Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2018 i Racecar Engineering

Post truth society, which is the current paradigm, both in the United States and the UK, and is rapidly gaining ground around the world, is actually nothing new in motor racing, where both the racing teams and the drivers not so much indulge in it as wallow in it. Teams do it when they sell a seat to the driver or the livery to a sponsor. Promises of hitherto unheard of performance from the racecar and team is the stock in trade of these dream sellers. For, let’s face it, it is not easy to prise multiples of million dollars, euros or pounds from anybody by just giving them the facts. Drawing offices also extrapolate the simulations and wind tunnel analysis to Himalayan levels. All this is well understood in…

The new chassis is, says Aston Martin, twice as stiff as the old car, which helps in all areas It’s enjoyed seven successful years with the V12-powered Vantage GT3, but now Aston Martin Racing (AMR) has introduced a new version of the Vantage model, and it is a significant step for the British manufacturer. It’s also significant for GT3, as along with new cars from both Porsche and McLaren, this is the third new GT3 model introduced this year, highlighting the strength of the category. The rise of GT3 racing since the Vantage V12 first raced in 2012, when the Blancpain Series was in its infancy and there was no global GT3 racing platform, has indeed been extraordinary. There are now more than 1500 current spec GT3 cars racing around…

Q Are you aware of Bob Bolles’ article in the February 2018 issue of Circle Track ? He says he came up with an experiment that disproved what you say about roll centres and jacking forces. He also says that you approved the apparatus he used. Yet I do not see any indication in your writings that you have changed your views? THE CONSULTANT A The article referred to is called The Truth Comes Out. Here I will summarise the article’s assertions, and comment on them. I do know Bob Bolles. I could have taken this matter up with him more privately. However, he did not extend to me the courtesy of letting me know in advance about what he published; he did not allow me to…

Chassis McLaren carbon fibre MonoCage II, FIA approved roll cage Engine Motorsport-prepared M840T, 4-litre twin-turbo V8, 3994cc Transmission 6-speed sequential motorsport gearbox Suspension Adjustable dampers with coilover springs, front and rear Drivetrain layout Longitudinal mid-engined; rear-wheel drive Bodywork Bespoke lightweight carbon fibre/composite body panels Aerodynamics Bespoke front splitter and floor assembly, dive planes, GT3-specification rear wing Driver seat and harness Winged head-rest seat (FIA approved); 6-point race harness Dimensions Length: 4664mm. Width: 2040mm. Wheelbase: 2696mm. Overhang, front/rear: 1155mm/813mm. Axle body width, front/rear:2040mm/2040mm. Track, front/rear: 1745mm/1716mm…

Brain drugs: Modafinil, Ritalin, Adderall, Tacrine. Some of these can enhance cognitive function, memory and attention span. Blood doping: Erythropoietin (EPO). The US Air Force has experimented with blood doping to improve the performance of fighter pilots, while Australian special forces have admitted using blood doping to improve alertness and endurance. Steroids: To increase muscle mass. Stimulants: Amphetamines, ephedrine, methylhexaneamine. All have been found to have been in use in motorsport at some point.…

Former F2 and F3000 team boss Bob Salisbury has died at the age of 74. Salisbury started his career in motorsport as a mechanic and went on to become an accomplished race driver before setting up Bob Salisbury Racing, which competed in Formula 2 and other series, in the ’70s. His Formula 3000 team, Bob Salisbury Engineering, was born after a stint working as chief engineer at Paul Stewart Racing in the same category. The company still exists, now specialising in show cars and simulators. Former F1 team manager and well-known motorsport tyre engineer Bert Baldwin has died at the age of 88. Baldwin worked with Goodyear in the early ’70s before becoming the team manager at the Shadow F1 operation. He went on to help Yokohama with its racing…

From 1 April next year business will change across the European Union, our most important export market and easily the most influential to our future. I thought I would share some thoughts on what lies ahead. The Vnuk insurance problem remains unresolved and could still close down all European and UK motorsport following a vote in December of the EU Parliament and the Council of EU Member States. Despite over 4000 responses to its last review demanding that it amends the wording so allowing motorsport to continue, the European Commission has ignored this. The new text could still make motorsport illegal. Its Motorsport Insurance Directive (MID) proposes substantial changes to insurance including a compulsory requirement for unlimited liability cover for vehicle-to-vehicle damage and person-to-person injury. It requires this cover for…

