Change of Engine Rules for TT 2014 - A Team's Comments

[flexford]

Please note this not meant as a mud slinging session but I would like to put some comments over from our Team as the majority of TT and British FII competitors visit this site on a regular basis and can absorb the below at their own leisure. In the past, as teams, we discuss things briefly at race meetings but these are normally snatched periods of time where our minds are split 50:50 between the actual racing and the conversation at that time. By posting publicly on here I hope other competitors will post their comments and by the time we get around to the FSRA AGM in a few weeks time we can use the time wisely.

Important: This post was made on the 13th October 2013, at this present time the rule change stand: Fully tuned for the 2014 (with exception of cam lift) and the 2012/2013 engine regulations for the British FII Championship

Dear Reader,

During the last two years we as a Team have spoken to a considerable number of other Teams (normal racing chitchat) and it was clear that 99% of Teams we spoke to didn't understand why the rule change was brought in for the 2012 season and wanted the rules to remain unchanged (i.e. stay fully tuned, 600cc and bore/stroke must remain as standard). At the time there was quite a lot of fierce debate about the costs involved to make the change and the ability for it to be policed. However, all British Championship Teams made the change and have raced with it every since.

In 2012 there was a situation at the TT which has left a bitter taste in people's mouths where it was felt that a certain team had run illegal valve springs (and also rumours of illegal exhaust cams) ..... these rumours were never proven but I think it is fair to say that it is felt by a lot of people that the engine run by that team was not 100% legal. This situation highlighted that the rule change was going to be difficult to police and make fellow competitors suspicious about the other teams. Either police it thoroughly/vigorously or revert back to "run what you brung" i.e. tuned.

I for one was absolutely devastated when the rule change came in as it broke my heart to walk into the workshop and see our 3-4 tuned engines that we had worked so very hard to have built be rendered worthless in one hit (at Oulton Park in 2012 we had a conversation with a highly respected FII racer and between his Team and ours we had £20-£30k worth of engines worth a fraction of what had been paid for them ..... leaving us both quite angry/upset - and the majority of that engine worth was his).

As a Team when the rule change was first publicised we knew we would have to start again as all our tuned engines were running standard bottom ends with the exception of the odd skimmed block and the odd dyson sixth. In 2011 we purchased a set of Wiseco HC pistons but because money is tight for us it took until October 2012 to save up for the rest of the parts and for the engine to be built. This engine was meant to put us back up with the front runners (where we had been pre rule change) - it turned out the engine was a total failure short circuit and where we hoped it may have proved advantageous at the TT the boys went backwards (1 or 2 mph slower than with 100% bog standard engine bought from a breaker) - in it's entirety that engine that we had worked so hard to have built and we had saved up for 18 months to have built cost £4.5k and it was slower than a £500 engine off ebay. It was a gamble, but if it had have worked then it would have turned our season around but ultimately if the rules hadn't have changed we would have still be running the old faithful tuned stable that were all bought and paid for.

Due to the fact that I am too emotional/stubborn I could not see those 4 tuned heads sold for 1/4 of their worth so they were removed from their various blocks and put into storage, now two years later luck has dealt us a kind hand compared to some teams. I can't even begin to think how other teams are feeling right now who did sell their stuff at a hefty loss only to be told two years later that "oh by the way in seven months time you'll need to go back tuned again"!!! and will need to pay through the nose to replenish your stock - I am thinking there are going to be some pretty p*ssed off people out there.

One of the most upsetting/annoying things is that we are not getting told the truth about the reasons behind these changes. In 2011 it was told to us that it was because the TT was struggling to get insurance for the sidecar teams and they needed to slow them down. We were then told that it was due to reliability. Now that the rules have been changed back again it was said that the rule change in 2011 was to try and make the class more affordable. Comments to that: For Suzuki a set of Wiseco pistons cost £550 a set (but don't give you any gain) and for Honda a set of Pistal pistons cost approx £800- £900.00 and you need to cater for a set of new valve springs after every meeting otherwise you'll drop valves (doesn't sound cheaper to me).

