What's With the Cryptic Honda Release? Castrol Honda issued a press release last week at the German WSC round where they stated:

"In response to the statement issued earlier this week by the FIM President Mr. Zerbi, Honda would like to confirm its position with regards to the 'cut-out' procedure on the SP-2, should a rider crash.

Honda fully recognizes the serious safety issue surrounding this rule and can confirm that a cut-out system is in operation on the SP-2 machines of Colin Edwards in the World Superbike championship.

Further confirmation was evident when Edwards crashed in the previous round at Silverstone, two weeks ago, and the machine¹s fuel pump cut out within the permitted one second and consequently the engine did stop running within the required time.

Honda would never, under any circumstances, try to gain any advantage by putting their own or any other riders¹ safety at risk."

The statement by Zerbi is not available on-line (that I have found, anyway) but according to Honda sources, Zerbi wrote a letter to all of the Superbike teams which referenced the fuel cut-off rule in the FIM rulebook. He said he wanted to make them all aware of the rule, and for them to insure they abide by it.

These two pieces of information bring to light the serious behind the scenes quarrelling between Honda and the FIM over the results of the World Superbike races at Silverstone, or to put a finer point on it-Troy Bayliss' finish at Silverstone in the first race.

As has been reported around the world, Bayliss crashed twice in the first race at Silverstone, a race run in the wet, but he still managed to finish in fifth place. Bayliss finished because the Ducati's engine never stopped running, it continued to run even though the bike was on its side, once for a fairly long period of time (more than 20 seconds according to FIM sources).

By FIM rules, every motorcycle raced in World Superbike must be fitted with a safety fuel stop switch. This is so that if the bike goes on its side, fuel will stop flowing. This is to prevent a fire when the motorcycle is crashed and the fuel tank is split open. With modern electric fuel pumps, if the engine continues to run or the fuel pump is still running, while the bike is on its side and the fuel can come in contact with the hot engine or exhaust the crashed machine can burst into flames.

Bayliss crashed twice in race one yet his machine never stopped running. Once he crashed and the clutch lever and clip-on augured into the grass, keeping the engine running; and in the next crash he was able to slide next to the machine with his hand on the clip-on, pulling in the clutch, keeping it from dying.

Regardless of his actions, Bayliss' Ducati should have stopped running in each crash because of the safety cut off switch. Any time the motorcycle is on its side the fuel should shut off and then engine should quickly die from fuel starve. The FIM defines the time in which the bike should stop running when prone as "within one second".

After the race, both Honda-in the form of team manager Neil Tuxworth-and Aprilia trotted up to race control and filed official protests of Bayliss' finish. The protests were accepted by the FIM, initially, then returned to the filers because the FIM had decided to launch their own investigation when they saw the bike laying on its side, continuing to run.

After the cool-off lap, FIM technical inspector Steve Whitlock motioned Bayliss to ride his motorcycle from the racetrack to the inspection garage. Once there, he asked Bayliss to step off, and he did not allow any Ducati technicians to touch the machine other than sliding a rear wheel stand into the rear wheel. The machine was turned off by Bayliss.

Whitlock then tested the fuel cut-off switch on Bayliss' bike twelve times, six different ways and in less than a second it stopped the fuel from flowing every time. Any time the switch was placed horizontally, the engine stopped running.

Honda and the other teams are angry at the FIM for Bayliss being included in the results, because it is well-known that any time a Ducati Superbike engine stops running, one had better have a rear-wheel starter handy to re-start it. That is the only way a Ducati Superbike will start. Unlike the RC51, which has a streetbike-style electric starter for situations just like this, Ducati Superbikes do not, and moreover do not bump-start well, even on dry, downhill pavement, which was in short supply at Silverstone that day. If the Ducati had stopped running as it was supposed to, it is very doubtful that Bayliss would have finished the race.

Honda and the rest expected a full investigation by the FIM and for Bayliss to be excluded from the results. All they received was a letter from Zerbi informing them of the rule and condescendingly telling them all to obey it. Hence, the 'Yeah, we know the rules, old man' memo released to the press via Honda.

Rule 2.4.9 of the FIM code:

Electric fuel pumps must be wired through a circuit cut out which will operate automatically in the event of an accident. This circuit cut out must deactivate the fuel pump within one second. A test procedure for the circuit cut out must be incorporated in the design of electrically operated fuel pumps for use on inspection. The test must prove that the power to the pump is cut out within one second.