Machining blocks from solid billets or forgings is becoming more popular. This is for the Chevrolet LS1 engine (Courtesy of Dart)

Wayne Ward catches up on the latest developments in cylinder head and block materials and manufacture

Caseeyond the basic mechanisms in any race engine, there reviewperhaps just a question of agreed meanings when talking here about are a number of critical ‘static’ components, of which blocks and not lower crankcases. Given also that the manufacturing cylinder heads and blocks are probably the most important techniques used to make structural lower crankcases are very much structurally. Even where the engine isn’t solidly mounted, the same as those used for the cylinder block or upper crankcase, Band chassis loads aren’t transferred directly into and through these much of this article will apply to lower crankcases as well. components, they have to react to any loads due to engine vibration Taking this blurring of the boundaries between the major structural and car acceleration through the engine mounts. static casings a step further, there are engines in which the cylinder In production engines developed for racing, as well as bespoke race block and head are a single component. Such construction is engines, the structural integrity of these parts is critical to the success relatively specialised and expensive, and is thus only rarely seen. of the engine in competition. Materials and production methods are However, having the cylinder head integral with the block removes developing continuously, and this allows us to improve the reliability the need to seal the head-block interface – a source of many of our engines without having to cope with large increases in mass. problems for a wide range of engines, especially as they become Not only do better production methods help us make (or indeed more efficient, with supercharged/turbocharged engines representing purchase) cylinder heads and blocks that are likely to last longer for a particular challenge here. a given level of service stress, they can also produce the same part In the case of cylinder blocks, a growing number of race engines at a lower cost, or allow us to introduce more complex machining use linerless blocks. Whether this is the result of adopting a linerless operations without incurring too much extra cost. production engine as the basis for a racing powertrain, or the design of Given that, in many cases, blocks are extended way past the crank a bespoke linerless block based on technical considerations, this type axis, and the lower crankcase is formed by a simple closing plate, it is of cylinder block structure has a strong following.

30 FOCUS : HEADS AND BLOCKS

Materials The range of materials from which large structural parts can be made continues to evolve, and as manufacturing methods change, so the material choices differ. With the huge growth in CNC machining and improved tooling, the manufacture of certain cylinder blocks is certainly possible, and billet-machining of aluminium blocks is popular for the manufacture of large drag race engines. The material choices are no longer driven by casting considerations, and a whole new range of materials is available. In general, wrought materials typically have higher strength than cast materials, and have fewer defects. Through the ‘hand-me-down’ relationship we have with the defence and aerospace industries, new materials often find their way into motorsport, and in the future we are likely to see the use of aluminium materials with much improved tensile and fatigue properties compared to the materials in common use today. Pouring CGI (Compacted Graphite Iron) NASCAR blocks utilising When it comes to using wrought materials in cylinder blocks, we SinterCast control system. (Courtesy of Grainger and Worrall) are really only going to be looking at aluminium alloys. While it is clearly possible to make blocks from all kinds of materials, billet iron or steel blocks are not likely to be cost-effective. The mass of suitable types of material have enjoyed significant development in recent years. billets for iron or steel blocks would be prohibitive, as would the The development of alloys based on existing aerospace aluminium expense of machining, given the reduced material removal rates for casting alloys has recently given us materials with greatly improved these materials compared to aluminium. In the past, fabricated steel fatigue properties compared to traditional alloys. For many years blocks have been used for engines; TVR notably used this technique of now, the favoured range of aluminium castings alloys have been the welding cylinder blocks for some of its engines. A35x materials. These have offered a good combination of properties Commonly, billet aluminium components for use at moderate and good ‘castability’, and remain the most common choice for temperatures are going to be made from an alloy chosen from the high-quality race castings. These alloys, based on aluminium alloyed 2000- or 6000-series materials. Of these, 6000-type alloys are good with silicon and magnesium (plus much smaller proportions of other enough for most applications and are generally less expensive than elements) or similar equivalents have typically taken up most of the 2000-series materials. Allan’s article (1) highlights the use of ‘billet racing casting market, from the keen amateur right up to Formula One machined’ heads and blocks for Top Fuel engines. Typically, it would and its huge development budgets. be difficult to make a cylinder head for a ‘conventional’ race engine However, in the past few years, the attention of a number of top from solid billet, owing to the need for cooling passages. foundries has turned to improving the casting behaviour of the Engines burning nitromethane for short periods don’t need cooling, A20x alloys originally developed for aerospace use. They represent however, despite their prodigious power output, so the heads and a step-change in the capability of materials to handle high stresses,

