Sauber - Petronas GP1 Development

Sauber Petronas Engineering Team

Petronas, the Malaysian oil and gas giant, have joined forces with Formula 1 team Sauber to form Sauber Petronas Engineering (SPE), whose latest project is a radical new three cylinder Grand Prix motorcycle.

2002 sees a new dawn in modern GP racing with rule changes allowing 990cc four stroke machines into the previously two-stroke only class.  SPE built an engine from scratch to the new rules, and commissioned partners to build a bike as a rolling test bed for their engine.

Roger was approached to ride the bike in its very first shakedown tests, then travel to Malaysia for a week to further develop the machine. 

 

Pit Garage, Shah Alam

 

The project timescales were very short; the engine ran on a test bench for the first time in early September 2001, ran in the bike for the first time on the 25th September, then was shipped out to Malaysia where the team congregated on the 11th October for the first test. 

The remit was simple:  Develop the bike into a reliable package which would be used for the roll out at the Malaysian Grand Prix, in front of the Worlds motorcycle press.

The team assembled from the four corners of the globe, approximately 25 personnel, all experts in their own field including Swiss, Malaysians, Japanese, Italians, Dutch, Australian, and of course British.  Roger was the only rider for the initial five days, and was the first person to ride the bike round a corner!

Luckily the team did not encounter any mechanical problems, and the majority of the time was spent refining the sophisticated electronics that combine to provide cutting edge engine management on a power plant producing “over 200bhp”.  Needless to say with such a responsive engine, the power delivery was sharp and instantaneous, and there were hours of debriefing and studying the engine management data to gradually improve the delivery and driveability that will make it a race winning package.

Much of the information can be seen on the downloaded data, but rider feel and feedback is vital to this process, and Roger’s 20 years of experience were put to good use.

Roger waits for the bike to be warmed-up before another test session

Careful planning of test sessions was a vital part of the success

 

 On the final day of the test, the team were joined by Peter Sauber, project leader Osamu Goto, and former GP rider Niall Mackenzie.  After completing one flying lap using full revs past the whole team leaning on the pit wall, Roger handed the bike to Niall for him to acclimatise before his main task of riding it at the official launch. 

The pictures show that the bike was a storming success at the roll-out, completing a flying lap in Niall’s hands, and introducing the worlds press to the stunning sound of a Formula 1 car mated to two wheels for the first time.

The future of the project is secure into 2002.  Further testing in warmer climes during winter is planned. Return to this page in a few weeks for the latest updates.

 

Tiny, high tech, high output SPE 3 cylinder engine