Hot Air
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 12:02PM
Is it so much hot air? Does the exhaust location on the Red Bull really hold the key to its performance? When last year's car came out the pull rod suspension was the major differential, and the low exhaust was only a talking point because concerns were expressed about that heat going on to suspension and body parts. Red Bull did not have the double diffuser at the start of the year, but like all the others redesigned the car to include it. Now it seems that the exhaust is being fed into the diffuser airflow, adding significantly to the downforce. It has taken a while for the other teams to catch on, a bit like the "big bang" engine Honda brought out in the GP bikes in '92.
Seems obvious when you think about it, if you can control the heat. There was a great article a few years ago about how an F1 engine is just a huge air pump, 20,000 rpm at that time, so using all that air makes sense. Is this an "E" Duct? Talking of "F" ducts, now most of the teams have sorted out a system they are going to be banned next year, and replaced by adjustable rear wings to replace the adjustable front wing. Jim Hall invented this in the late 60's with the Chaparral, until of course they banned movable aerodynamic devices. Do these guys really know what they are doing? And all this when they are supposed to be saving money! KERS is also back for 2011, another money saver.
It seems that the drivers are not happy with the tires as they are now, let alone if they make them deliberately more difficult. Massa is quoted as saying "It has little to do with racing when you are so dependent on the tyres." Not sure I totally agree, but you get the picture. Anyway, the FIA have finally approved the Pirelli deal in a raft of regulation changes, including the reinstatement of the 107% rule for qualifying. I was never sure how it could be "qualifying if there was not a speed requirement, so I for one am glad to see it back, not sure the new team(s) will.
Watching the World Cup. Interesting that the commentators carry on about Slovenia only having 2m people. You can only play 11, so what's the big deal. Russia and the US have more than anyone, and Russia did not even qualify. We have seen great teams from Holland, Denmark, and Sweden to name a few small countries. It is the quality of the team on the pitch, not the other 100 or so that are not there.
The news from MotoGP is that Yamaha will promote its test rider Wataru Yoshikawa to replace the injured Valentino Rossi for at least three rounds of the MotoGP world championship.
The 41-year-old Japanese rider only has one MotoGP start to his name, but has spent the past eight years as an integral part of Yamaha's development program. Shades of Ferrari last year? Hope this works out better. It still begs the question, are there no young riders to try out? Do they not want to put some young turk in there in case he shows up Lorenzo? This guy is obviously a seat warmer just to honor the contract, very sad.
Yamaha will promote its test rider Wataru Yoshikawa to a factory race seat in place of the injured Valentino Rossi for at least three rounds of the MotoGP world championship.
The 41-year-old Japanese rider only has one MotoGP start to his name, but has spent the past eight years as an integral part of Yamaha's development programme.
Seems obvious when you think about it, if you can control the heat. There was a great article a few years ago about how an F1 engine is just a huge air pump, 20,000 rpm at that time, so using all that air makes sense. Is this an "E" Duct? Talking of "F" ducts, now most of the teams have sorted out a system they are going to be banned next year, and replaced by adjustable rear wings to replace the adjustable front wing. Jim Hall invented this in the late 60's with the Chaparral, until of course they banned movable aerodynamic devices. Do these guys really know what they are doing? And all this when they are supposed to be saving money! KERS is also back for 2011, another money saver.
It seems that the drivers are not happy with the tires as they are now, let alone if they make them deliberately more difficult. Massa is quoted as saying "It has little to do with racing when you are so dependent on the tyres." Not sure I totally agree, but you get the picture. Anyway, the FIA have finally approved the Pirelli deal in a raft of regulation changes, including the reinstatement of the 107% rule for qualifying. I was never sure how it could be "qualifying if there was not a speed requirement, so I for one am glad to see it back, not sure the new team(s) will.
Watching the World Cup. Interesting that the commentators carry on about Slovenia only having 2m people. You can only play 11, so what's the big deal. Russia and the US have more than anyone, and Russia did not even qualify. We have seen great teams from Holland, Denmark, and Sweden to name a few small countries. It is the quality of the team on the pitch, not the other 100 or so that are not there.
The news from MotoGP is that Yamaha will promote its test rider Wataru Yoshikawa to replace the injured Valentino Rossi for at least three rounds of the MotoGP world championship.
The 41-year-old Japanese rider only has one MotoGP start to his name, but has spent the past eight years as an integral part of Yamaha's development program. Shades of Ferrari last year? Hope this works out better. It still begs the question, are there no young riders to try out? Do they not want to put some young turk in there in case he shows up Lorenzo? This guy is obviously a seat warmer just to honor the contract, very sad.
| ||||
| ||||
| Test rider Yoshikawa to sub for Rossi |  |
| By Matt Beer | Wednesday, June 23rd 2010, 14:13 GMT |
Yamaha will promote its test rider Wataru Yoshikawa to a factory race seat in place of the injured Valentino Rossi for at least three rounds of the MotoGP world championship.The 41-year-old Japanese rider only has one MotoGP start to his name, but has spent the past eight years as an integral part of Yamaha's development programme.
Reader Comments (5)
It makes sense from a corporate point of view to put Yoshikawa on the bike, he obviously knows the bike inside out and will be able to be used as a guinea pig almost, on hand to try new bits in practice that could be swiftly transferred to Lorenzo's bike if they were proved to have promise.
He's unlikely to be at the front certainly on tracks outside Japan but from Yamaha's viewpoint he's a useful tool so to speak.
Is that what the fans are paying to see though?
He's 41 years old. Is that the only available talent that Yamaha have? If so it's a sad indication of the future of MotoGP talent pool. From an PC balance sheet perspective I understand the choice rationale, but I am not paying to seeing a field of old men race bikes in the premier class of racing. Will a relatively unknown 41 yo fill the stands, ignite sales? I doubt it.
Absolutely!
I agree with both of you, I was looking at the matter from Yamaha Motor Corporation's viewpoint. They are trying to win a world championship with a young rider they have nurtured for 2 seasons and put a lot of faith in. They would rather concentrate on that and bring in an experienced test rider to do some donkey work.
I agree Yoshikawa is very unlikely to bring extra people through the gate but Yamaha would rather have valuable input at this stage of the season rather than someone younger, inexperienced with the machine and rather too keen to impress.
Maybe the bosses also feel that Yoshikawa deserves some reward for countless miles of testing. A somewhat souless job, I'd imagine riding very quickly around a test circuit in Japan in front of no crowd.
As ever Bob, the blogs a pleasure.