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F1: KERS May Not Ready for 2009, Toyota Boss Says
Written by: RACER & autosport.com
RACER Magazine   http://www.racer.com/speedtv
07/23/2008 - 08:11 AM
Cologne, Germany
 
Howett believes KERS won't be raceable in time for next year's season opener. (LAT Photo) ยป More Photos

Toyota team president John Howett believes Formula 1’s new Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems won’t be ready in time for the start of the 2009 season.

Howett’s comments come in the wake of two worrisome incidents: a BMW mechanic who suffered an electric shock during testing at Jerez yesterday, and a fire scare caused by KERS batteries at the Red Bull Racing factory in England last week.

"The challenges are enormous for everybody," Howett told autosport.com. "We're all fighting very hard to have a raceable, safe KERS, but whether it is achievable or not has to be seen. I think if you read between the lines of
a lot of teams I think a lot of people are struggling.

"Everybody knows that the type of batteries that we're using, and the voltages involved, and the training that you have to go through, for instance, releasing a road car so that when the fire brigade arrives at an accident they know what to do, is very hard," he added.

"So I think a lot of these issues can be overcome. Whether they can be overcome to a satisfactory, safe level before the first race, I can't hand-on-heart tell you. We're working flat-out to try and do that, or to find alternatives to batteries, but I doubt whether that will be feasible for next year."

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