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PETRONAS opens the doors of SAUBER
PETRONAS ENGINEERING, at Hinwil, Switzerland to see the development
of the GP1 motorcycle engine.
Wednesday, August 22th, 2001
Hinwil, August 22nd, 2001 - At the opening of the 2001 FIM World
Motorcycle Grand Prix season in Suzuka, Japan in April, PETRONAS
unveiled its first high performance motorcycle prototype engine,
for "GP1". At this occasion the prototype was launched
by PETRONAS President and Chief Executive Tan Sri Dato´ Mohd
Hassan Marican.
Today in Hinwil, near Zürich, Switzerland,
Mr. Osamu Goto, Director of the SAUBER PETRONAS ENGINEERING (SPE)
Powertrain Division, introduced the "GP1" engine and outlined
the concept and design of the four-stroke three-cylinder 989 cc
prototype engine. Mr. Luca Guerciotti, Project Manager and Mr. Zaimizi
Hamdani, PETRONAS Automotive Engineer Powertrain Analysis,
also gave additional information about the current status of the
project.
The
"GP1" engine is derived from the latest motorcycle and
Formula one technology. PETRONAS and SPE engineers are carrying
out the design, development and testing of the engine under the
management of Osamu Goto at the project centre in Hinwil. The PETRONAS
engineers are attached to SPE, a Swiss automotive engineering technology
company, being a 60:40 joint venture company as an extension of
the Sauber PETRONAS partnership.
PETRONAS commissioned SPE to design and
develop the GP1. The Phase 1 development of the engine has been
conducted on rigs and the dynamometer at the SPE facility. Overviews
of the test results were discussed to demonstrate the potential
of the "GP1" engine power unit which is currently exceeding
200 HP.
The Phase 2 evolution of the "GP1"
engine is currently being designed and will run on the dynamometer
in September. The "GP1" engine will make its public debut
in a chassis at the official roll out on the track at Sepang, Malaysia
on 21st October, during the Malaysian leg of the motorcycle championship.
The four-stroke three-cylinder 989 cc prototype
marks another milestone in Malaysias national automotive industry.
In November 1998, PETRONAS launched Malaysias first prototype
commercial automotive engine which is currently in the production
intent phase.
Osamu Goto
Director Powertrain Division
SAUBER PETRONAS ENGINEERING AG
(SPE)
Anybody who knows anything about motor-racing
knows that Osamu Goto and high performance engines are synonymous.
Ever since he began his career as an engineer with Honda R&D
Ltd. in 1969 in Japan, Goto has been building a global reputation
as a racing engine expert par excellence.
So, it is not surprising that Goto is the
management and technological talent behind the racing engine for
the new GP1 motorcycle racing series currently being developed by
SPE in Hinwil (ZH), Switzerland. A prototype of this engine was
presented to the public in April 2001, and tests on the race course
are scheduled for the autumn of this year. The new GP1 racing engine
has been developed and manufactured entirely by SPE. "Our goal,"
Osamu Goto says, " is to have a competitive engine on our hands."
The GP1 engine project has been a team effort
and an important one for the Red Bull Sauber Holding joint venture
with PETRONAS that provides services to many clients, including
RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS, the Formula 1 team which currently is
fourth in the 2001 FIA World Championship of Constructors. As Goto
points out: "18 PETRONAS engineers are working with us in Hinwil.
After studying to university level, these people come and work for
SPE for two years. They are totally integrated into one of our various
engineering teams and they work on individual tasks. This is an
important plus for PETRONAS as a joint venture partner with SPE
because it assures sustained technology transfer."
Other SPE projects include the development
of lubricants and fuels, using SPE´s V2 research engine. SPE
also recently concluded a project on engine and exhaust emission
development for a new micro-car generation.
When Goto-san, as he is universally known,
began at Honda, his first job was in exhaust emission development.
Honda re-entered Formula One with Williams in 1984, and Goto-san
became Chief Engineer of F1 engine development. In 1987 Williams-Honda
won the Constructors´ and the Drivers´ F1 Championship
with Nelson Piquet. Honda then became a partner of McLaren. The
result: Four consecutive Constructors´ World Championship
wins. In 1994, Goto-san joined Ferrari Gestione Sportiva S.p.A.
as Manager, R&D. He has been with SPE in his present capacity
since 1997.
Sumber : Sauber
Petronas
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