At KTM, we are not here to make up the numbers. After a more than copious testing program last year, the first races of this season could however resemble it, and that is not at all to the Austrians' taste.
And they did not wait for the start of the championship to test different engine timing configurations on the bench in the new Munderfing facilities. Big Bang or approaching.
As a reminder, a Screamer timing engine, like the current RC16 propeller which we recognize by its regular and particularly strident noise, allows it to be significantly more powerful but, paradoxically, offers the particularity of delivering its torque in a irregular, thus penalizing the grip of the rear tire when accelerating. Basically, he's brutal.
The Big Bang engine, on the contrary, although running in a less balanced manner (two explosions are simultaneous, or almost) allows torque to be delivered more regularly, thus putting less strain on the rear tire.
However, this new Big Bang engine was also tested with some success during the Michelin tests at Le Mans by Mika Kallio, Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith.
The site crash.net collected his reactions.
“All three of us had the chance to ride it during the day. We brought it here but we don't necessarily know if we'll use it in the future. It's still up to the engineers to decide what they want. Whether it is better or less ready is still up for analysis at the moment, because Le Mans with less than ideal conditions is probably not the best place to say “definitely yes”. But we have a chance to reconfirm here and we want to try it during the race weekend compared to the other drivers on track. The idea is to make it more manageable, have more speed out of corners and take better care of the tires. We definitely found some positives but also some negatives, so we're still juggling that. I would say that in terms of ease of use, this is perhaps a step in the right direction. It doesn't give us any more acceleration, so it's up to engineers to weigh the pros and cons. »
Espargaro Pol precise : “At Le Mans, the electronics were not adjusted. So even if the engine is better, we can't know right now because it was brand new and we need to improve. We need to use it so the guys understand this engine a little better. It had never been tried before, so if we do it (at Jerez) it will mean that the guys have done a very good job and think we can use it. We have a meeting tonight and we'll see. »
So, big bang engine in Jerez for KTM, or not?
Answer tomorrow, but KTM has already made it known that, in their current position, they would not mind starting from the Pit Lane in the event that they exceed the nine engines authorized for this season...
Photo: KTM V4 engine at 75° (2005)
