Re: Winter testing 08-09

by tammerz Tue Jan 06, 2009 3:45 pm

MotoGP » Vermeulen hoping testing pays off.
Tuesday, 6th January 2009

Chris Vermeulen is prepared for a meticulous programme of testing in order to find more speed in 2009.

Chris Vermeulen believes Suzuki are going in the right direction towards getting back on top of the MotoGP podium as he prepares for another season with the team in 2009.

After months of speculation that had him linked to a return to the World Superbike Championship, Vermeulen will embark on his fourth full MotoGP season with the Japanese manufacturer this year.

Coming after a tricky season in which two podiums in Germany and the USA proved his best results, Vermeulen has already gotten his 2009 preparations underway with a test at his home Phillip Island circuit.

Getting a chance to ride the latest rendition of the GSV-R, Vermeulen is prepared for a long winter of testing in order to get the bike up to the speed of rivals Yamaha, Ducati and Honda.

“It was me on the bike – they have been testing with technicians during the year, but they really needed me to test the aerodynamics of the bike,” Vermeulen told the Sunshine Daily Coast newspaper about experiments conducted in Japan.

“I've felt pretty weird, but hopefully that and the testing we've done down at Phillip Island will make us really competitive in the coming season.

“We done a lot of exhaustive testing – it's involved putting on a new chassis and then added other parts one at a time and seeing what works. A motorbike is made up of a million parts, but it just takes a few not to be functioning at optimum to slow you down.”

“I've always enjoyed giving them (the Suzuki team) as much feedback as I can. It's going to benefit me in the long run and Suzuki.”

by tammerz Fri Jan 09, 2009 7:56 pm

Engine development freeze can slash MotoGP costs
By Matthew Birt

MotoGP

07 January 2009 13:31

Honda team boss Lucio Cecchinello believes costs could be cut by 20 to 30 per cent with a freeze on engine development in MotoGP.

The LCR Honda boss is one of several teams treading a financial tightrope with sponsorship becoming harder and harder to source because of the current global financial crisis.

The credit crunch looks set to claim its first MotoGP victim with Kawasaki intending not to compete in 2009, though crisis talks are currently underway to mount a rescue package.

Cecchinello, who will field Randy de Puniet in 2009, believes effectively managed rules are the key to restricting expenditure.

“If we want to reduce the costs we have to revise the technical rules. I believe that in MotoGP, we need to freeze engine development, reduce the number of engines and increase the life of the engine.

"Extending the engine life will impact on the number of engines we have. We have a one-rider team and we run with eight engines and that is a huge expense, not only for producing them but also for maintenance.

"To move the engine around between Europe and Japan to be overhauled costs a lot of money, “he told MCN.

Cecchinello believes a rev limit must be introduced to stop manufacturers aggressively chasing more performance. “We have to limit the revs. Using the high revs we do now in MotoGP makes the engines much more delicate and we need to make a lot of maintenance and change a lot of parts.

"I would say you need a maximum of four engines and a rev limit at 18,000rpm. Having an engine that has 19,000rpm or 21,000rpm has no impact on the manufacturers technology, so we are developing without benefit for the factories but with huge costs.”

Suzuki’s factory team boss Paul Denning though believes the rules should not be tampered with to go through a period of stability after major rule changes including the capacity reduction from 990cc to 800cc, and more recently the introduction of a single tyre rule for 2009.

“The most obvious way to control costs from a manufacturer’s point of view is definitely technical. But the problem is that the technical regulations have changed too much in the last few years anyway, so we need to keep some stability and that should help to reduce costs further with the rules staying the same, “said Denning.