M1 designers concentrate on traction control.

Masao Furusawa, the man in charge of developing Yamaha's YZR-M1 into a world championship winning machine, has revealed that his main priority for the 2004 spec racer is traction control.

Furusawa named three main areas that his development team have been working on over the winter, but traction control has emerged as the most significant.

"Until recently our main themes in the development of this machine have been brake control, top speed and traction control, but with the 2004 model YZR-M1 we focused primarily on improving traction control," he said.

It is not known whether the traction control work has been limited to electronic systems, which can adjust fuel delivery, ignition timing and/or throttle commands to limit wheelspin, or if the much rumoured change in cylinder firing patterns is included in this.

At recent tests, Yamaha are thought to have been developing a 'big bang' type engine configuration by grouping the M1's four-cylinders into two pairs, working together.

By doing this there is more of a gap between the firing strokes, which in theory allows the tyre to gain better traction before the next 'pulse' of power is transmitted. The downside is that it can limit maximum power and put extra stress on the engine.

"With regard to the machine as a whole, we have improved the engine performance, refined the handling with a focus on stability by optimising the geometry of the chassis, lowered the centre of gravity of the rear arm and optimised the link ratio and also improved the aerodynamics," claimed Furusawa.

"The tests have been going well. There may be some difficult times in the first half of the season, but we will continue to work on the machine's performance and I promise you I will be standing on the centre step of the podium soon," added new rider, and reigning world champion, Valentino Rossi.

Yamaha are currently testing at Australia's Phillip Island circuit.