Cosworth: Making something new out of something old
Cosworth CEO Mark Gallagher on the challenges of adjusting the 2006-spec engine in 2010 and the reasons why he is very confident
(Motorsport Total.com) - From development to production: That's how the current work at Cosworth is progressing. After three years break Cosworth returned as an independent engine supplier in Formula 1. Customers are the new teams Campos, Lotus, Manor, U.S. F1 racing team and the tradition of Williams. Red Bull could also join them as customers, but it is probable that the "Bulls" continue their work together with Renault.
"We are at the end of development, because now we have to go into production, so we get the engines for the five teams finished on time until January," reports Cosworth CEO Mark Gallagher to '422race.com 'on the state of things. "We had an extensive development since June. The past five months have been so very busy but also very successful."
With the achievements we have made we are very pleased at Cosworth, says Gallagher. The development work will continue for at least another month: "At the moment we do not focus on performance, but on fuel consumption. This is because of the new regulations next year for all is an important issue."
The reliability of the unit is not a worry. Cosworth has not developed a completely new engine, but revised the old version. "There were rumors that this can not go well because the engine was designed for a different set of rules and that there will be problems with the reliability and so forth" says Gallagher. "But on the dyno that has not been the case. We have completed over 6000 kilometers endurance tests, without any problems. At the moment we are very confident that our engine is very reliable."
Gallagher, acknowledges that things can change when the engine is installed in a car: "This is due to vibration, the heat and driving a Formula 1 car on the track." Because of the limited testing opportunities for the teams it is important, however, that the reliability of the engine is ensured beforehand.
"We thus have very little time to change anything before the first Grand Prix in Bahrain. So we will build, many engines for the teams prior to February and our aim is to achieve maximum reliability," said the Cosworth CEO. "Because if we have a problem during february testing, then we have only one months time to fix it, and that will be very difficult."
Longer life, lower revolutions
Even if the reliability is so far no problem, it was for Cosworth still a challenge to build a engine for 2010 from the former model. In the past few years things has changed considerably. "We had to double the mileage of the engine," says Gallagher. "In 2006, the engine had a maximum distance of 1,500 kilometers. And that was as long as the engine usually did on the dyno as well."
But the engine now needs to survive 3000 kilometers without damage. "This was obviously something quite different. We had to completely overhaul the engine - and we succeeded," said Gallagher. "There are several new internal components on the engine, especially bearings and new piston designs."
Also, the engine speed had to be adapted to the new regulations: "We have the engine originally designed for 20,000 rpm, now it must make maximum power at 18,000 revolutions. To do this, extensive modifications were also necessary," as Gallagher, who stressed that the venture is successful: "We are very pleased with the engine power. It is around 745 up to 750 HP, as with the other manufacturers. And we are very confident that we can be competitive."
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