MotoGP Back to 1,000: No More V5 Hondas
MotoGP’s rule making body, the Grand Prix Commission, has determined that MotoGP is on its way back to 1,000cc machinery in 2012. The 800cc era will last just 5 years like the original 4-stroke 990cc class before it, the victim of the need to curb ever increasing costs in motorcycle racing’s highest echelon.
FIM President Vito Oppolito outlined the details which center around 1,000cc capacity, a maximum of 4 cylinders and a bore no wider than 81mm.
“The main changes we have decided on are new rules for the MotoGP class. We will have four cylinder engines, 4-stroke of course, with a 1000cc maximum, and the bore of the cylinders will be 81mm. This base will give all the manufacturers the opportunity to start work. At the beginning of next year we will produce the new rules in a more complete format, but that is the basis; 2012 will be the year of a new era of MotoGP.”
link: MotoGP.com
Sadly this means no return for Honda to V5 machinery, but it will be interesting to see who utilizes a V4 and whom sticks with a production like inline engine. For Yamaha of course, the most straight forward of multi-cylinder engine configurations has been associated with incredible success with Valentino Rossi at the controls. Ducati will likely retain a V format.
The bore restriction is designed to limit maximum engine speed thereby reducing the expense of the engine and prolonging life. Despite the limitation all current streetbike 1,000cc engines (which form the basis for World Superbike machinery) have a bore diameter of less than 81mm.
The theory is simple: engine costs – especially the amount of maintenance an engine requires – is determined chiefly by the maximum engine speed; the higher the revs, the more fragile the engines and the more often the engines need to be rebuilt, which is a very large part of the cost of running the current MotoGP prototypes. Higher revs also makes the use of desmodromic and pneumatic valves necessary, as ordinary steel springs are incapable of closing the valves in time and prone to facture. They also demand more aggressive valve action, as there is less time to fill the cylinders with fuel/air mixture before the valves shut. Valves have to be forced open and closed much more quickly, which in turn makes the engine more peaky, requiring more electronics to control.
link: MotoMatters.com
World Superbike has been watching the development of MotoGP rule changes with interest and have threatened legal action when the proposal was for a Moto1 style class with production based engines. Presumably the World Superbike circus will remain content as long as the MotoGP engines remain truly prototype in nature.
Nevertheless Ducati News Today laments the passing of any rules that restrict the exotica of what should always be the most exciting, technologically advanced and fastest of motorcycles.
What do you think? Is this news a forward or backwards step for MotoGP? Chime in with your views in the comments section below.
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