A few comments from an outsider:
- Steve I think you should change the title of the thread to "TT 2012" as there is no particular topic, its just like a food processor on overdrive
Motec:
Geoff K, just picking up about your concerns regarding the cost of Motec. I appreciate that the initial outlay for Motec is quite frightening and for some/most people it is Monopoly money however, sceptics should try and look at it from the other direction - if you have the ability to give an engine a mouthpiece that could tell you that it will be blow if you don't do something about it then to me a racer cannot afford to race without it. We as a team actually could not afford to run without the information that Motec provides. We don't have £1k here, £1k there (to replace a standard engine) or £2.5k+ here, £2.5k+ there to replace the tuned engines, so if Motec tells us that things aren't looking so clever then out the engine comes. So yes a figure starting at £2k (for a second hand system) makes you want to cry BUT on the flip side once you have it, on the financial side it will help to preserve your engines and on the performance side you can maximise the performance of what ever lump you have it plugged in to.
Tuned/standard engines:
- Firstly a racer should learn how to ride a slow bike fast. There are many racers out there that complain that they do not have the power of these highly tuned bikes etc etc but actually if you put the driver of the fast bike in the slower bike and vice versa there is a good possibility the so called "slower" bike may just beat the so called "faster" bike anyway. Sometimes it is better to work with what you have than blame what you don't
- Secondly, (and to me, most importantly) - with the greatest respect we can all argue the pros and cons racing standard engines versus tuned BUT, is this rule change going to be thoroughly policed? At the end of this season F2 racers will have a bank of one or more tuned engines ... some producing 125 bhp, some producing over 130 bhp, which will need to be put into storage (unless racing outside the British or TT). Unless this is regulated properly then it is a huge trust issue that EVERY single racer will be racing with a standard engine next year. To me this is the biggest issue, how many times do you see a race (or participate in a race) where your gut instinct is screaming at you that a particular bike isn't running what they should be but because you don't want to look a bad sport or the thought of paying the objection fee is off-putting you just walk away and leave it.
I really hope that the situation with standard engines is governed properly (how you do it I have absolutely no idea) but nothing will be less fair than a racer swapping his engine for a standard, only for the person next to them to be running a fully tuned missile.
When faced with a shortage of standard heads (and standard engines in general), that shiny tuned motor is going to look more tempting than ever