blocks lend themselves particularly well to the billet-machined route. and we can expect to see their use increase markedly in the coming t Allan specifically mentions aluminium alloys 6061 for the block and 6013 for the head. Even where there is greater complexity required from blocks and heads, such as those that do require cooling, if you are prepared to accept some compromises then it can be possible to produce billet components, especially if you are prepared to accept assemblies with split lines, seals and joints replacing what were previously ‘solid’ castings. The choice of materials from which to cast heads and blocks is extensive. Often the rules of a series will narrow down the choice for us somewhat. For example, Formula One specifies aluminium, while NASCAR specifies that blocks This very compact V8 race engine uses production- are made from cast iron. Aluminium and cast based motorcycle heads on a bespoke cast iron represent the vast majority of materials from aluminium block (Courtesy of Radical Sportscars) which structural castings are made, and both

31 FOCUS : HEADS AND BLOCKS

production of castings of greater complexity and with thinner walls. Cast-iron materials have not only enjoyed a protected market in some motorsport series, they have also enjoyed something of a resurgence in popularity in road vehicles too, particularly for diesel applications, from passenger cars to large commercial vehicles. CGI in particular has taken a large percentage of market share from engines traditionally made with grey cast iron blocks. One reason for this, besides the mass savings available from using a stronger material, is that CGI is stiffer. For racing this offers not only improved torsional and bending stiffness of the engine, but possibly lower friction as well. With lower bore distortion seen in service for the stiffer CGI blocks, piston ring point loading is reduced and lower tension rings can be used, both leading to lower friction. Outside of NASCAR, either currently or in the relatively recent past, CGI has been used in World Rally, DTM and Grand Prix motorcycle road racing. While Rally and DTM are series based on production engines, the 500 cc V4 two-stroke engine which reportedly used CGI for its crankcases had no such production-based limitations. The Toyota RVX09 V8 Formula One engine block is cast aluminium, as mandated by the series’ rules. It is linerless and runs less than 10 mm between adjacent bores. Here it is shown Owing to its high strength, cast iron replaces aluminium in line-bored with the sump (note integral pump housing) certain applications where it is simply not possible to put enough material in critical areas of an aluminium casting to prevent failure. years. They offer improved fatigue properties, especially at room A genuine advantage of cast iron over aluminium, in terms of day-to- temperature, compared to a material such as A357 (2). day component longevity, concerns linerless blocks. NASCAR Sprint These A20x alloys have significant additions of copper and, in terms Cup blocks can be used for up to 30 builds before then going on to of chemistry, can be compared to the 2000 series of wrought alloys. Nationwide competition, where they may be built a further 20 times There is some crossover between aerospace and motorsport in some of with only occasional minor re-boring and honing. While this requires the foundries in which motorsport castings are produced. Therefore, in an increased inventory of parts to cope with the effects of re-boring the some cases, there is prior knowledge of these new materials, and the cylinders, it represents an economical way of going racing with high- development of the material and its casting processes have not had to power engines. wait for a specific motorsport project to come along. It should be said Magnesium falls into a strange netherworld where race engines though that motorsport has sometimes been a driver for the adoption are concerned. In a confusing move, the FIA has chosen to ban of these materials in some foundries, with well-funded projects aimed magnesium in Formula One engines at a time when its use in at the development of casting processes for existing materials. roadcar engines has been growing. ‘Road relevance’ extends to The reason for so much casting process development is that, until areas of technology other than those concerned with improving fuel recently, these materials have proven difficult to cast into the complex consumption, such as KERS, through the introduction of expensive forms we might find in a cylinder block or head. Work on materials new technologies. Indeed, the laudable aims of improving fuel development and casting techniques mean these materials are now economy and safety that the FIA is keen to show it supports are also viable options for producing cast parts with first-class mechanical well served by the development of low-mass structural components. properties. The fact that magnesium remains legal in Formula One for wheels and The other material that dominates the market for race engine other chassis components just makes the rule more confusing. castings is cast iron. NASCAR in particular is noted for mandating Car manufacturers whose involvement in the motorsport business the use of cast-iron cylinder blocks for its race series. Until relatively is an exercise in engineering see real benefit when technology recently, the use of cast iron had been on the wane in production is transferred back to the road vehicle side of their operation. By engines, but has seen something of a resurgence with the increasing restricting development in some directions, motorsport weakens use of compacted graphite iron (CGI) alloys. It was reported in the case for manufacturer involvement. When there is no transfer of Race Engine Technology (3) that CGI has replaced the more traditional technology towards the production side of the business, motorsport grey cast iron in many applications, either as an attempt to optimise simply becomes a marketing exercise or training school. casting mass or simply to increase the margin against failure. Beloved of the roadcar industry because of its low mass, magnesium The use of CGI though is not universal among the manufacturers is used extensively to keep vehicle weights to sensible levels. If you supplying engine components to the NASCAR Sprint Cup engine have a couple of modern cars or motorcycles, you probably have some builders (4). As recently as 2011, Dodge notably preferred not to use magnesium in your garage, and if you are a mobile phone user, you it, citing the fact that CGI is harder to machine than conventional may have some in your pocket right now.

