Winter testing 08-09

The latest information on the MotoGP teams winter testing

Ohh that time already

maybe if we pretend it isnt about to happen it will go away

i dont want the season to be over but i wanna know when they will be testing at brno as i want to go and watch does anyone have any information on when it is or if you have to pay to get into the track

I don't know if they allow any spectators for the winter testing sessions.

They don't at Phillip Island.

Admin wrote:I don't know if they allow any spectators for the winter testing sessions.

They don't at Phillip Island.

really i got told that you can watch them maybe someone was just messing with me cause i said i might be able to bump into JT

I'm pretty sure if there is a test in Brno that would be right after the race in the summer .

No point to have a test in winter unless they want to find a tyre to use it in the snow..

They are more than welcome to test here..
We haven't any racing circuits mind you..
But what the fcuk.. they are still welcome.. (Vale that is)..

ok thank for the infromation it means i will have to wait till may the 31st 2009 to see if i can meet vale and JT hehe ok i think i can mange to wait that long

MotoGP » Rossi, Pedrosa anticipate 'interesting' test.

Thursday, 23rd October 2008

Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa already looking ahead to post-race Valencia test.

Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa head into this weekend's Valencia season finale with one eye already on the 2009 season, preparations for which will begin with a post-race test at the Spanish circuit.

The test will see Rossi ride an early version of the 2009 YZR-M1 and also get a better idea of the kind of tyres Bridgestone will supply to the entire MotoGP field in 2009.

"The test on Monday and Tuesday will be interesting," said Rossi. "Firstly, in the past we were lucky because usually on Monday we could sleep - after Sunday night [partying] - but this year no journalists will try the bikes and we will test from Monday morning, so for sure it will be more difficult!

"It is interesting because we have the prototype of the 2009 bike to test for the first time, after the cancelled test at Motegi, and also it is possible to try some tyres for next year's new rule," added Yamaha's 2008 world champion, who also announced that he will drive for Ford in Rally GB in early December.

Meanwhile, Pedrosa - who, like Rossi and Casey Stoner, also led the MotoGP World Championship standings this season - is looking forward to the test for similar reasons.

"Monday and Tuesday will be a very interesting test, especially for the tyre situation and some new parts for next year's bike," said the Repsol Honda rider.

"There is not so much time to rest [after the race] because, as Valentino said, before you had Monday to rest but this year the test will start straight away on Monday.

"We have some idea [about how the tyres will be next year], it is still not completely clear but I think after the race they will inform us about the new tyres," added Pedrosa, referring to the fact that the 2009 tyre regulations are still being finalised.

Stoner and Pedrosa have already been confirmed as finishing second and third in the 2008 MotoGP World Championship, but Dani is chasing a perfect hatrick of home Spanish victories this season - and his first win on Bridgestone tyres.

MotoGP winter testing schedule cut
By Matthew Birt

MotoGP

28 October 2008 13:31


The switch to a single tyre rule and the global credit crunch has seen the 2009 MotoGP winter testing schedule dramatically cut down.

The traditional test opening in Sepang in late January has been cancelled, as has an early February visit to the Phillip Island circuit in Australia.

The new winter testing calendar was agreed during last weekend’s Valencia GP, with the reduction finalised because the single tyre rule means teams and riders no longer need to dedicate so much time to tyre development.

The worldwide economic crisis is also starting to bite in MotoGP, with teams looking to reduce costs.

A scheduled three-day test session in Jerez at the end of November has been cut down to two days and will now take place on November 26 and 27.

The normal winter testing ban remains in place from December 1 to January, 20, but there will only be three 2009 tests before the first race under floodlights in Qatar on April 12.

A three-day test will be held in Sepang, Malaysia on February 5-7, before another long break to a night test in Qatar on March 1-3. The pre-season finishes in Jerez, though the normal season curtain-raiser in Jerez has been reduced from three to two days on March 28-29.

MotoGP » MotoGP electronics insight.
Thursday, 6th November 2008

Insight into MotoGP electronics at Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki.

Electronics Industry news site, EETimes.com, has run an article on the use of electronics in MotoGP, featuring information gathered from interviews with technical personnel from three different MotoGP teams during July's US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca.

Those interviewed were EFI technician Andrea Dosoli (Kawasaki), data engineer Andrew Griffith (Yamaha) and crew chief Tom O'Kane (Suzuki). Unfortunately, there was no information for Honda and Ducati.

Here is a brief summary of the findings:
Kawasaki:

Kawasaki was using a 'half-and-half' fly-by-wire system - traditional throttle cables control half of the throttle bodies with electronic systems operating the other half. This was done to help rider feel.

Kawasaki was not yet using GPS to provide real-time location-based engine management (it is rumoured that Ducati, for example, already does) however the introduction of such a system was "fairly imminent". Location-based engine management allows the electronics to be tuned to suit each individual corner on a track.

There are about 50 sensors on the ZX-RR but the most important ones are those that measure acceleration, lean angle, front wheel speed, GPS speed and front-wheel suspension stroke.
The electronics identify a loss of rear wheel grip (potential highside) by comparing "front- and rear-wheel speeds with GPS-speed and engine rev-up".


Yamaha:

Yamaha was using a full fly-by-wire system. Throttle cables were still present, but existed only "to provide the rider [with] a conventional [throttle] feel" rather than to directly control the engine.

Yamaha used GPS for on-board data-tagging, but was also not yet using GPS to provide real-time location-based engine management, due to "the tenuous nature of GPS". However, Griffith admitted (with a smile) that the development of a position-based, real-time control system was "one possible direction" for the team.
Suzuki:

Suzuki, like Kawasaki, also uses a 'half-and-half' fly-by-wire system "to retain a conventional throttle feel and give the rider a strong sense of connection to the machine".
When discussing real-time location-based engine management, and the problem of accurately locating the motorcycle on the race track, O'Kane stated that "transponders around the track could be combined with time-distance interpolation to figure out bike location".

The ECU "counters fluctuations of the engine power curve to deliver linear and predictable response for maximum pilot confidence" but must also allow riders to get the limited amount of rear wheel sliding they need.