Mid-season Review with Masao Furusawa - Executive Officer,
Engineering Operations for Yamaha Motor Company
1 – What’s been the biggest change to the M1
this year?
“We have made many changes to the 2008 M1 compared to
the 2007 version and we have improved it a lot; Valentino
is satisfied with our work so far. Of course the biggest change
for us has affected Valentino’s side only – the
change of tyre manufacturer. After the switch we had a hard
time learning how to get the best performance from the new
tyres and of course we had no data. Last however year Valentino
predicted that changing would be the right thing for him and
he was right, although of course we weren’t able to
predict how differently the tyre would behave.”
2 – What else have you changed on Valentino’s
bike?
“We have had to work a lot on the chassis setting and
we have also changed the geometry of the bike in order to
get a good balance with the tyre character. Since we moved
from 990cc to 800cc higher corner speed is needed in order
to get faster lap times and to win. Therefore we have tried
many different chassis settings in order to find out the best
of bike geometry, centre of gravity, rider position, wheel-base
length, chassis stiffness and so on.”
3 – Do you think that your development since the start
of the season has been a success?
“MotoGP bikes are not production bikes and that’s
why I always say that Valentino, Jorge and all MotoGP riders
are not human beings! Valentino has become more and more satisfied
race by race and we have been able to find an ideal set-up
for him that enabled him to win three races in a row. Since
then, Casey Stoner and his team have found new solutions that
have allowed them to make a big step forward and now of course
we know that the remaining races will be tough, although we
are still leading by 25 points after the excellent win in
Laguna Seca.”
4 – What is the aim for the rest of the season regarding
bike development?
“Our competitor’s great performances is a big
push to all of us to improve our M1 further, maybe even more
than we did during last winter. I would especially like to
progress the electronic control system and the engine power.
At the moment there is no need to work more on the chassis,
although this is something we will have to consider for next
season. Lately we have been experiencing some problems with
acceleration on the exit of the corner, so we need to work
to find better bike geometry and chassis setting alongside
the development of the engine control system.”
5 – What is your opinion about the electronics in MotoGP
now? Do you think the rules need to be changed?
“This is a popular discussion at the moment and we are
looking at the overall situation; do we need to change the
rules? It’s true that many riders have crashed this
year, including Jorge, who had a very bad series of crashes,
and also Dani Pedrosa. The question is if these crashes have
something to do with the current bike technology. We moved
from 990cc to 800cc to have safer bikes, but the new bikes
have a higher cornering speed and this might present a danger
for some riders. I think that we need to do something and
the biggest issue is the electronic control system. In any
case, it is clear that we at Yamaha will have to develop a
better and better ECS, in order to beat our rivals. I still
think that the M1 is best bike out there, although Casey has
had a string of very impressive results.”
6 – Valentino has re-signed for two more years and
has cited his relationship with you as one of the main reasons
he will continue with Yamaha. How do you feel about you relationship
with him?
“The reason I always continue to be confident is because
I trust Valentino so much! I like his way of thinking, he
is always positive and this rubs off on everyone else. He
never complains or criticizes; on the contrary, he is always
looking forward and searching for new solutions! He has exactly
the same approach to problems as I have. Valentino always
has a positive and logical way of thinking, like me. He has
a very good sense of humour, and I like this a lot; I like
him as a person very much. The biggest shame is that my age
is almost the double his, but the level of thinking is the
same! The only difference is that he is just 29. When I was
29, I never thought about tactics and strategies! I have a
huge respect for him. He is the genius behind the bike.”
7 – What are your mid-season impressions of Jorge?
“I like Jorge very much; he is a good guy and a very
good rider. Honestly, he is very different than I had expected
before he joined Yamaha; I was impressed by his mature attitude
and his fluent English. He is a very smart guy, smarter than
I expected! He has a big talent as a rider; he is very smooth
and very effective. I am sure that in the future he will dominate
in MotoGP. At the beginning of the season we started with
no ambitions, we thought it was too early for him to win a
race because he was a rookie. He was just supposed to be here
to learn about his M1. But then he surprised us with his incredible
three pole positions in a row and then with his victory. Everything
happened much earlier than we had expected. Generally speaking
he is a very good entertainer for Yamaha and for the spectators.
His season surpassed expectations early on but of course he
has had some problems since then which we are working hard
to address.”
8 – How has Jorge reacted since the crashes?
“After the bad crashes he has suffered, he has changed
his riding style somewhat, aiming to improve his confidence
in the electronics, which can help him. Before the crash in
Laguna he was recovering and beginning to find a different
way to treat a MotoGP bike. Laguna was a great pity, very
unlucky and another set-back but I am still confident for
the rest of the season, although we will continue not to put
any pressure on him and there is no need to hurry his learning
process.”
9 – What is your feeling about the current team?
“I am very satisfied with Jorge’s new crew chief,
who joined us this year, Ramon Forcada. He is a very good
crew chief, as is Jeremy Burgess. JB is an easy and sophisticated
guy, he hates to worry about political correctness, like me!
Now both he and Ramon are combining their wealth of experience
with the new technology very successfully. Regarding Jorge’s
bike specifically, I understand very well what Ramon is doing
with Jorge and with Jorge’s bike. I speak with him regularly
and I am satisfied that we have the same recognition about
Jorge.
“Our entire team is made up of good people and good
workers! As far as our riders are concerned, we have a very
strong weapon; Valentino is the present and Jorge is the future!”
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