grey cast iron. Those who do use CGI, however, say it allows the Magnesium has some real-world benefits, despite its terrible t

32 RET_ADTEMP.indd 1 06/02/2012 09:28 Billet machining is also used for cylinder heads. This is a two-valve head from a pushrod engine. Note that seats are fitted but not finish-machined to blend with the chamber (Courtesy of Dart)

solidifies and shrinks as it cools, the casting is of the desired size at room temperature. HIP castings shrink more between pouring of the metal to delivery of the finished casting, so the mould cavity needs to be bigger for a casting undergoing HIP. The dimensional changes due to HIP are normally too great on blocks and heads to apply the process retrospectively. Despite the advances in machining techniques, machinery and tooling, corrosion behaviour. BMW has beyond a certain level of complexity it is been particularly imaginative in its use of necessary to use castings; they offer a degree magnesium in roadcars, using alloy AJ62 for millions of of complexity that is simply not possible in an block castings, and incorporating aluminium into the component integral machined part. where it will be in contact with cooling water. It has enjoyed sporadic The common process in the production of all use in motorsport, ironically in a range of race series of varying heads and blocks is machining, and real progress wealth. It has seen almost continuous use in motorcycle racing since continues to be made in this sphere, especially the rapid spread of the 1950s for all manner of components, with some blocks and sumps four- and five-axis machining throughout industry. Of course, there being cast from the material. Some notable Formula One engines are some features that we have to machine, such as the fireface of the have used magnesium for structural parts, although its use for blocks cylinder head and the bearing bores of the block. However, repeatable and heads was neither fully developed nor particularly successful. 3D-machined ports are relatively new, and even if you have found an It is clear though that, with careful thought and consideration of the ideal port shape through hand-fettling and flow bench development, material limitations, magnesium can be made to work as a structural this can now be reverse engineered and easily produced in the casting material for cylinder blocks and other large castings. quantities needed for racing. Composites have been used with some success in motorsport blocks Not only can we now have the exact port geometry we want, we in the past: the adventurous Polimotor engine for example used a can also specify a number of important criteria about the surface itself. composite block more than 25 years ago (5). The technology is still We have control over the surface finish of ports and the direction of being used to produce structural ‘composite castings’, and has been surface finish. There are differences of opinion on the best way to finish covered in Race Engine Technology in the recent past (6, 7). Carbon fibre ports, with some stating that machining marks perpendicular to the reinforced polymer matrix materials represent the likely way forward for direction of airflow are beneficial (8), and others preferring machining this technology; there are some interesting manufacturing techniques marks to be parallel to the airflow. Some engine builders prefer very that take advantage of the properties of fibre-filled materials. Where smooth ports, while others prefer a certain type of surface finish. A required, inlays of unidirectional fibre can be placed into the tooling to degree of hand-finishing may also be required, especially where very provide increased stiffness in certain directions, and such techniques smooth ports are required. Where 3D port machining is chosen, the might prove to be one of the major benefits of this type of material. designer needs an understanding of the type of tooling being used and its geometry, and has to plan the port geometry accordingly. Manufacturing techniques Four- and five-axis milling has made possible the selective In the production of many heads and blocks, a mixture of techniques machining of surfaces in blocks and heads that might otherwise have is used, notably the combination of casting and machining. Producing been left as cast. Machining not only gives an improved surface finish, castings involves many stages, and where a bespoke casting is being it also gives repeatable geometry in critical areas. This repeatable considered there are processes which the customer engineer may specify geometry not only guarantees clearance, but also allows us to predict in order to improve the quality and strength of the delivered products. stresses based on a more consistent wall thickness and surface finish. In the case of castings, hot isostatic pressing (HIP) is something The wall thickness variation between two cast surfaces can be a that will improve a good-quality casting, but it will not make an significant ratio of the wall thickness, especially for bespoke race inherently poor casting into a good one. As the name suggests, HIP castings where the supplier has been pushed hard on wall thickness. exposes the casting to high isostatic pressure at elevated temperature. The use of machining to ensure consistency in the geometry of This serves to close up small voids and pores in the casting. The each machined surface, as well as that between adjacent machined foundry needs to be made aware of the requirement for this from the surfaces, can be especially useful in areas of high stress on a casting. outset of the job, as it changes the effective shrinkage of the casting By removing the variability inherent in castings due to mould and material. As we know, the pattern-work is manufactured to produce a core shift by using machined surfaces in critical areas, rather than cavity that is larger than the desired casting, so that when the casting simply machining where required, we can produce structures that are

