Folks - For those interested, I thought I would update you on the Cylinder Recall which has apparently started here in the States; and also some rules revisions for 2008. I know your importer has publshed something similar for the Asia engines; but I hope the controversial statement of "IF ENGINE IS WARRANTY REGISTERED" has been eliminated and your importer has done the right thing and is replacing all cylinders regardless of warranty card registration, point of purchase etc.



This quoted message is from Scott Evans, our national technical director and is published here:

http://www.rmaxchallenge.com/page.cfm?content=284


Every year since the inception of this program here in the United States, I have published a communication similar to this in the spring, detailing any changes or clarifications that may have been made to the rules package from the previous year. Please find following the 2008 version of that communication.

Please read carefully and feel free to contact me at tech@rmaxchallenge.com should you need any further clarifications.

Scott G Evans
US RMax Challenge
National Technical Director


The ROTAX Max Challenge program is evolving. After ten years of existence across the world and enjoying its seventh year here in the States, the refinement of the program and its competition has brought about some changes, most of them good. The rule set has been continually improved and exists as one of the tightest set of motorsports regulations in the world.

The years of competition and manufacturing bring experience to a high level. So many different eyes looking at things and trying to maintain global consistency becomes an ever-challenging task and the engineers and directors at BRP should be congratulated for a job well done.

Nevertheless, with gain often comes some pain. The challenges of the program thus far have been painful at times. Reliability issues have caused some hard feelings and we have struggled alongside BRP as we searched to find ways to continue the program in a positive way. To date, these challenges have been met and conquered. From all appearances this year, we are again faced with such a challenge. The release of the 2008 ROTAX Max Technical Regulations brings a change to the method of port measurement for the cylinders. Further to point, BRP has acknowledged that the new measurement technique will exclude a minor percentage of engines currently in the field, primarily focused on some earlier junior cylinders without power valve.

This of course puts us in a bind in that some customers with previously acceptable engines are now subject to exclusion. This is a hurdle that must be dealt with straight up and immediately. BRP has stood up to the task and agreed to a comprehensive cylinder exchange program that will sweep the Challenge worldwide of these discrepant components, renewing its stamp of authority and bringing about a new balance in the series.

In addition to this compliance standard, we in the US Challenge have decided to institute a new national control concurrently with the international exchange program. One point of discomfort for the sealing centers has always been the engine that comes in sealed from other centers. While we would like to frame the program in love and brotherhood, the act of placing your seal on an engine makes you responsible for the entire engine and your business could depend on the propriety of previous work. If a guy brings in an engine from another sealing center and wants only a piston and ring, good prudence dictates that a full inspection be conducted to verify compliance to the rules prior to resealing the engine. Otherwise, if your seal is on an engine whose bottom end is later discovered to be non-compliant, problems occur.

To combat this problem and better trace responsibilities, we are instituting a new dual seal process, wherein a second seal is placed on the back of the engine, sealing the crankcase halves together, so that any maintenance to the lower end will be signified by a new bottom end seal. We are printing new passports with room for two seal numbers and all new engines shipped after March 17, 2008 will carry a dual seal and dual seal passport.

So, while you are bringing your engines for cylinder inspection, we will also be asking to affix a secondary, bottom end seal. If you choose to not participate in the cylinder exchange program, it is not required that you report for dual seal at this time. The next time you bring your engine for maintenance, the center will affix the second seal and give you a new dual seal passport. You should then maintain both passports for your engine.

The real challenge to this program is timing. Instituting the proper timing and transition control has been and will be the critical challenge. BRP has placed a deadline of July 31, 2008 on the cylinder exchange program. The requirement for dual seal status will be on any engine sold or sealed on or after April 1, 2008. The details of the program are as follows:

Beginning immediately, we call to all owners of US-passport ROTAX Max engines to visit your authorized service center for cylinder inspection and secondary seal application. You must bring your engine to the center for inspection prior to July 31, 2008 to participate in the cylinder exchange program.

For the cylinder exchange program:

All parts if needed (cylinder, piston, ring, gaskets) will be replaced at no cost IF ENGINE IS WARRANTY REGISTERED. Dealers will need to order replacement parts and submit a warranty claim for which dealer will immediately receive full credit.

For cylinder exchange, one-half hour labor will be paid by customer for inspection if no parts are needed.

For cylinder exchange, one hour labor will be paid by customer if exchange is required.

