www.racetechmag.com DRIVING TECHNOLOGY INTO POLE POSITION INTERNATIONAL MAY 2010 NO. 115 UK £4.95 USA $9.99 www.racetechmag.com The quest to make Lotus a force in Formula One L I V ING UP TO A L EG EN D THE SECRETS OF INDY 500 SUCCESS 750FORMULA BUILD PROJECT UNDERWAY WHY LOOSE WHEELS DRIVE US NUTS! PAT SYMONDS SPECIAL REPORT ON COATINGS LPG’S BID FOR BTCC HISTORY +
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m DRIVING TECHNOLOGY INTO POLE POSITION
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
MAY 2010 NO. 115 UK £4.95 USA $9.99 www.racetechmag.com
The quest to make Lotus a force in Formula One
LIVING UP TO A LEGEND
THE SECRETS OF INDY 500 SUCCESS
750FORMULA BUILDPROJECT UNDERWAY
WHY LOOSE WHEELSDRIVE US NUTS!DRIVE US NUTS!DRIVE US NUTS!
PAT SYMONDSSPECIAL REPORTON COATINGS
LPG’S BID FORBTCC HISTORY
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May 2010 www.racetechmag.com 3
INDUSTRY NEWSRadical options discussed for next F1 tyre contract; DeltaWing wind tunnel testsreveal 50 per cent drag reduction over current Indycar; BTCC reprieve for rear-wheel drive; new NASCAR spoiler performs well
FORMULA ONEPat Symonds examines the generation of temperature in racing tyres and thedifferent strains the rubber endures
Why loose wheels drive us nuts! Pat Symonds sheds new light on a familiar problem
A frank account of the tempestuous infancy of Hispania Racing
ENGINE TECHNOLOGYThe LPG engine project that is ruffling feathers with its pace in the British Touring Car Championship
THE SECRETS OF SUCCESS IN THE INDY 500The Indy 500’s special place in the US racing industry
When everybody has the same technical package, what gives teams the extra edgeit takes to win the Indy 500? We find out
Why the future of the great race relies on technological innovation
MOTORSPORT’S GOLD RUSH: SPECIAL REPORT ON COATINGS Why an ever-increasing number of applications are being found for sophisticatedsurface coatings in motorsport
PRACTICAL RACERFront wishbones are on the agenda as Graham Templeman and Rod Hill embark ontheir T5 750Formula build programme
RACE EQUIPMENT DIGEST The latest products launched in the motorsport sector
COVER STORY - PAGE 28
LIVING UPTO A LEGENDTHE QUEST TO MAKE LOTUS A FORCE IN FORMULA ONE
BELOW The debate is on as to whichcompany will become the tyre supplierto Formula One in 2011
News 115.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 18:11 Page 2
MOTORSPORTS PROFESSIONAL
May 20108 www.racetechmag.com
www.racetechmag.com
8
BATHURST, Australia – Aston Martin, Ferrari,Lamborghini, Mosler and Porsche could all beracing at the Bathurst 12 hour race next year asthe classic endurance race is opened up to otherbrands next year. However, the news has notbeen received with universal acclaim with someentrants stating that they will boycott the race.Some GT drivers have also expressed the viewthat a 12-hour race for their cars will make amassive dent in their race budgets.
“The momentum for this exciting initiative hascome from our drivers and entrants and it is a
natural progression for the expansion of the GTcategory and brand to compete in the 12 hour atthe iconic Bathurst circuit. A race of this nature iswhat GT cars are all about,” said a press releaseissued in the names of GT directors MartinWagg, Rachael Wagg and Terry Little.
“The GT Championship has growntremendously in recent years and thesevehicles will now join production cars in the12 Hour Race enabling the event to growfurther including the attraction of aninternational audience,” said, James O’Brien,
the Bathurst 12 Hour promoter.He added that when the 12 Hour was
reintroduced in 2007, it was always the intentionto incorporate GT vehicles but that the timinghad to be right. The introduction of GT vehicleswill assist in attracting more competitors, morespectators and a larger viewing audience viatelevision and the internet.
