After a thrilling opening round to the 2001 MotoGP World Championship (Suzuka), which saw four Yamaha YZR500s finish in the top five, the international motorcycle circus now moves to Welkom, South Africa (April 20-22). A relatively recent addition to the championship calendar, Welkom is situated 250km northwest of the city of Johannesburg. Due to its remote location, crowd numbers tend to be the lowest of any MotoGP event, yet that’s not to say the racing hasn’t been entertaining in the past - far from it.

It’s here on the flat layout that the 2000 season began in earnest, and Garry McCoy (Red Bull Yamaha) took his first 500 Grand Prix win. His tail sliding antics cemented his reputation as a man who likes to ride on the edge of out of control. The secret to his success was the rarely-used 16.5 inch rear slick, and the wheel-spinning, rear wheel steer technique from his flat-tracking past.

What the 16.5 inch rear tyre offers – over what was the more popular 17.0 inch rears at the time – was an increase in side grip, better predictability, and improved endurance. Combined with the low grip levels offered by the Welkom surface, even in ideal temperatures, the 16.5 inch tyre will prove to be a key player in 2001.

Contributing to the low grip levels is the barren Welkom surrounds, which often result in a dirty track surface after high winds have lashed the area. It makes finding the perfect race day setup difficult for competitors, with the track conditions constantly changing. As the weekend progresses, the circuit tends to offer more grip, the lap times fall, resulting in an endless cycle of chasing chassis settings to suit.

With drive such a key issue softer suspension settings are the most likely scenario. A lower rate rear spring will be used to improve rear wheel traction and predictability, while the front will be set to balance out the package. Since most Welkom corners are medium to high speed, with very little in the way of seriously hard breaking areas, this chassis setting becomes a compromise between chasing drive and handling.

Unfortunately the side effect can be a certain amount of under-steer while under power. With the weight transferring to the rear of the motorcycle it can cause the rear to squat, unload the front, and in turn affect the bike’s geometry. It’s for this very reason rear wheel steering can produce such strong results at this circuit.

Due to Welkom’s high elevation, power loss is a major issue for all concerned. The less dense air will see the YZR500 down on power by nearly 15 percent. In an attempt to reduce the effects Yamaha technicians will sacrifice low rpm drive to chase a stronger top end and midrange power delivery. There are a number of steps that can be taken to achieve this on the V-four two-stroke, including increasing the secondary compression ratio.

Power is so greatly affected that riders will only manage a top speed of around 255 kmh – the fastest set by McCoy last season – even with the throttle fully open 25-percent per lap.

As circuits go, Welkom tends to suit the YZR500s neutral steering geometry and high speed, reducing the effort required by the rider to hold a line on a track where how you get out of a corner is much more important than how you get in.

When it comes to passing points most riders will talk about two or maybe three possibilities, watch McCoy and you’ll see gaps exist everywhere on the 4.2 km circuit.

Last year at Welkom

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