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Injecting Technology at Rockingham…
The 2009 Thundersport GB series reached its finale on the 17th and 18th October. Team Cougar “Racing Spirit” were back on track and making technical history again as they unveiled the first ever Bioethanol fuel injected two-stroke.The system is the second phase evolution of the Cougar two-stroke carburettor engine, which proved highly successful at Donington earlier in the season taking rider Adam Blacklock to victory in GP3.
The Cougar Bioethanol injection system incorporates smart electronics by Race Tech Developments, a company that has been instrumental in turning the concept of Bioethanol Injection into reality. The electronics enable precise injector pulsation for optimum performance of the Cougar engine.
Saturday 17th was the systems first competitive outing. At 10.40am the 20-minute qualifying session commenced. Adam used the early laps to familiarise himself with the bikes characteristics, and be fully confident in the Bioethanol injected bike. Adam eventually sealed 12th place on the grid, an encouraging result for the team and unique technology, which is still in the early stages of refinement.
Starting from 12th on the grid for the Superpole race, Adam got off to a poor start, and found himself at the back of the field. It was as a result of too much fuel entering the engine at low rpm, however as the engine increased speed the power of the injection system became apparent. As each subsequent lap passed Adam moved up the field, the Cougar injection engine proving too strong for many competitors. Continuing to battle hard, Adam rode the bike to 11th place, shortly after he retired with a technical problem.
Sunday 18th
After a team debrief on Saturday evening the decision was taken to revert back to the carburettor fed engine for Sunday’s races. Although it was a successful maiden outing for the injection system on Saturday, it was clear further development was required to optimise the engines performance at low rpm. The team worked hard to convert the engine late Saturday evening and get the bike race prepared ready for Sunday.
At 10.36am Adam fed out onto the circuit to begin the 10-minute warm up session. Initially for the first few laps the bike seemed to be performing very strong and hopes were growing of a competitive outing, but 5 minutes into the session Adam took a nasty fall, which sealed the fate of the team for the weekend as Adam sustained a suspected broken right hand during the off. After technical assessment of the bike it became apparent that the engine had seized as a result of inadequate jetting leading to the engine running too lean. Weather conditions in the morning were the coldest that the bike had been run in, the Team were caught out by a lack of data for running the fuel at low temperatures. Joint team owner Mark Taylor said” It was an unfortunate end to the weekend, but we did collect valuable data which will help refine the injection system. For a first time on track we are exceptionally pleased with how the system performed. We are still on a learning curve with using this fuel, but I think we have been able to prove this year that it is a viable alternative.
It was a weekend of mixed fortunes where the Team Cougar showed the first ever two-stroke fuel injected British Bioethanol engine, but also where the inherent risks of racing became apparent with Adam sustaining an injury which put a hold to his weekend racing. All the team wishes him a speedy recovery.”
Reflecting on the 2009 Thundersport season Mark commented,”it has been a great story of success and technological development, with the British Cougar Engine being the only bike in the field to run on a sustainable alternative eco friendly fuel, we exceeded many people’s expectations. The whole team is already looking forward to the 2010 season with early plans underway to challenge several series and widen the use of Bio fuels in the sport. I would like to thank all our sponsors and product support partners for their generosity and assistance throughout the season. We hope to continue to grow existing and new relationships during 2010 by offering a unique and different approach to the sport”.
Above Left - Adam riding at Rockingham
Above Right - Paul downloading datalogging at Rockingham
NGK sparks life into Cougar RED Bioethanol engines
Team Cougar “Racing Spirit” are proud to announce that NGK the world leading sparkplug manufacturer has agreed to support the team next season.“This is great news for the team, having support from a well know and respected company such as NGK is a real boost to us. We are enthusiastic about NGK’s support for the 2010 season; their plugs have performed very well with our Bioethanol engines. We stuck with NGK plugs throughout the development of the Cougar Bioethanol engine because they delivered consistent reliability” said Paul Copperwheat.
NGK become official plug suppliers to Team Cougar “Racing Spirit” in 2010.
NGK spark plugs are the No.1 OE fitment in the world for motorcycle manufacturers
www.ngkntk.co.uk
Thousands witness history being made at the 2009 British MotoGP
A Northamptonshire firm entered history books at the weekend by winning the Thundersport GP3 support race at the British MotoGP, Donington, UK.Kettering based Team Cougar “Racing Spirit” the factory race team of Cougar RED (Race Engineering Developments) Ltd triumphed with a stunning victory for their “Cougar” engine 125GP bike. The British engine designed and manufactured by the company is unique. The engine has been developed specifically to race on Bio-ethanol, a fully sustainable alternative eco-friendly fuel.
Competing under number 52, Adam Blacklock the 15 year old on loan from Replicast (the BSB Relentless 125cc team) raced the bike to spectacular victory on Saturday 25th July, as part of the British MotoGP weekend at the famous Donington circuit.
Starting from third on the grid following a strong qualifying session in difficult conditions, Adam moved up two positions to take the lead on the first corner. For the remaining 14 laps Adam continued to lead throughout, displaying a mature and fluid riding style. Adam increased his lead to over 11 seconds lapping back markers towards the closing stages of the race.
