MotoGP is the pinnacle of motorcycle racing, it is the Premier league or Formula one if you will, with all the manufacturers looking to achieve the ultimate prize of being number one and having the opportunity to make the claim that they are the best of the best. It’s an increasingly difficult and expensive sport to take part in which can be best illustrated by the fact that in only two races Ilmor were forced to pack up their project in back in 2007. I suppose this begs the question why are so many bike manufacturers prepared to pay so much and input so much effort into MotoGP? Well the answer to that is actually rather easy. MotoGP is the shopping window for motorbike manufacturers to display their brand. It’s like seeing the latest designs on the cat walk. MotoGP is the biggest shop window there is and without it, some of the manufacturers certainly wouldn’t sell as many units.
With the birth of the new 800cc era it gave many manufacturers a chance to start over with a clean slate. In 2007 we saw Suzuki and Kawasaki make giant strides forward to catch up with their Japanese rivals Honda and Yamaha. Both manufacturers celebrated one of their most successful seasons for over a decade and it is vital for both firms to continue this development into 2008, as you can’t afford to rest of your loral’s in MotoGP. Yesterday’s technology is already redundant. This can be seen clearly by the difference between the Factory Fiat Yamaha’s pneumatic engines and Tech 3’s spring valve evoluation. Toseland and Edwards are eagerly awaiting shipment of the new pneumatic valve engine which should arrive in time for Estoril, as at present they are likely to lose out to their rivals by as much as 8mph on a straight through top end power. Research and development really is the key to success in MotoGP.
With that in mind team green Kawasaki has been busy over the winter developing a new variation on their inline four engine. What became very apparent in pre-season testing was that the engineers at Kawasaki had been attempting to change the firing order of their engine from a big bang into a screamer. Heads turned up and down the pit lane when Kawasaki fired up one of their bikes in testing at Sepang and the distinctive sound of a screamer engine could be heard.
Testing of the screamer engine had at present been left to Kawasaki’s team of test riders of Tamaki Serizawa and Olivier Jacque. Speaking at Jerez at the weekend Olivier Jacque officially confirmed that they were making good progress with the new engine and that the plan was to roll the engine out for competition before the end of the season for either one or both of Kawasaki’s current rider line up of John Hopkins and Anthony West.
John Hopkins got his first chance to test the new screamer engine at the test following the race at Jerez and was very positive in his feedback. Like Olivier Jacque had stated earlier in the weekend Hopkins stated that it still requires some fine tuning but he does expect to be racing it before the end of the season. Early indications predict a mid season roll out, leaving plenty of time to develop the engine for the 2009 campaign.
So why switch to a screamer engine configuration?
Changing to an even firing order should provide the team with several advantages. Firstly the peak power the bike can achieve should be greater, it should also mean that the engine will be less likely to break at the higher rev range achievable. There was always going to be a disadvantage as well and this will be reduced traction and driveability with the even firing order not allowing the same rest or recovery time for the rear tyre between the power pulses.
Driveability is one of the key components for the new 800cc era, so it almost appears pointless from a technical standpoint to even develop a screamer. However Kawasaki are hoping that with the technological advances found in their new traction control systems and the development that Bridgestone have put in to their new generation of rubber that they can benefit from an extra boost of power on the long straights whilst maintaining a smooth, controlled, manageable bike through the corners.
Whether or not it’s possible only time will tell, but if Kawasaki do manage to make the screamer controllable for them they should get a good jump on the field for 2009.
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