Cycle News

VOL. 56 ISSUE 19 MAY 14, 2019 P99 tion bikes because we are basically transferring the forces from the front. Part is through engine, part is through the frame. Then you have the two mounting points to the swingarm axle and then to the rear wheel axle. That means this is quite a structured part, while on most production bikes the swingarm is mounted either directly in the engine or it is kind of a hybrid system using also frame structure, but in the end, it gets its strength a lot of times from the engine itself. So, this concept is quite differ- ent to that. It also implies that the frame must be more rigid and more loaded in this area. On the other hand, the way that you mount the engine when this is such a rigid structure must be quite different. Normally, for example, when you look at production steel frames, they are kind of embracing the engine, and you just clamp them to the engine. Now you have a stiffer structure, so you must keep the engine between it, but in a way that nothing is under ten- sion. There's quite a bit of technology in how you do this with engine spacing, in how you tighten everything. So, in the detail, this is quite different from a production bike. This is also not so different to how our other race bikes are. We have had alumi- num chassis on the 125 and 250 two-strokes. We have had the Moto2, Moto3. It's something that repeats itself, and that is different to production. What has been Zarco's feeling coming from the Yamaha? What does he say the big differences are between the Yamaha and the KTM? The Yamaha is a corner speed and entry bike, so these were the areas where Zarco was struggling first before we adjusted the bike for his confidence on the front, on brakes and entry. Then during the winter break, we came to a point where he didn't feel so bad anymore about this. For sure the Yamaha is more stable in some situations. The stability and then later on grip and turning were the points that he wanted to work on next. But it is iterative, so you solve one thing up to a point where you say, 'Ok, this is not my main problem anymore.' Then you go to another area, and you improve this one, and then maybe the other one comes back. Not because you went back in the performance, but because you moved the limit. That's racing. So are you still addressing his concerns with settings changes, or have you started making changes to hard parts? No. The hardware is also different than the details. It's a mix. Normally, when you hear about a certain problem, of course, the first thing you have in the pocket is the setting, at least to understand what is the direction, what can and can't touch it. Then you hit certain limitations. A lot of times with a setting you have to make a cer- tain compromise. You can achieve this, but you can also make this worse. Then by doing hard- ware development you might be able to improve this compromise further. That's our philosophy. What of the value now in having four rid- ers and a satellite team? That was the biggest difference to last year, and, I think, a big advantage, but also, a big challenge, especially on the tire side. This is for me the most outstanding thing because when you have two riders, and maybe one of them is injured or has a bad weekend, you have a very, very limited amount of information and data. The choice of the right tire and how to make these tires work is, especially in this class now,

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