“The Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour has thecapacity for a 72 car grid, and with 42 carsentered for the 2010 event we are targeting a50 plus entry for 2011,” he said.
GT CARS TO RACE AT BATHURST 12 HOURS IN 2011
By Chris Pickering
INDIANAPOLIS, IN –
DeltaWing Racing Cars’ radical
concept for the 2012 Indy
Racing League, featured in our
March issue, has now
completed preliminary wind
tunnel testing at the Windshear
facility in North Carolina. Until
now the aerodynamic
development had been carried
out exclusively with CFD, and
DeltaWing LLC’s designer and
chief technical officer Ben
Bowlby was keen to stress that
the physical tests were largely
for the purpose of validation:
“The tests went extremely well.
I’ve never gone as far with the
development of any car using
only CFD, let alone one so
unusual, so we were
anticipating a few surprises, but
in reality the correlation was
extraordinarily close.”
The headline grabbing figures
produced by the 140mph full
size test were a drag reduction
of over 50% and a proportional
level of downforce to the
current car: “At Indy we race at
about 760lb of drag at
200mph in typical ambient
conditions. By comparison, the
DeltaWing is going to be
somewhere around 330 to
350lb of drag. Under the same
conditions, we generate around
the vehicle’s weight in
downforce – so around 1,800lb
– and the DeltaWing will also
pull its own weight, this time
around 1,000lb.”
The dramatically low drag
figures, allied to reduced
weight, would allow a modest
300 to 350 bhp engine –
around half the current figure –
to produce straightline
performance comparable to
today’s IndyCars. DeltaWing’s
simulations predict that overall
lap times on street courses
would be two to three seconds
a lap quicker than the current
cars, and fuel consumption
could be as low as half.
“The goal was to produce
something that was a
stepchange in efficiency –
something that could
demonstrate the performance
capability of modern
technology,” said Bowlby.
“We wanted something very
lightweight and very efficient
that’s still at least as fast and
as spectacular as a current
racecar.”
It was not just performance
that was under scrutiny, either.
According to Bowlby a wet
road simulation showed
minimal spray from the front
of the car hitting the cockpit
area and also significantly less
spray behind the car. The
design is also intended to
promote close racing.
Following cars are said to
only suffer half the loss in
downforce that those behind a
traditional open-wheeler
would. Likewise Bowlby said
the wind tunnel tests appear
to confirm the CFD predictions
of greatly improved yaw
stability over a conventional
machine. Current single-seater
designs tend to suffer a
dramatic fall in downforce at
relatively modest yaw angles,
but the DeltaWing’s yaw range
could allow the aerodynamics
to remain effective at far
greater slip angles. The idea is
this could see a return to the
more flamboyant driving style
of the pre-downforce era and
produce a more dramatic
spectacle as a result.
“We want to put the
Indianapolis 500 back at the
cutting edge of development,
with something truly relevant
to the auto industry,” Bowlby
summed up. “Wind tunnel
testing is a critical step for the
project and allows us to move
forward towards a final design
with growing confidence. We
are now more convinced than
ever that the DeltaWing
concept will meet or exceed
the parameters that the IZOD
IndyCar Series has established
for the 2012 chassis.”
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
RTRT
RTRT
News 115.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 18:11 Page 3
The value of Xtrac’s competitive advantage is well recognised
by the champions and one make series who already rely on their
expertise, in addition to individual teams running on modest
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QUALITY
To maintain their position as the leading supplier of high
performance transmissions, Xtrac operate a continuous re-
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PERFORMANCE
Supplying championships such as IRL, BTCC, Grand-Am, FIA
Super2000, Formula Le Mans and most recently, Brazilian
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for itself.
RELIABILITY
Xtrac’s advanced engineering solutions keep their customers
ahead of the competition in the most gruelling endurance
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Mans - all the way to the chequered flag.
