WSBK: Yamaha team to run active Ohlins electronic suspension at Donington

This weekend, Yamaha’s World Superbike team will take to the track at Donington equipped with some very tasty and high-tech new bouncy bits from Swedish suspension gurus Ohlins. After being satisfied with the results of early testing, the team asked Ohlins to supply them with a couple of sets of electronically controlled active suspension for the last few races of the 2008 season.

The forks and shock feature electronically controlled damping that is able to continually adjust itself throughout a race - and while further details are scant, it’s obvious where the potential lies. With traditional suspension setup being such an art of compromise, active damping control can allow the forks and shock to move more freely over bumpy surfaces, but stiffen up to control weight shift under hard acceleration or braking.

Depending on the level of electrickery involved, there’s then the potential to tune the suspension for perfect response at each individual corner, much like the MotoGP boys do with their engine mapping.

It’ll be interesting to see whether Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga (currently sitting 3rd and 5th in championship standings) get much of an advantage from the system - and if so, will it filter through to GP or road bikes in the near future?