Crossing the line on lap 15 to take the chequered flag, Adam won with a comfortable margin of 11.6 seconds.
Mark Taylor joint team owner said, “We are very proud of Adam’s achievement. We knew our bike was very competitive and we had a great opportunity to challenge for the win starting from third place on the grid, but we were shocked at just how far ahead of the field the bike was, the 11.6 second gap far exceeded the team’s expectations. The win has made history being the first ever, British two-stroke Bio-ethanol fuelled racing bike to take the chequered flag. It was thrilling that thousands of spectators at Donington shared our historic win. We have now proven that Bio-ethanol is a serious contender in the race to save the two-stroke from extinction, it is better for the environment and the sport”.
Adding to the historic win, Adam also recorded the fastest lap time of the race, further underpinning the performance of the “Cougar” Bio-ethanol machine. The win has placed the team and their engine technology firmly in the media spotlight.
Mark confirmed the team is working on further engine innovation, which is expected to be race ready towards the end of the season, he said “We are just finalising our Bio-ethanol fuel injection system for the engine. It is an exciting development that will release more power, far exceeding the carburettor version we raced at Donington at the British MotoGP weekend.
On behalf of the team, I would like to thank our sponsors for making the win possible, special thanks to Replicast, AP Racing, Putoline, Goodridge and Rock Oil. I would also personally like to thank Adam for his winning ride and confidence he displayed in the bike. I would also like to thank the Thundersport GB organisers for an excellent event”.
Above Left - The unique E85 Bio-ethanol powered bike race prepared in the paddock.
Above Right - Paul and Mark (Team Owners) with their bike ahead of the Thundersport GB GP3 race at the British MotoGP 2009.
Above Left - Mark Taylor, Dave Cherry, Paul Copperwheat and Adam Blacklock discuss team tactics in advance of the race.
Above Right - Dave Cherry makes final adjustments prior to race line up.
Above Left - Adam Blacklock happy with the bike and set up with a confident thumbs up.
Above Right - Lap 1, Adam takes the lead.
Above Left - Final Lap 15, Adam with a commanding 11 second lead to take victory.
Above Right - Crowds gather for podium presentation.
Above Left - Adam presented with the winners trophy by Bradley Smith (MotoGP rider).
Above Right - Adam on the podium celebrating a stunning win for Team Cougar "Racing Spirit".
Above Left - Adam with his GP3 winners trophy on the Cougar Bike.
Above Right - The team responsible for the win.
23/07/09 - Team Cougar qualify 3rd on the grid at the MotoGP 2009
Thundersport GP3 class
The bio-fuel bike sets impressive lap time of 2.02.437 just 0.176 seconds off pole position. A stunning ride by Adam in wet and raining conditions.
Picture on right shows Adam setting his fastest lap sealing third place on the grid, ahead of Saturdays race. An excellent qualifying session again showed the competitiveness of the Cougar Bio-ethanol engine. With further developments underway, performance will be even stronger.
Below Right - Mark Taylor, Dave Cherry and Brian King analysing data from Adams qualifying.
Below Left - Paul Copperwheat with the Cougar Bio-ethanol bike ahead of GP3 qualifying at MotoGP Donnington 2009.
10/05/09 - Podium is just the beginning for Northamptonshire team…
Success doesn’t come easy particularly when pioneering new technology, but that’s exactly what Team Cougar “Racing Spirit” has achieved. The Northamptonshire based team that manufactures its own eco-friendly 2-stroke racing engines fuelled by E85 bio-ethanol scored an impressive 3rd place podium finish in the second race of the afternoon at the famous Pembrey circuit in Wales at the weekend.Running in GP3 class of the Thundersport GB series, the bike was ridden by 15 year old Adam Blacklock by arrangement of Replicast – the team for which Adam rides in the Relentless British 125GP.
Starting from 8th on the grid, Adam had a solid ride to take 4th place in the first race, despite a technical problem. Just over a second is all that covered the top four riders. Adam set the fastest lap of the race. The second race saw Adam make a great getaway moving to third place by the end of lap one, then taking the lead on lap four and starting to pull away. A minor technical problem created a small loss of power and the lead was relinquished on lap eleven, Adam eventually settling for third place.
Team owners Mark Taylor and Paul Copperwheat were delighted at the result, which followed many years of design and development to build their own “Cougar” two-stroke and introduce a sustainable fuel, Bio-ethanol. Mark quoted “The team has done us proud, the bike performance exceeded our expectations, we knew it would be fast through testing but under race conditions it hadn’t been fully proven. We did experience minor problems in both races, but it takes competitive conditions to show any weak points. There is more development work to come ahead of the next race and we see no reason why the team shouldn't gain further podium finishes”. He went on to say “This is just the beginning; the fuel is the way forward for two-strokes and has a part to play in cleaning up their image. The two-stroke is admired by many for its simplicity and reliability, and we have given it a new lease of life. We would like to thank Gary Dawson and Dave Cherry of Replicast for their support at the event and of course to Adam for such stunning rides. We would also like to thank Thundersport GB for putting on such a well organised event”.
Making the teams results even more astounding was the fact that it was their first major competitive outing and Adam hadn’t previously ridden the bike or circuit.
The teams’ next challenge is put in another strong result at Oulton Park in four weeks time.