Crash.net columnist Mike Nicks is running an exclusive blog during this weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Mugello - check back regularly to read his behind-the-scenes news...
Friday am - Furusawa: 'We'll Match Ducati on Horsepower'
Yamaha executive Masao Furusawa, whose YZR-M1 has leapfrogged Ducati in lap times this season, has pledged that he will soon make his in-line four engine deliver more power than the Italian factory's legendary V4.
"I am pretty sure I will be able to catch up with Ducati's horsepower," Furusawa told Crash.net. "Not this year, because maybe I need more time. But I will investigate Ducati more and some day I will catch them."
Ducati has consistently delivered more straight-line speed than any of the four Japanese manufacturers in MotoGP - a key factor when Casey Stoner won the championship on the Desmosedici GP7 last year.
Furusawa, Yamaha's general manager of engineering operations, now wants to strip Ducati of that advantage - and is already conducting experiments at MotoGP races to gauge how the Italians squeeze so much grunt from their motors.
He records the exhaust noise of passing bikes in pit lane and feeds the readings through computer software to calculate the machines' peak horsepower, torque output and peak rpm, using technical expertise from Yamaha's work in the music industry.
His verdict: the GP8 Desmosedici produces around 230-240bhp at about 19,000rpm.
How do the Japanese engines compare? They make 10-15bhp less, according to Furusawa. The YZR-M1 peaks at 18,000rpm, he says, but then adds: 'Maybe 18,500-19,000rpm.'
Furusawa believes that he will also be able to configure other aspects of the Ducati engine, including its bore and stroke dimensions - a closely guarded secret by every manufacturer in MotoGP.
Yamaha have always produced one of the most agile MotoGP bikes, but Furusawa's long-term aim is clearly to add top-end power to enable the company to produce the best all-round design.
Friday am - Kawasaki Drop Laguna Wild Card Plan
Kawasaki have abandoned plans to run a wild card rider at the American GP at Laguna Seca on July 20 because the team wants to focus on its existing riders John Hopkins and Anthony West. The decision ends speculation that Britain's Daytona 200 winner Chaz Davies might get the ride in place of the injured Roger Lee Hayden.
Friday am - Rocker JT Gets a Yamaha Piano
Yamaha, who make musical instruments as well as motorcycles, will give their rocker-rider James Toseland a piano as an end-of-season gift, and invite him to play in front of company executives in Japan.
