MotoGP Technology by Neil Spalding (2nd Edition) |
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 If the title sounds familiar that because it is. This is the second edition of this authorative work from GP technical expert Neil Spalding who writes on the subject for a multitude of magazines across the world. It is also officially sanctioned by the MotoGP organisation. As a result Neil has unlimited access to most race garages and knows most of the MotGP engineers personally so is able to provide real insider knowledge of the bikes on the grid. As he pointed out the first time, a pure factory bike is nothing more than an engineering prototype and therefore four years is lifetime of development, hence this second edition. Of course since the first edition we have moved to the 800cc machines and more and more technology has been added with electronics controlling more and more of the machines functions. Then there has been the rule changes designed to cut costs and so on. As before the book remains split into chapters on the various factories, chassis, engines, brakes, et al. The quality of paper and presentation is even better than before and the images used to illustrate are pin sharp and come from locations that most of us only dream of getting to at a MotoGP event. You do almost literally go behind the scenes. Like before it is not a light read, you need time to sit and digest the contents, but Spalding’s straightforward style helps you grasp the basics of the technology. Thanks to the books layout you can dip in and out of it easily, which helps the little grey cells assimilate the information and this helps you understand what you see happening on the track. There are not many things these days that increase in size and remain at the same price apart from this Haynes published hardback. So, given the extra information at the same £25.00 cover price as the first one, it is a bargain and must have for anybody who wants to keep up with MotoGP technology. I look forward to the next one! ISBN 978 1 84425 834 5 Available form all good bookshops or direct from Haynes direct www.haynes.co.uk Review by Ian Kerr
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