34 FOCUS : HEADS AND BLOCKS

better optimised for weight. The possible error in wall thickness of a highly anisotropic properties. In this way, the designer can choose to casting might be as high as 25% of wall thickness, but by accurately preferentially stiffen or strengthen a component in a certain direction. machining both sides we might reduce this to 2-3%. It is clear that this The machining of a cylinder head or cylinder block is not a simple offers the chance for a significant weight saving where both sides of a operation, because they are almost always assemblies rather than single wall can be accessed with a machine tool. components. The exception to this rule is the two-stroke cylinder head, The speed at which machining can be done also continues to which doesn’t require any special assembly machining operations. improve, with better machinery allied to improved tooling. This Cylinder blocks are machined to a certain stage before being is allowing the production costs of many machined components, assembled with bearing caps and ‘line bored’. Many race engines have including blocks and heads, to remain reasonably affordable to engine the bearing caps integrated into the lower crankcase. Because the main builders while retaining reasonable profit margins for the parts supplier. bearing bores must be very accurate, a cylinder block will always be There is one technology that may, in years to come, challenge castings an assembly of block, bearing caps and main studs. There may also be for very small production quantities. Metallic ‘rapid prototyping’ other components included that might distort the line bore once fitted. methods will be able to offer almost limitless design complexity of parts, Cylinder liners are sometimes fitted and honed to size in the and have the flexibility to accommodate design changes made between cylinder block. This type of assembly procedure, which has the aim one version and the next. This latter point makes the technology very of improved accuracy, is generally restricted to the high-end race attractive for motorsport, especially in the development phase of new engines. A further step is the process of ‘hot-honing’, where the whole engines. At the moment, the ‘build volume’ and the speed at which parts assembly is raised to working temperature before the cylinders are can be made render this production technique interesting but pretty honed in-situ. For the increasingly common case of linerless blocks much impractical for all but the smallest and simplest of cylinder heads being used for racing, clearly there is no need to worry about the stage or blocks, but as larger and faster machinery is developed it will become during manufacture at which liners should be fitted. However, after an important manufacturing technique, especially as new materials boring and plating, the merits of ambient-temperature honing or hot- become available. At present, only a couple of different aluminium honing still need to be considered. alloys are commercially available, while other materials that currently Cylinder heads are machined to a stage before the insertion of use this method are of limited interested where heads and blocks are valve seats and guides. The insertion of these components can cause concerned. significant distortion of the machined part, and this is especially true In the section on materials, we mentioned fabrication and specifically in the case of valve seats. Following the insertion of these parts, the welding as a method of manufacture. While this is not commonly used seats and guides are machined to size, the combustion chamber and for race engines where block manufacture is concerned, the welding ports are blended either by hand or, as is now increasingly common, shut of core support holes is something that a number of engine by machining. manufacturers do rather than fit plugs that need sealing. Opinion seems split as to whether the valve guide should be The process of producing composite cylinder blocks has not been machined so that it is flush with the port wall; this can depend on the used since the advent of the Polimotor engine more than 25 years ago; stiffness of the valve, the guided length and the unsupported length. it is now being used to produce ‘composite castings’ of cylinder blocks. For modern overhead cam race engines, these can often also require The technique has one distinct difference to machined or cast metallic a line-bore operation where the cams are fitted directly to the cylinder components, and that lies in the ability to place sections of unidirectional head. In the quest for smaller dimensions and a stiffer engine, the fibre or other strongly-oriented sections in the mould which have cylinder head and cam carrier have in recent times been commonly integrated into a single complex casting. It is also reasonably common in bespoke race engines to find that the cam cover has ceased to be simply a cover, instead integrating the cam bearing caps. In this case, the cam cover and cylinder head become a matched assembly, and where a cylinder head or cam cover is damaged, the damaged part is replaced and the assembly is again line-bored oversize. The advantage of having the cam bearing caps integral with the cam cover comes at the cost of this extra complexity and expense when either the head or cover becomes damaged. The process of fitting machined-from-solid Another billet head, machined from a piece of solid valve seats to cylinder heads is not universal in aluminium. This beautifully machined part incorporates long sections of the inlet ports (Courtesy of Sonny Leonard) racing though. The use of thermal spray processes

