Innehållsförteckning för July 2021 från Racecar Engineering

The first short race of the 2021 IMSA season and, like clockwork, a yellow played a hand in the result at Mid-Ohio. Observers have commented about how a race was stolen, but this is what makes racing in the US so much more challenging than in Europe. Since I started racing in America in 2007, the rules around the use of the safety car in Sportscars have changed a bit but, in essence, the leader is not guaranteed to retain the lead and the team running the car has to strategise for a win, just like the rest of the field. This is the opposite of European racing and, for some competitors, may seem unfair. However, it does bring equality to everyone competing, re-setting the race in stages and allowing…

One of the great things about what I do is, from time to time, I get really great suggestions from customers for potential articles. In this particular case, the customer (Supashock dampers based in Adelaide, Australia) suggested I write an article about ChassisSim’s advanced data logging channels, and how this pertains to racecar design and structural analysis. Given that this, and the use of in-depth data analysis, is a great untold story, I thought it only fitting we discuss the subject in depth. One of ChassisSim’s great strengths is its fully transient nature, combined with a plethora of data channels. If you combine this with the software’s full, multi-body vehicle dynamic model you get an excellent snapshot of what the car is doing, which enables you to make some very…

Formula E and the FIA have extended the Girls on Track programme for a further six years, and have been joined in the initiative by ABB. Since its inception, the programme has invited young women aged between 8 and 18 to discover for free different aspects of the motorsport industry through activities and workshops. Following the successful letting of 260,000ft2 of industrial buildings at Silverstone Park, MEPC has started work on a further 265,000ft2 of buildings, the largest of which will offer 90,000ft2 of accommodation. ‘The Phase 3 scheme will provide larger facilities for growing companies, and those attracted to the area because of the skills in advanced engineering,’ said MEPC’s Roz Bird. ‘With this latest scheme we again hope to attract a wide range of tenants involved in advanced engineering, manufacturing and…

The F1 world never fails to confuse me. The achievement of putting on a meaningful and exciting World Championship under Covid restrictions has been immense. So is the introduction of a team budget cap, something which has never been remotely achievable before. The organisation of such complicated events is very slick. Impressive also is the rigorous scrutineering and monitoring of increasingly sophisticated racecars that, unchecked, would be cleverly enabled to skirt around the plethora of technical regulations. The whole result is highly professional, and sets a standard for all sports. But then we have the flip side. Not unreasonably, drivers new to F1, or changing teams, complain of insufficient track time to fully understand their different machines’ characteristics, and to click with their engineers, especially when it comes to wringing…

The FIA has delivered an update to the 8855-1999 seat that is used as standard in closed-cockpit racecars. The update is designed to significantly improve the safety of the device. With support from D2H Advanced Technologies, the new FIA Standard 8855-2021 requires the seat to be much stronger than the original design that is now over 20 years old. The new seat, which brings it closer to that used in Rallying and Formula 1, offers 60 per cent of the strength of the top tier seat, but at just 15 per cent of the cost, making it affordable for competitors worldwide. Under the research and development programme undertaken by D2H, the FIA Safety Department conducted quasi-static tests, where forces are applied to critical areas of the seat shell by controlled…

It’s important that the regulations do stay open in the top levels, because there’s always performance to be found One of the most respected names in brake technology, AP Racing, has cemented its place in motor racing this season by securing some major deals, including component supply in the NASCAR Next Gen (Gen-7) package, the FIA RX2 Championship and extending its support of the British Touring Car Championship. This is alongside its existing commitment to Formula 1, Super GT and top-level GT racing, open competition on which the brand built its name. The company started in 1967 and moved to the Midlands of the UK, Coventry, in the early 1990s. It remains on the same site, although the company has expanded dramatically since then with the addition of more buildings…

A quick guide to the different categories referred to in this article, and how they stack up against one another. Hypercar The overall category designed by the FIA and ACO to replace the old LMP1 class. Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) Cars that can compete in the Hypercar category. Ground-up design, with manufacturer involvement in all aspects of the development. Maximum power output: 520kW (500kW at Le Mans) from combination of ICE and hybrid. Weight: 1040kg (Toyota); 1030kg (Glickenhaus). Tyres from Michelin. LMDh To be introduced in 2023. Can compete in the Hypercar category in WEC, but main focus is IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. Base chassis is LMP2 (as described below), OEMs provide engine and aero kit. Spec, low-power hybrid for the rear axle only (from Bosch, Williams). Weight: 1030kg. Power…

Q I very much enjoyed your latest newsletter on suspension dynamics and it made me think of the BMC Hydrolastic suspension employed on many of their models from the ’60s, such as the Mk II Mini Cooper and Austin / Morris 1100 sedan. These cars had displacer units in place of the Moulton rubber springs (aka donuts) that were plumbed diagonally RF / LR and LF / RR. The ‘Hydro’ units were not considered the best for racing and most race Minis (mine included) were converted to dry suspension. But homologation requirements meant earlier racers had to keep the ‘Hydro’ suspension, so they installed valves inside the car to ‘tune’ the displacement from one corner to the other, or shut it off completely so most of the suspension was in…

During the V8 era of F1, Honda developed a carbon-carbon (CC) exhaust system, which saw extensive dyno testing and some limited track use. With no composite resin systems at the time able to withstand exhaust temperatures, Honda decided to experiment with a carbon-carbon material similar to that used for brake discs and pads. Carbon-carbon describes a composite that uses carbon as a matrix, in essence a synthetic form of charcoal. While by no means weak, CC structures have nowhere near the mechanical properties of regular composites or metallic materials and, with this in mind, Honda’s development started with a target durability for the exhaust of 25 laps, aiming to use the parts for qualifying only. It began by developing the exhaust collector and tailpipes, with the manifold sections still constructed…

The Volkswagen Group has teamed up with Multimatic to develop its LMDh platform, which will be shared between Audi and Porsche, while Lamborghini remains a likely third entry from the VAG Group to compete at Le Mans. Multimatic, which developed the Ford GT and ran the cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and with Riley Motorsports developed the LMP2 chassis now underpinning the Mazda DPi car, is one of four chassis manufacturers selected by the FIA to produce cars for the new class that will service both the LMP2 and LMDh categories. The company, headquartered in Canada but with manufacturing divisions and engineering facilities in North America, Europe and Asia, has been a Porsche Motorsport partner for many years, including providing dampers to the 911 GT3 Cup, while its…

Spa-Francorchamps is a place everyone involved in racing enjoys. It throws up a world of challenges for competitors, either in the cockpit through driving or on the pit wall via strategy. It also features one of the most challenging paddocks for an out-of-shape hack, with a steep climb from the bottom of the endurance paddock to the press room on the second floor of the F1 paddock. Conversation always takes a while to get started as you crowd around the coffee machine trying to get your breath back after the climb. Topics of conversation this year, of course, centred around the balance of performance and performance windows of the Hypercars vs LMP2, but another subject raised its head, and that was what’s happening in Formula E? What is it that…