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Adverts 115 main section.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 17:31 Page 1
BELOW BTCC series director Alan Gowhands rear-wheel drive a reprieve
MOTORSPORTS PROFESSIONAL
May 201010 www.racetechmag.com
www.racetechmag.com
10
BTCC REAR-WHEEL DRIVEREPRIEVE ANNOUNCED By Chris Pickering
LONDON, UK – TOCA, the
touring car association that
administers the British Touring
Car Championship, has
confirmed more details of the
forthcoming Next Generation
Touring Car rules and
announced its suppliers for
2011. Perhaps the biggest news
was the decision to include a
provision for rear-wheel drive
cars. Initially the NGTC formula
only covered front-wheel drive
machines, meaning that cars
such as the BMW 320si would
cease to be eligible when the
current Super 2000 based
regulations were phased out.
Although there are several
teams actively campaigning
rear-wheel drive machines in the
BTCC the last factory entry was
way back in 1996. When the
NGTC rules were previewed last
year it wasn’t thought there was
enough interest in rear-wheel
drive to justify it. At the time,
BTCC series director Alan Gow
argued that it did not make
sense to compromise the new
regulations and raise issues of
parity for the possibility of
including a single manufacturer,
but the option was left open.
“After we released details of
the NGTC programme last year,
I stated that we would revisit
the question of incorporating
rear-wheel drive in the
regulations if there was enough
interest or commitment from
teams and manufacturers of
rear-wheel drive cars to support
it,” he stated recently. “Having
now had those discussions, I’m
confident that there is and so
we have now included it.”
As expected, the rear-wheel
drive layout can only be used if it
is featured on the car’s standard
production equivalent and, like
the front-wheel drive cars, it
must also use standardised TOCA
front and rear subframe/
suspension assemblies. The units
will be produced by Berkshire-
based GPR Motorsport and
both layouts will feature
double wishbone suspension
with coil-over dampers.
Meanwhile AP Racing provides
the brake package and pedal
box, along with the clutch,
mated to an Xtrac 6-speed
sequential. Cosworth
Electronics has also been
confirmed as the electronics
supplier with a package that
includes the mandated ECU,
dashboard, data-logger and
scrutineering logger.
The NGTC package effectively
represents a kit of components
around which teams or
manufacturers can build their
own car. However GPR
Motorsport will also offer an
assembly service based around a
production car of the customer’s
choice. The bodyshell must be
based around a 2, 3, 4 or 5-
door car freely available in the
UK through the manufacturer’s
dealer network. An equalised
width of 1875mm and various
aerodynamic enhancements
such as a flat floor and a
standard rear wing profile will
be specified. The cars will also
feature stylised front and rear
wheelarch extensions which
are intended to give them a
more dramatic look, similar to
those of the old Super Touring
Cars. A rendering released by
the organisers points the way
to how a typical NGTC car
might look.
The main thinking behind the
NGTC rules remains cost
reduction. TOCA is aiming to
halve the budget needed to run
a current BTCC car, through
significantly lower parts and
maintenance costs. "At around
£100k, plus engine, they will
then have a better car - which is
easier to maintain and has
greater performance potential at
about half the cost of a current
one,” said Gow. “It's a win-win
situation for everyone.” RT
TOP & BELOW A rendering of the Next Generation Touring Carthat will be open to both front and rear-wheel driven cars
News 115.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 18:11 Page 5
Sulzer Metco coats and enhances surfaces,
produces materials and equipment for these
purposes and develops machining processes
for special components. Our state of the art
products, solutions and services are delivered
through a global sales, customer support and
manufacturing network.
SUMEBore is a cylinder bore coating technology applied
in the Bugatti Veyron W16 engine and the Aston Martin
One-77 V12 engine. It is also used by teams in F1, GP2,
Sulzer Metco Plasma Ad RT115.qxd:Section.qxd 30/4/10 22:57 Page 1
MOTORSPORTS PROFESSIONAL
May 201012 www.racetechmag.com
www.racetechmag.com
12
By Andrew Charman
FORT WORTH, TX – Drivers in NASCAR’s
top level Sprint Cup series have reacted
positively to the first races with a new rear
spoiler on their cars, after NASCAR
abandoned the aerodynamic rear wing that
was such a signature feature of the Car of
Tomorrow introduced in 2007.
