2006 was said be related to the high speeds these 2 wheeled proto type bikes could reach as the engines they used were capable of producing over 250 bhp of power, rider safety was becoming a big concern as a fractured limb was a common injury due to high speed crashes. Reduce the engine capacity and it was obvious that overall speed would be reduced, thus increasing the safety of the riders.
First rule of understanding automobiles: Do not judge based on numbers on paper.
Crashes in motorcycle racing happen mostly at corners like any other form of racing, so the speed a bike can carry into one is to kept in check. Unfortunately, emphasis was made only on reducing the engine capacity in 2006 when the regulations were being formulated. It was assumed that a smaller engine would not produce enough power to keep up with the current cornering speeds.
The fact is, reducing 200cc on a proto type bike reduces a lot of weight and makes it much more compact, thus creating room for a longer swing arm which aids handling of bike while reducing the overall wheelbase. The engineers always want a longer swing arm and a shorter wheelbase, there is always a trade off between these two requirements and they contribute the most in making a bike more agile and chuckable in corners.
A smaller engine now made room for a longer swing arm and allowed clipping away those valuable millimeters from the wheelbase.
I have stressed on this point earlier (click here to read in a separate story) that the lap times have actually reduced from 2006 till 2008 and now even further in 2009. Take for example for the Qatar GP fastest lap times by Casey Stoner:
2006: 1'57.305
2007: 1'55.153
2008: 1'55.153
2009: 1'55.101
What has happened is that the bikes have become faster in corners than before compared to the 990cc bikes. Since all the circuits on the MotoGP calendar are made of curves and corners rather than long straights, the bikes could cover the sectors much quicker than before. It was as if the species had evolved to become leaner, lighter and stronger.
That brings us to the question of top speed of the 800cc bikes.
There have been many gigantic advances in electronics since the dawn of 800cc bikes, simply because each manufacturer wants their bikes to be fastest and will depend on electronics as much as possible to extract each last drop of power from the engine and also make the bikes characteristics most suitable to deliver that power to tarmac through the rear wheel.
The MotoGP bikes have some seriously complex electronics and computer control, taking the riders control away from them. I am not saying the riders do not have control over bike like the F1 cars of early 90s when the computer managed everything, but the computers have their own set of logic to maintain fluid power delivery and keep the rear wheel slip in check.
The ECU (Electronic Control Units) is the brain in each bike and it is responsible for the perfect fuel and air mixture to be fed into the combustion chamber for each cylinder, it calculates the same by taking input from the throttle angle, speed of bike, lean angle of bike, temperature inside the engine, level of grip available at rear wheel and braking force applied on each wheels. The result is immaculate engine power delivery. Traction control does not allow the rear tyre to slip out of control.
A separate set of logic compares the front wheel speed and rear wheel speed and decides if the front wheel is being hoisted, if so then will instruct the ECU to reduce engine power momentarily to avoid wheelie.
So the reduced engine capacity brought along with them a whole bunch of electronics, the riders job is to setup the bike as perfectly as possible to suit the engine fuel mapping decided for the particular circuit and ofcourse to ride as hard as his balls permit.
Top speed then, well the last top speed record in MotoGP was set by the RC211V (990cc) rider in 2006 which was 212mph, this year Dani Pedrosa took his RC212V (800cc) to a top speed of 217mph during the Mugello Friday practice.
So the smaller engine capacity bikes are actually faster in all aspects compared to the 990cc bikes thanks to the electronics. Which makes it a good thing as the sport has become more competitive with reduced engine size, isn’t it?
Well the riders seem to disagree. Valentino Rossi had expressed his concern over the new regulations by saying ‘MotoGP’s biggest mistake ever’ & ‘MotoGP should reward talent and not technology’.
I’d take his word for it. The thing is that, the 990cc bikes had so much power that one need exceptional talent and finesse to lay down optimum power on the track every single lap of the race and manage to not crash.
So then moving to 800cc was a mistake, error due to unforeseen possibility of electronics involvement. So what? The bikes are running faster than ever before, riders are facing fierce competition, spectators are coming to all circuits (more than F1 in many cases), what is the issue then?
Two words combined which have redefined the way of living around the world, ‘Global economy’. All was good till banks started lending money which did not exist and literally overnight the world was poorer…anyways lets not digress.
The manufacturers are participating in MotoGP for a single reason, to be the champions of producing the quickest, most reliable and perfectly balanced bike in the world (with some help from the riders of course). And why? So they can transfer the technology developed onto their road version of racing bikes.
If being in MotoGP is an expensive affair and if its going to affect their established brand image across the world, not winning can be a bummer. Kawasaki stopped MotoGP development of their Ninja ZX-RR in 2009 following Honda’s footsteps. Now we are left with just four manufacturers.
Three particular bikes made by of these manufacturers need a mention as they define the purpose of MotoGP. Honda CBR 1000RR aka Fireblade, Yamaha R1 and the Ducati Desmosedici RR (RR stands for Race Replica). They are the flagships of individual brands, the highest level of engineering possible to touch and provide the user with an experience like no other. Whats common between them? They all are 1000cc engined bikes.
The Honda and Yamaha are still I would say ‘civilized’, meant for most riders around the world but are no toys, can reach 0-100 in 2.7 secs!
The Ducati is a different breed totally, costing $80,000 (YES!) it has the most exotic materials known to mankind, 10 step traction control setting (even the Ferrari F430 has just 5), loudest exhaust note allowed in Europe, most complex electronics and software & the only 4-cylinder V4 engine made by Ducati (they only make V-twins). Well not the only one, the other one is put in the MotoGP bike. This is literally a MotoGP bike for the road.
Get the connection?
The point is, to sell their bikes they need to build a sense of following and trust, and the medium is MotoGP. All those endless bike development hours spent reflect on the profits earned from bike sales.
Kawasaki saved their business by stopping MotoGP development; the organisers can’t afford any more pull-outs. Developing a 1000cc proto-type engine and then transferring the technology to a 1000cc road legal engine makes much more sense and is cost effective too.
My only worry is that, the 1000cc engines should remain proto-type as opposed to using production engines. Otherwise all is lost!
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