to apply a suitable material directly to the t

35 FOCUS : HEADS AND BLOCKS

car manufacturers, as the price for their continuing involvement in motorsport, expect that the series they compete in will reinforce certain brand perceptions that they wish to foster, so naturally they want the regulations to fit with their product offering. Given the price of gasoline and diesel at the pump, they also want to produce more economical engines. In Europe, this is reflected in the new Formula One regulations for 2014 being for small turbocharged V6 hybrid powertrains. In the US, IndyCar will run a turbocharged V6 from 2012; for IndyCar the new engine rules coincide with a return to competitive racing between engine suppliers. So, we have smaller blocks and heads as the major structural components of powertrains that will produce the equivalent power of existing engines, but which will use less fuel in the process. There will be a dramatic change in combustion pressures and temperatures that tomorrow’s race engines will be subjected to compared to the relatively benign naturally aspirated gasoline engines that exist now. It is clear that the thermal and mechanical stresses which structural components such as blocks and heads will have to withstand will also increase. The effect of these higher stresses is that, for existing materials, section thicknesses will have to increase to provide Great care must be taken when handling fragile sand cores. This water jacket from a linerless sufficient strength and stiffness in critical areas. This mass increase block has less than 2mm of sand thickness between bores (Courtesy of Grainger and Worrall) will only be mitigated through the development of new materials and manufacturing processes, allied to a better understanding of service cylinder head has found common use in production engines, as well as stresses through the use of analysis and simulation. limited application in race engines. However, in the very limited number Even where there is not a step-change in performance per unit of racing applications of this technology that I am aware of, it has been displacement, as will be the case with boosted engines, normal the sole preserve of engine suppliers with huge budgets. development will see more performance wrought from naturally There are several advantages though with the approach of thermally aspirated engines of fixed capacity. For example, NASCAR will start sprayed seats. The highly stressed ‘bridge’ of material between to use fuel injection from the start of the 2012 season, and with it adjacent seats can be significantly increased in proportion without comes a throttle body with a smaller flow area than the carburettor it having to increase the distance between valve centres or decrease the replaces, the deliberate aim being to reduce car speeds. One leading size of the valves. The stresses arising from the interference-fitting of engine supplier expects to see performance back to 2011 levels within the seats is no longer present. Perhaps the greatest advantage is that one or two years through normal development, and thereafter we can the proximity of the coolant to the valve seat interface is reduced, expect to see performance increase slowly. thus improving heat transfer. While direct water-cooling of valve In these cases of incremental development, there will be a seats has been commonly used in piston aero engines for decades, concerted effort not to increase engine mass, and indeed to reduce it its application to race engine cylinder heads is likely to be very rare, in many instances. New materials and manufacturing techniques will

especially in the case of four-valve-per-cylinder designs, where the make this possible without having to sacrifice reliability. t space can be very limited.

Effect of higher power and lower mass NASCAR mandates a cast-iron block for Sprint Cup engines. This example is from the current Ford FR9 engine The philosophy that unites designers and developers of race engines and production engines is that of efficiency. We both want our fuel to go that bit further, and we want to carry less mass around with us while we drive. These requirements are behind the moves in the race and production engine worlds toward boosted engines, especially turbocharged engines. The regulations governing the type of engines admissible for the major championships are heavily influenced by the car manufacturers, who are bound by yet another set of regulations set by governments. While governments neither proscribe nor enforce the use of certain kinds of engines, the regulations they produce force car manufacturers to produce engines and vehicles that are fuel efficient. In turn, the

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RET_ADTEMP.indd 1 04/02/2012 16:42 FOCUS : HEADS AND BLOCKS

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38 Sonny’s designed a solid billet aluminium Hemispherical Cylinder head for GM application with 5.000 bore spacing. Designed for forced induction, Drag race, truck and tractor pull.

