Quote:
| Originally Posted by skidlids A, was the crank asembley was balanced by matching components
B, Was the crank machined in anyway to acheive balance in which case it will have been modified from how it was supplied from the Ducati Factory
If its answer A then no rules have been broken
If its answer B then under the rules that have been in place for 5 years a rule has been broken, and breaking rules for a race series as far as I know is cheating, even if no advantage is gained.
Some rules are there to reduce costs, some for safety and some to keep things simple.
I don't think you are being dishonest or trying to gain an advantage as you certainly weren't trying to hide the fact that you have had some balancing work done.
But just because you interpret the rule your way doesn't mean others do and could leave you open to protest.
To argue maching is not modifying is a poor defence but if allowed opens the flood gates along the lines I mentioned earlier this evening.
When you sign up to the series you agree to abide by the rules, if your not happy with the rules you can submit a proposal for change to the RC, I have lost count of the amount I have submitted over the years.
If nothing had been mentioned then nobody would be any the wiser and the chance of getting protested on a modified crank very slim, especially as it looks like there may be a few more out there.
As with Senna3 he had his engine rebuilt at Baines Racing last year as it never seemed to go as well after his crash at Mallory in 2007 and dispite having new pistons and rings he did not have the crankshaft balanced as that would have required modifying it to how it left the factory which would have broken the rules. Now if Balancing is going to be allowed then I feel he and others in the same boat as him are going to loose out for their honesty.
A couple of years back Minitwins rules required the running of a standard airbox and even though a DD bike with a open airbox was never going to get near the 72bhp limit, my request to the Minitwin organisers (Tim Jones and Mike Edwards) to be able to run a open airbox was turned down, even though it gave me no advantage over a 72bhp SV650. So I abided by the rules and rode with a standard airbox, at least nobody could protest me for cheating, which is what they told meit would be viewed as.
Not the one word answer you were asking for, maybe an RC member will answer that one for you |
The answer is in one of my previous posts Kev. The crank was NOT pulled apart or machined in any way and the balancing was a matter of selecting the best matched components, nothing more. Balancing by machining is as likely to ADD weight as reduce it and neither have I fitted a lighter flywheel ! As for the regrinding matter, the thickness of the replacement shells is IRRELEVANT if we take your original argument....the crank will have been reground, metal will have been removed and therefore it would be ruled illegal.
16-Jan-2009, 18:52 
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