Monster Energy CLS Kawasaki to focus on engine performance for '15
By TMX Archives on 26th Nov 14
CLS closed their 2014 racing season at the Supercross Paris-Lille with Jordi Tixier and Dylan Ferrandis representing the French team at Europes biggest indoor winter event. The focus now is to complete 2015 tests before the crew break for winter.
According to Team Manager Harrie van Hout one of the main areas of development on the 2015 race spec KX250F will be to squeeze more power out of the quarter-litre engine. According to the CLS boss Kawasaki already boasts handling performance that assisted Ferrandis to GP podiums and MX of Nations success and helped Arnaud Tonus win a Grand Prix and lead the world in the opening phase of the MX2 championship.
"One of the strongest parts of the bike is the handling. The KTM is the benchmark because they have been champions for many years already. I think the biggest step for us is the chassis and I think we have something that is better than the KTM,” he says. "We are close with the engine. At some tracks I think we are on top and on others it is the KTM. We need to get the engine a bit better to be up front right from the start, which is 90% of the race at the moment.”
Overall the machine that took Ferrandis to fourth in the '14 standings and Tonus to sixth will not undergo a radical change – a contrast to the reigning champions who are currently testing with 2016 pre-production material for their MX2 and MXGP seasons ahead. "It is pretty much going to be the same,” Van Hout comments. "As mentioned we have developed some new engine parts that we are going to use next year but overall it is quite similar. WP also have a new shock and new fork for us that we have tested already and the riders liked it.”
Van Hout and CLS have been able to benefit from the presence and feedback of world champion Jordi Tixier, who had been on KTM technology for half a decade. They will also be able to focus solely on the MX2 division after the departure of Tommy Searle who had ridden a KX450F for CLS in MXGP for the past two seasons. "For sure it is easier to focus on one class instead of two,” the Dutchman says.” It means less testing, less development. Now we just have to concentrate on the 250.”
"It is a special thing to have a guy in the team who is world champion but he is easy to work with,” he adds. "It is not so complicated for us because Jordi knows what he wants. He is pretty smooth. All three riders are different in terms of their style but he is not super-special with his requests. We found a base setting that he likes and wants to work from and it does not vary much from the other two.”
