MotoGP Feature - The Management Team
23/08/2006
The biggest single advance in the MotoGP era has been in electronic engine management - and the revolution is still very much in progress.
Advances and refinements are coming almost race by race, in the same way as Bridgestone tyre compounds change and develop. And there is still a lot more that could be done.
We spoke to Andrea Dosoli, the Kawasaki team’s IT expert, about the way the electronics have opened new technical and dynamic possibilities, and about the way the new techniques work hand in hand with the Bridgestone tyres.
“The biggest improvement has been with the drive-by-wire system,” he said. “We introduced that in the middle of last year, and it helps to control power output and torque.”
This gives a level of control over wheelspin, wheelies, launch control and engine braking. It offers different levels of horsepower for different gears, reducing output in the lower gears when the tendency to spin the wheel is more pronounced.
It helps to maximise speed off the start line, and even adjusts the power for different corners, because the motorcycle always knows exactly where it is on the track.
This is similar to F1 car racing. But a motorcycle is different from a car, with the rider playing a much bigger part. He not only shifts his weight, he also needs wheelspin to slide the bike on corner exits. Motorcycle drive-by-wire is partial.
The rider has direct control of some of the throttle butterflies, usually two; the computer controls the other two throttles. In this way, power output is modulated without robbing the rider of all control.
“There are two advantages,” explained Dosoli. “The system gives more freedom to the Kawasaki engineers in Japan to reach a level of maximum performance without having to concentrate on a smooth, linear power curve. We can manage the engine to make it feel more linear.”
The other major advantage is being able to tune the engine output to the circumstances of each track, and to the performance of the latest tyres. “We have to transfer the power to the ground. When we get to the track, we can focus on this, to adjust to the grip of the latest Bridgestones, the temperature and condition of the surface …”
This is a moving target, and the management system is adjusted from one practice session to the next, and sometimes even in the middle of a practice session. There is also more than one programme … riders can switch to a softer engine character later in the race, when tyre grip has deteriorated, or if other circumstances have changed.
Even so, they don’t usually make adjustments for the extra grip of qualifying tyres. “Our system is quite clever in understanding the grip level,” smiles Dosoli.
The basic measurements are front- and rear-wheel speed, gear position, throttle opening, and rpm. “Then you can introduce others … suspension position, an accelerometer, and in the future also precise measurement of lean angle.”
Apart from helping the rider, the biggest effect, according to Dosoli, is that “every little bit helps the tyre.” The rider uses only as much wheelspin as he needs. At other times the engine management can eliminate wheelspin altogether, with obvious benefits to tyre wear.
The difficulty, of course, is in applying the right amount of engine management to achieve these goals, but leaving the rider with enough control so that he can still use the excess of power to his advantage.
An illustration comes from new Kawasaki team rider Randy de Puniet, who joined this year from the 250 class, alongside the very experienced Shinya Nakano.
“When Randy was learning, the management was set for less power and spin. Now he has half the season experience, the settings are very similar to Nakano’s, with more power and control available to the rider.
“In the end, the electronics have to serve the rider, not to replace him,” concluded Dosoli.