Colin Edwards was pumped. At the completion of the 2010 pre-season tests in Sepang, Malaysia, he had averaged fifth against the full MotoGP field. In '09 he had been frustrated by the satellite Tech3 Yamaha YZR-M1's lack of power, but this test had shown the new bike to be fully competitive.
Optimism about the new season soon turned to frustration, however, as Edwards struggled to match those testing results in race after race. At the season's mid-point he averaged 10th (with one DNF). This could be just another case of racing luck gone bad, but there's actually a story hidden here-one that is changing MotoGP racing as we've known it.
Edwards' season so far is actually a story of "remote control." For 2010 the FIM, MotoGP's governing body, established that each team could only use six engines per rider for the entire season (with penalties for using more engines). Engines are expensive, and fewer engines would mean lower cost for the teams. Other cost-reducing rules were also introduced, such as fewer practice sessions (and thus fewer miles run) over a race weekend.
The six-engine limit means that with a typical race-weekend distance of about 600 kilometers (373 miles), a factory team would put about 1800 km (1119 mi.) on each of its engines before season's end. The satellite teams, because they would have to run the pre-season tests on their engines as well as the full season, would see closer to 2500 km (1553 mi.) on each engine.
The FIM consulted with the manufacturers when the rule was proposed, and the manufacturers presumably agreed that 2000 km (1243 mi.) was a reasonable engine life. But these engines are making about 250 horsepower while turning 18,000 rpm-and are pushing the limits.
Back at the factories, the 2011 engines are being developed while the 2010 engines are being run on the dyno to probe for flaws and weaknesses that might give hints at exactly how long they can reliably run. In qualifying for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, Jorge Lorenzo's well-used (1800 km) Yamaha engine exploded in smoke, flames and a spray of oil that covered the end of the start/finish straight, bringing down Ben Spies and Randy DePuniet. You can bet Lorenzo's engine was on its way back to Japan before it was cool.
Was a rod at fault? A valve? A piston? Were all of the Yamaha engines potentially subject to this kind of failure? The factory had to find out. Almost certainly, engines on the dyno were stressed exactly as Lorenzo's had been, using information from the onboard data-logging system.
Going back to Edwards' season, you begin to see what's happening here. In pre-season tests, the engine-management system was tuned to use rpm and fuel-mapping strategies that make power and give the engine about 2000 km of life. But perhaps information came back from dyno testing that the engines needed to make a bit less power to ensure that they'd make it through the season. Suddenly Edwards is in 11th rather than fifth, and doesn't know why. It's a decision made at the factory, and it's not up for discussion. And it's implemented in the software, with no change of parts. At some tracks the Texan's top speed was down as much as 14 kph (9 mph) on the front-runners, and the average deficit was 9 kph (6 mph).
Then there is an especially important weekend: the USGP at Laguna Seca, Edwards' home race. It's decided to give the team an "upgrade," which is essentially slightly revised software with increased rpm and revised mapping. Edwards finished seventh there, the best result of his season. But will that upgrade be available at every race? Or maybe just at Indy?
Of course, the manufacturers have always closely monitored their race engines, especially since the advent of data-logging and ECUs. But now it's more of a feedback loop, in which constant monitoring leads to continuous adjustment that will lead to the engines lasting the season. To a much greater extent than ever before, the race teams are out of that loop, in the position of having to work within the factories' analysis of data and statistical projections. With the six-engine rule, the teams and the riders may find it hard to accept that their engines' performance is indeed "remote-controlled."