There can be very few places as quiet and inactive as a village in central France on an early-autumn Sunday mid-afternoon. Taking my time quaffing a beer, sitting outside the only bar open in Saint-Remy-sur-Durolle, there wasn’t even any interest to be piqued in the occasional vehicle that ran gently through the centre. Not so many years ago, there would have been a distinctly national identity to them – the inevitable Citroen 2CV and elegant DS ‘Dix-Neuf’, rugged Peugeots and the ubiquitous Renault R5. If one was lucky, maybe a farmer had defiantly clung to a Traction-Avant Citroen, or there was the local boy-racer’s raucous old Renault-Gordini. Now, of course, it’s almost all Euro-boxes, barely distinguishable one from another. Had there been anyone around, my 911 ‘Whaletail’ might have created…

Chassis Moulded carbon fibre monocoque Power Unit Renault RS35 turbocharged 90-degree 1.6-litre V6; assisted with kinetic and heat ERS, aluminium cylinder block. Integrated hybrid energy recovery via electrical motor generator units, by Renault Sport. Valves: 24 (4 per cylinder). Bore: 80mm. Stroke: 53mm. Crank height: 90mm. Length: 480mm. Injection: Bosch direct fuel injection, limited to 500bar. Total horsepower: approximately 600hp (ICE) + 160hp (ERS) Suspension: Front: double wishbone, pushrod actuated torsion bars with Penske dampers. Rear: double wishbone, pullrod actuated torsion bars with Penske dampers Steering Power assisted rack and pinion Transmission Gearbox: Red Bull Technology with Xtrac internals; Clutch: AP Racing; Driveshafts: Pankl Brakes Carbon/carbon, Brembo calipers. Cooling system PWR Exhaust Inconel by SS Tube Technology Telemetry McLaren Electronics Seat belts Schroth Racing Steering wheel Caterham Driver’s seat: Caterham;…

Many electronic systems are working together in modern motor racing. From GT to formula cars, these controllers have many ways of communicating including CAN, LIN and Ethernet. Each of these network types have different benefits and limitations, so choosing the correct one for each application is very important. Ethernet Motorsport Ethernet communication is most commonly used for transmitting information to and from the racecar, sending configurations to ECUs or receiving telemetry data from an onboard data logger. Most modern installations use one Ethernet connection for the engine controller connection and another for connecting to the car’s chassis system. Using a Cosworth system, we can also add an RLU (Removable Logger Unit) to these networks, which will gather channel data over Ethernet and log it to a removable USB drive. Ethernet…

The test procedure typically applied by the FIA can be summarised in the following steps. The FIA selects the driver to be tested (in most cases prior to the event) who are then notified by the chaperone that they are required to report to the Doping Control Station for testing. The chaperone then stays with the driver until he or she can report to the Doping Control Station. When the driver does this they then provides two urine samples in the presence of the Doping Control Officer, and the specific gravity of the samples are measured. The driver then seals the samples in the presence of the Doping Control Officer and the Doping Control Form is completed by the Doping Control Officer and the driver. The Doping Control Officer then…

Marketing expert Steve Phelps is NASCAR’s new president, having taken over from Brent Dewar, who has stepped down from the position to take on a senior consultant and advisory role within the organisation. Phelps was previously NASCAR’s chief global sales and marketing officer and is said to have been a driving force behind the Cup’s Monster Energy title sponsorship deal. Before joining NASCAR he worked at the National Football League (NFL). He will report to current NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France. ‘We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Steve Phelps as our leader,’ France said. ‘His passion for NASCAR and proven ability to work with our partners has been unparalleled over the years. We thank Brent for his service and leadership to our sport. His energy and vision have…