Owners are apprised that the cylinder exchange program is voluntary BUT any engine sealed after April 1, 2008 is subject to the port measuring rules of the 2008 Technical Regulations. Any engine sealed prior to April 1, 2008 may NOT be held subject to the port measuring requirements of the 2008 Technical Regulations until August 1, 2008.

After July 31, 2008, all engines under US passport are subject to the port measuring requirements of 2008 Technical Regulations at official Challenge events.


For the dual seal program:

Owners are apprised that the timing of the dual seal program is not limited this year. You need only subject to a dual seal with your next engine service. If you take part in the cylinder inspection/exchange program, a dual seal must be affixed. Any engine sealed on or after April 1, 2008 must carry a dual seal and dual seal passport. Any engine sealed prior to April 1, 2008 is NOT held subject to the dual seal requirements.

The USRMC and Bombardier Recreational Products thank you for your patience and contributions to this effort. We feel strongly that this is a positive step toward instilling critical control into the program. It is important to note that we are all making contributions to this effort and feel that it can only strengthen the bonds of those of us that build and race in the program. Again, our sincere thanks.

The rest of the changes this year on the engine package are primarily under seal and of no concern to the end user (trust me), but there are a couple of noteworthy items to report however. Last year, astute observers noted that the ignition ground cable was newly listed as "non-tech" in the BRP rules. Frankly, I missed it or I would have already been advising you to take advantage of this grace and fit your engine with a second ground strap! It is great insurance. The second item is the allowance to paint your cylinder head cover! How about some nice personalization this year?

You will note (as we do, with chagrin) the very late release of these rules this year. There are reasons for that but it actually works well for us in this respect. We will release the 2008 US rules now - basically unchanged from 2007 - and they will be effective until the Grand National is over this year. On the Monday after the 2008 Nationals, the 2009 season begins. For this reason, we will be also releasing the 2009 rules immediately after this announcement, so you can review and prepare for some further program evolution. A discussion of those changes will also come with that release to point out the differences.

Although the 2008 US Primer is basically unchanged, it does have some changes worthy of note. First is the switch across the program to the new MOJO D2 slick. Early reports are very positive and we look forward to the new tire. We have also retained the one-set-plus-spares rule in an effort to save you some money. Also with tires, this is a homologation year for tires in CIK and we have a new rain tire from Bridgestone. As in past transitions, we will accept the previous model as well, up until the Grand National when we make the final switch. So YJP or YKP are good all year, but YKP only at the nationals...

The last tire change I have to talk about regards the Mini and, new for 2008, Micro Max classes. Both of these classes require a specified gear ratio and an increasingly popular method of combating this restriction has been over-inflation of the rear tires. So, we have specified a maximum tire circumference now for these two classes of 32 inches at any temperature, all compounds. Racing dads, be aware of this new rule.

The MicroMax class is being established in the US in 2008. True to the ROTAX formula, this is the very same FR125 engine with junior cylinder that is used in MiniMax and Junior. It has a special restriction package that reduces the power even beyond the Mini package and makes the engine ideal for the youngest competitors. There are no plans to include this class at the Grand Nationals, but the rule structure is there for your use at the clubs that support it.

There is one small change in the DD2 class regarding bodywork. You are now given the freedom to mix homologation sets as long as the side bumpers and sidepods match and the front bumper and nose cone match. You can utilize any combination of homologated elements with this in mind.

As you can see, this is a bit of a transition year. We look forward to this year as an act of providing assurance that the technical integrity of the program remains of the highest priority. We are committed to the effort as we have been with the program from its inception. To get the scrutineers and service centers up to speed this year, we will be conducting scrutineering schools at locations across the country. We will talk about the manner in which to run an official Challenge event from the scrutineering standpoint, all the way from pre-tech to the final inspection, with chassis rules and engine disassembly and measurements demonstrated onsite all along the way. Stay tuned for dates and locations.

Thanks finally to you, the ROTAX racer, who make this a most successful series, here and abroad, with great promise for the future





Richard Gray
Farmington Hills, MI 48334

Thanks Richard for the update.

I can imagine the recall being a large effort in the US - the amount of Rotax engines in countries around here is tiny compared to the total in the US.

Mikko - Yes, there are over 6000 Rotax engines here in the US based on
the published "US Legal Engine" database. And I have no real idea how many in Canada, but I know there are quite a few.

Richard