Innehållsförteckning för October 2024 från Racecar Engineering

Last weekend, I indulged in a multi-faceted motorsport trip to Belgium. It started with a visit to Spa ahead of the fourth round of the European Le Mans Series season. I couldn’t help but admire the sight of LMP2s at full throttle up Eau Rouge: it remains one of the most beautiful things you can see in racing. On the Friday and Saturday, I went to see some friends at Belgium’s other major circuit, Zolder, for the latest edition of a 24-hour race first run in 1977. The GT cars, busy negotiating a grid full of touring car backmarkers, clearly exposed the gulf between the few professionals and the amateurs. However, exactly that mix delivered a very unpredictable race. I then headed for nearby Genk, where the IAME Karting series…

When Alfa Romeo officially reentered the grand prix wars in 1934, it quickly discovered its revised Type B was no match for the new cars Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union tailored to that year’s new formula, which limited car weight to 750kg (1654lb), without tyres and liquids, and required a body width of 85cm (33.5in). ‘This was intolerable to national pride,’ said one observer of Alfa’s eclipse, ‘not only for sporting enthusiasts, but also for the national fascist hierarchy.’ Consequently, that same year Alfa’s management commissioned celebrated Alfa engineer, Vittorio Jano, to commence work on a new grand prix car to uphold Italy’s honour. Jano’s assignment was no sinecure. Since 1933, the boss of Alfa at Milan’s Portello Works was former Fiat executive, Ugo Gobbato. Instead of desperately needed money and…

TECHNOLOGY – SIMULATION Without doubt, one of the most hotly debated topics in motorsport engineering is suspension geometry. In particular, the subjects of anti-dive and anti-squat. And you had better be prepared for the ensuing fight if you dare mention that the conventional definitions of the two terms might actually be wrong! Once you truly understand what drives anti-dive and anti-squat, however, you can use this to your advantage. That is what we’ll be discussing in this article. The first thing to get your head around is the force-based definition of anti-dive and anti-squat. As racecar engineers, we should all have a base level understanding of the lateral incarnation of this with roll centres. The kinematic and force-based version of this is about the same (albeit to quote Malcolm Oastler,…

From the moment the basic concept of how wings on a racing car worked was understood, there started a battle to generate downforce while reducing drag. It wasn’t a complicated thought process. Downforce equalled speed in the corner; drag reduced it on the straight. That was apparent from the moment Chris Amon, driving a Ferrari 312 fitted with a rudimentary strut-mounted rear wing, took pole position for the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix nearly four seconds quicker than the second-placed Matra of Jackie Stewart, and nearly six seconds clear of his wingless Ferrari teammate, Jacky Ickx. Others copied the concept from the next race onwards, and from then on it was a fast, almost brakeless train as aerodynamics became better understood. Wings became more effective, producing more downforce. They started to…

Active, or moveable, aerodynamic devices have long been a taboo in racing, banned by regulators and the subject of intense R&D by teams looking to maximise the grey areas of the rules. One only needs to look at the perennial furore surrounding bodywork flexibility in Formula 1 to understand their allure. Or the sly efforts that made it into the public domain. For example, in LMP1, Porsche’s questionable rear bodywork on the 919 Hybrid in 2014 or, even more impressive, Toyota’s shape shifting rear wing on the TS040 that same year. Of course, F1 has DRS (drag reduction system) but, relatively speaking – though the aerodynamic refinement and robustness of the actuation system is impressive – this is a very simple, driver-actuated device that is not too different from active…

When he is not fulfilling his role as medical director of Techmed, Vincenzo Tota indulges his passion for racing by competing in marathon rallies with his daughter and his friends. He freely admits his daughter is now more competitive than he is, and that she sometimes admonishes him for being too slow behind the wheel, but it’s the challenge he relishes. In his day job, he leads a group of medical directors and physiotherapists in charge of the medical assistance and physical training of racing teams, on two wheels, four wheels and even sometimes on water. Currently, the 60-year old attends every race of Porsche’s factory sportscar season on both sides of the Atlantic as the team doctor, and has a responsibility to keep all members of the organisation, including…

Red Bull Racing sporting director, Jonathan Wheatley, has joined Audi’s new Formula 1 project after 18 years and six Constructors’ Championship titles with the Milton Keynes-based team. Wheatley will leave Red Bull to become Audi’s team principal, spearheading the project alongside new chief technical and operational officer, Mattia Binotto. It will be Wheatley’s first team manager role. The Brit, who started his F1 career with Benetton in the 1990s and rose to the title of chief mechanic, is due to start his new position by July 2025. He will remain with Red Bull until the end of the current season before going on gardening leave. ‘Jonathan has played a major part in many race victories and World Championship titles in his Formula One career so far and has extensive experience…

It is predicted that by 2035, 3.7 million tonnes of battery material will be available globally for recycling. This is because the typical life of a battery for an electric vehicle (EV) is around 10-15 years, so any EVs sold before 2020 will have batteries reaching the end of their life (EOL) by the mid-2030s. So, what can we do with this surge of used batteries that are heading our way in 10 years’ time? Well, batteries are made up of large quantities of valuable raw materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and graphite. It is important to recover and re-use these materials as much as possible for a number of reasons. Firstly, recycling batteries reduces the need to mine for virgin raw materials. This is an energy-consuming process,…

McLaren has unveiled the Artura Trophy EVO, which is eligible for the McLaren Trophy from 2025 onwards. Features added include a push to pass button, wider tyres and improved brake and engine cooling. New uprights feature two-way adjustable dampers and stiffer anti-roll bars that offer greater adjustability options. The car will be built from production line models and customers of the existing car can upgrade. This year’s FIA Motorsport Games, held in Valencia, Spain, will include Cross Car Mini offroading as one of the categories. The Games will feature a record 28 disciplines as part of a massive sporting expansion for the third edition. Cross Car Senior and Cross Car Junior were part of the bill in 2022, but this opens the door for competitors aged between eight and 12…

Revolution Race Cars, the UK- based sportscar manufacturer, has secured backing and presence in the United States from two of its customers, that will allow it to fast-track the development of new models to its line up of customer-focused prototype racecars. The company says that it remains committed to making Le Mans Prototype technology and safety more accessible, offering vehicles equipped with carbon tubs and cutting-edge features. The backing comes from a new American company, Cabotage Corporation, which is an investment vehicle formed by Classic Car Club Inc. directors Zan Moseley, Revolution Race Cars leadership Phil Abbott and Nigel Redwood, together with Revolution customers Marc Russell and Channel Islands-based entrepreneur Terry Thompson, have acquired 100 per cent of the issued share capital of Abbott Automotive Limited, trading as Revolution Race…