GTE is the highest form of GT racing, with Corvette, Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Ford all fighting for victory. The balance of performance formula works well, with the cars built to tight regulations, and the standards are high. There were more than 50 professional drivers at Le Mans in that category alone, and few could find a weak link anywhere. Ultimately the Le Mans race was nullified by the regulations, but there are other issues with the category that will come to a head soon. The warning signs are there; Lamborghini and McLaren have both stopped their GTE development at a late stage, claiming that they want to see where the regulations are going. There are no new regulations on the horizon as far as I could see, but…

The controversies surrounding F1’s Halo have simmered down since the safety device protected Charles Leclerc when Fernando Alonso’s car was launched over the top of his cockpit at this year’s Belgium GP, and it’s easy to see why. ‘When you watch the video frame by frame you can see the McLaren’s suspension was broken by the contact with the Halo, so with our data and that knowledge we have estimated it took a 56kN load, about half of what the test load is,’ FIA race director Charlie Whiting has said of the incident. ‘It stood up really well and there was no distortion of the Halo. Sauber took it off the car after the crash and thoroughly checked it but there were no cracks and no buckling.’ So now that…

Driver: 75kg-80kg Nose: 7.37kg Monocoque: 99.912kg Front wing: 14.45kg Rear wing: 6.1kg ERS header tank and fluid: 1.1kg Removable bodywork: 5.78kg Floor: 26.802kg Front wheels and tyres: 16.9kg Front brake calliper: 1.578kg (each) Front brake pads: 0.8kg (front and rear) Front brake ducts: 5kg Inboard front suspension components: 3.158kg Outboard front suspension (including upright): 13.580kg (each side) Inboard rear suspension components: 10.93kg Outboard rear suspension (including upright): 15.254kg Rear wheel and tyre: 20kg Coolers: 32.09kg Gearbox: 52.2kg Driveshafts: 2.047kg (each) Clutch: 1.1kg Brake system (less callipers and friction material): 1.394kg Pedals and cylinders: 3.92kg Steering rack: 1.57kg Steering column: 0.7kg Steering wheel: 1.573kg Fuel system: 12.5kg Driver seat: 2.47kg Cockpit padding: 1.19kg Seat belts: 0.815kg Fire extinguisher: 2kg Power unit: (total 135.62kg) Selected PU component weights: ICE: 85.5kg Turbo: 9.52kg…

Flat bottoms became mandatory in Formula 1 back in 1983, when the FIA’s ban on ground effect sidepods featuring profiled undersides came into force. Some of the designs for the new era, such as the Tyrrell 012 we are examining here, the Brabham BT52 and others, virtually abandoned sidepods altogether. Meanwhile, the Ferrari and the Renault, which took first and second in that year’s constructors’ championship, retained long sidepods. Clearly, and to be fair this is looking back with what we know now, at this early stage there was little understanding of the potential of a flat floor. So would altering the ride heights of our Tyrrell test car make any difference to the aerodynamic numbers? We decided to find out. Balance matters First, let’s backtrack slightly to get up…

‘A beautiful thing for the Cup Series would be to have a racer from Europe, from China, from South America’ For better or for worse, some things have been very successful in crossing the Atlantic – Coca Cola, Hollywood movies and McDonald’s – while some others never seem to quite make it. American football is a very good example of the latter, for while it’s often secured a foothold in Europe, it’s never really taken off. The same could be said of NASCAR. There have been many attempts to bring NASCAR style racing to Europe and the UK – Eurocar of the 1990s and ASCAR of the 2000s to name two – but while they did okay at a certain level they never really became truly established. The NASCAR Whelen…

Dieter Zetsche, the chairman of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz, the parent company of the multiple-championship winning Mercedes F1 squad, is to step down from the post in May of next year. Zetsche, who often attends grands prix, will be replaced by Ola Kallenius, who as a Swede is the first non-German to be appointed to head the German car giant. After taking some time off Zetsche is set to return to the marque in 2021, when he will become the chairman of the supervisory board of Daimler. Daimler has said that the change is because of ‘challenges presented by the transformation of the automotive industry’. Kallenius is well known in the Formula 1 paddock, and in the past he has headed up the High Performance Powertrains engine division in Brixworth.…