BMW may debut their engine at Indy...
From the
www.f1factor.co.uk web site:
BMW Ready New Engine For Indianapolis Tuesday, September 17, 2002 reported by IB
Dr Mario Theissen has hinted that Williams could feature their latest milestone-breaking BMW engine at the final Indy and Suzuka races.
At the high-speed Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, the Munich-based engine concern boasted that the newest specification P82 featured 19,000rpm; a high-revving achievement never before witnessed on the Grand Prix tracks.
'With this record figure we have once again raised the threshold in terms of our engine performance,' said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, adding that, in 2000, the BMW units tipped the scales at a mere 17,000rpm.
'For an engineer it is thrilling to see figures which not so long ago were considered unattainable, suddenly becoming reality.'
And, while Juan Pablo Montoya took the newest P82 to pole position, a lack of reliability testing relocated the unit to the BMW trucks while the tried-and-tested V10 took its place in the FW24 rear.
As the BMW Motorsport Director now reveals, however, the 19,000rpm-wonder could make its Grand Prix debut at the fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend.
'After a superb qualifying, this is of course a rather disappointing race result,' said Theissen.
Montoya's Monza pole-lap surpassed the 17-year-old milestone of 259km/h average speed over one lap of a circuit.
In the race, though, Ralf Schumacher pulled to the grass as his BMW failed while Montoya struggled for pace until retiring with chassis damage. For Indy and Suzuka, though, the Grove team's form could be buoyed with a few extra horses.
'If everything goes well for the tests in the coming week, then we might put it into use at Indy,' he said. 'If this is not so, then we'll apply the new package in Japan.'
'We haven't made use of the new engine specification during the race,' Theissen continued. 'In Indianapolis, however, it could well be the case. And the engine for 2003, the P83, is practically finished.'
The P83, which first hit the dyno in late July, will make its track debut before the end of the present Formula One season: 'This is also a new record,' Theissen adds.
'During the last tests of the running season, the P83 will be incorporated into the race car for the rollout. Hereby we would like to establish a basis, in order to become a serious challenger in the fight for the title in the next season.
'Even if this might be presumptuous considering Ferrari's superiority at present.'
Similarly, Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head have promised to unveil a, respectively, 'revolutionary' and 'less cautious' approach to the FW25.
'We will not be making the same mistake of being overly-conservative,' said Williams, team principal.