As we stand at the moment the TT will revert back to tuned engines and the British will stay with standard top ends. We as a Team had pretty much decided to have a year out from the TT (but that may change) so the pressure is off us a little regarding engine plans. But what about Teams that had planned to do both? You have 2 or 3+ British spec engines to get refreshed before March 2014 (4.5 months) and if you sold your old tuned motors you need to source/have built 2-3 tuned motors ready to take over to the island (7.5 months time). An engine refresh is around £1k a time and a fully tuned engine is minimum £2.5k .... but nearer £3 or £4k (and I am not talking about the £6k, £7k,£10k+ engines the big teams run). If teams decide to buy tuned engines from solo teams then 7.5 months is no time at all to source that amount of engines needed to satisfy the amount of teams that compete at the TT.

Just one comment re costs: When we ran fully tuned engines, an engine could just be replaced if it was lost. This would be spread across seasons and would keep the costs relatively manageable. There will now be teams that need to source 2, 3 or 4 tuned engines in 7.5 months which for us (if we hadn't have kept our tuned heads) would almost end our season before it had begun. If a rule change was to be implemented at such short notice then I feel it would have been easier to go 100% standard.

A request

For the ACU/TT officials that may read this: I am not moaning or criticising but as a Team please can we have a longer term plan so we know what we are doing. The changes that you propose cost money to be implemented. I would like to propose that a 3 - 5 year plan is publlicised so that Teams know where they stand and can plan accordingly.

Some suggestions:

Re the TT:

If we were to have seen a rule change for 2014 then I feel it would have been far easier for all involved to change the rules so that camshafts must remain as homologated and there can be no port work but the valve train (i.e. valve springs and cotters etc) are free. That way the springs etc are free and don't need to be policed but the cams and ports must be homologated which compared to springs are easily policeable. This would make an easy/affordable/policeable transition between the 2013 and 2014 seasons especially with such very short notice.


Re the British Championship 2014:

As this rule change has somewhat been dropped on to everybody involved with 0 notice, can I just ask a question/make a proposal (this is a Kelly Lewis comment and I haven't discussed it with anybody). Historically there has always been a Super/Cup championship but for 2014 could it a standard head/tuned head Championship to allow teams to make the transition in full for 2015 to fully tuned. This way it will help teams that can't afford to prepare 4-6 engines for 2014 British+TT. If the British then goes to totally tuned for 2015 then the Super + Cup can be reinstated? Of course if the British goes fully tuned for 2014 then this comment is irrelevant.


As mentioned above it would be extremely useful if we could have a 3-5 year plan so we know what we are doing


Please feel free to add your thoughts/comments so that we can use the AGM time wisely and put our points of view across constructively.

Pat, I know you would have probably preferred this emailed to you directly but I feel posting it here is the easiest way for all fellow competitors to hear our thoughts as we won't be seeing anybody until the AGM and then we will be going straight in to the AGM.

Best wishes


Kelly

[Bob B]

Kelly - an excellent and well reasoned post. Just hope that it does not fall on deaf ears ...

[Eurocup]

Hi
it looks like it goes back in the wrong direction. To many different rules all over Europe. How to put them international together?
Why not follow the Superbike rules the way to standart, or nearly standart engines. We are happy in Germany with standart engines we have full or overfull grids, and we have fair bikes and fair races.
bye Eckart
Int. sidecar Trophy

[teamradar]

Kelly - an excellent and well reasoned post. Just hope that it does not fall on deaf ears ...

Seems to me that the 'ears' have selective deafness & only listen to certain quarters where money is not a problem.
The 'people' (or insert your prefered expletive here) who make these decisions don't have to struggle to find the money to implement them.
I would like to do the TT & the British but only have a budget for one good engine build, a spare re-freshed standard engine & hopefully another untried spare from a breaker.
The good engine will have to have a standard head as I sold all my best stuff to help pay for the new standard heads.

[ChrisWells]

For those of us in the snow belt located on the other side of an ocean (likely just me) a stable set of regulations or a stable migration plan would REALLY be appreciated. I need to start building my engines NOW to prepare for my trip to the 2015 TT (no that is not a typo) so they can be track tested from May to Sep 2014. Those engines will then get checked, crated with the F2 and put on a boat in Feb 2015. So what type of engine am I building...? I would really rather not show up at the TT with untested motors!

[lovingit]

Chris if its your first time theres nothing wrong with standard engines its more important to get laps in on reliable kit so dont worry . However tuned engines are allowed.