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03/11/2011 10:49 RACE ENGINE race engine

TECHNOLOGY F1 race TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT EvERY SPECIAL REPORT 24 HOUR race EvERY F1 race A SPECIAL REPORT A special report 24 HOUR RACE TECHNOLOGY 2011 TECHNOLOGY RACE 24 HOUR F1 RACE TECHNOLOGY 2011/2012 TECHNOLOGY F1 RACE

RED BULL: APRIL BATTLE OF THE COUPES JULY THE ENGINEERING THAT WINS Audi beats Peugeot at its own game

This report puts the powertrain into the whole car This technical report looks in depth at the cars

ADVANCED THE PROTOTYPE CHASSIS MANUFACTURING context. Featuring input from many top Formula One Under the skin of today’s Le Mans cars that compete in the 24 Hour race at Le Mans. F1 AERO SECRETS POWER AROUND THE CLOCK Endurance race engine design secrets PLUS The comeback of KERS technical directors and written by Ian Bamsey, each Published every July by High Power Media under F1 Wind Tunnel technology The Grand Prix paddock

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report is a unique review of the engineering and 01_24HRT11.indd 1 11/07/2011 12:47 official licence with the ACO, this report shows 01_F1RTv5.indd 1 12/04/2011 11:17 v5 mechanics of contemporary Grand Prix racing cars, v5 you the amazing engineering and technology 2011 2011 including a preview of future trends. required to race non-stop twice around the clock. race engine race engine TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT REPORT SPECIAL SPECIAL REPORT NOW EvERY NOW EvERY

A special report A special report DRAG RACE TECHNOLOGY 2011 TECHNOLOGY RACE DRAG CUP RACE TECHNOLOGY 2010/2011 TECHNOLOGY RACE CUP FEBRUARY FASTEST OF THE FAST SEPTEMBER NASCAR TECH EXCLUSIVE Inside America’s quickest Funny Car Under the skin of the MWR Toyota

They still use Truck arm suspension, rev counter Engineering a Top Fuel car that exploits 8000 bhp

CUP RACE ENGINEERING THE CONTINENTAL WAY The secrets of the pros dials and carburettors but some of the best engineers A European approach to Pro Mod for just a few vital seconds is one of the toughest RACING THE CAR OF TOMORROW TECHNICAL FOCUS Driver and crew chief insights in all of racing are employed by today’s teams Chassis and transmission technology uncovered challenges in racing. This report explores in depth

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01 CRTv2.indd 1 23/11/2010 21:19 and for them the archaic elements of the car are 01_DRT2011.indd 1 10/11/2011 14:59 the engineering of all forms of professional drag v2 a great challenge. Blending today and yesterday’s v2 racing, providing a fascinating insight into a 2010 2011 technology provides a fascinating engineering puzzle. surprisingly complex technological endeavour. race engine race engine TECHNOLOGY MOTORCYCLE race TECHNOLOGY WORLD RALLY race SPECIAL REPORT BUY SPECIAL REPORT PRE-ORdER

A special report A special report MOTORCYCLE RACE TECHNOLOGY 2009 TECHNOLOGY RACE MOTORCYCLE WORLD RALLY RACE TECHNOLOGY 2012 RALLY TECHNOLOGY RACE WORLD TOdAY TOdAY SIDEWAYS TO VICTORY Rallying’s extreme engineering

DUCATI – WHAT IS DIFFERENT This report explains all aspects of the performance Rally cars compete on everyday road tarmac, gravel, ABOUT THE DESMOSEDICI? BMW AND APRILIA NEW RALLY GENERATION The Superbike new boys of top motorcycle machines. We look in depth at Inside the latest World Rally Cars dirt, even ice and snow so the World Rally Car has HYDREX HONDA WINNING MONTE CARLO Top privateer team in BSB the MotoGP machines as well as the Superbike Rally Car development to be very versatile. It’s a 300 bhp missile that

USA $50, UK £20, EUROPE e35 USA $50, UK £20, EUROPE e35 racers used in the World Superbike and AMA accelerates from 0-100 kph in under 3 seconds. 01_WRRTV1_cover.indd 1 28/9/10 13:26:48 00_MRT09_Cover2.indd 1 19/11/09 11:27:54 v1 Championships. We identify as never before the v1 The design and development of these cars has 2009 2012 keys to success in these exciting forms of racing. never been more deeply analysed.

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