While the first races with the new spoiler
were at the short tracks of Martinsville on 28
March and Phoenix two weeks later, the
acid test of the changes was always
expected to be at Texas on 18 April. The
speedway is a 1.5-mile track like many of
the Sprint Cup schedule, and it is at these
tracks where the characteristics of the
spoiler are expected to be most keenly felt.
Despite rain washing out much of the vital
practice at Texas and delaying the race by 24
hours, drivers were very positive about the
spoiler when questioned after the race.
Drivers remarked that the cars had more
grip and were more drivable, particularly
when running side-by-side with rivals. This
had been a major criticism of the rear wing,
drivers complaining that the characteristics of
the aerofoil made it very difficult to run
alongside cars and pass them.
Denny Hamlin, who won the Samsung
Mobile 500 at Texas in his Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota, said that the spoiler produced better
racing. “The car seemed to be planted to
the race track quite a bit more – you could
race around guys without the air being
taken off of you as much as it did.”
The spoiler is 64.5 inches wide and four
inches tall, placed at an angle of 70 degrees
to the car’s rear deck. It has been estimated
to add 20% downforce to the rear of the
car. For the Texas race a side fin was added
to the decklid with the aim of further
improving side forces on the car.
Some drivers have repeatedly commented
on the increase on drag caused by the spoiler.
Following tests at Charlotte Motor Speedway,
Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch said that the car
felt very stable but had a far more drag. “We
are going slower down the straightaways but
we can maintain that speed in the corners.
“We’re getting the difference we’ve
needed to help us run side by side better. It
has slowed us down by around 200rpm so
NASCAR will likely need to work on the
gearing. However, the car feels stable, that’s
the best thing, that’s a thumbs up.”
Four time champion Jeff Gordon suggested
that the spoiler would see an end to the
crab-like look of cars racing in the Sprint
Cup. “We learnt that with the wing if we ran
the car slightly sideways we could make up
for the loss of drag and downforce with
some side force. With the spoiler we don’t
have such an amount of side force but we
make up for it with overall downforce.”
Gordon added that the spoiler improved
the look of the car. “I like the way the cars
look with the spoiler, that’s a plus.”
NASCAR’s rear wing era lasted 93 races,
just under three seasons.
IN OTHER NEWS
In a move that sees it being gradually
phased in this year, all four Roush Fenway
Racing and four Richard Petty Motorsports
Ford Fusions ran the new-generation FR9
engine in a race. The new engine is said to
provide superior cooling and centre of
gravity as well as better handling.
“It’s really the first across-the-board running
for the FR9,” said Ford Racing engineer David
Simon. “We ran them at Daytona, of course,
in the (Budweiser) Shootout across-the-
board, but the Talladega race is the first full
one for it as the primary engine for us. The
reason it’s a milestone is that we’ve gone
through the validation process on the plate
package, so, at this point, we’re ready to race
the FR9 full-time in restrictor-plate form. In
the second half of the season, as the
validation process gets completed, the FR9
will become the primary race engine for us in
both the open and plate races.”
Uncertainty surrounds the future of Richard
Petty Motorsport after it was revealed that the
team had defaulted on a $90 million loan,
caused by car manufacturer Dodge ending its
financial support of the team – Petty has since
switched to racing Ford chassis.
Team owner George Gillett, who is
currently trying to sell his stake in Liverpool
Football Club in the UK, said that the loan
was not an issue, describing it as a
technical problem which would soon be
solved by a restructuring.
However, Petty was further troubled by the
news that its star driver Kasey Kahne will not
renew his contract at the end of the season,
heading instead to Hendrick Motorsports. The
team fears that lucrative sponsorship from the
Budweiser beer brand, which is built around
Kahne, could follow the driver to Hendrick.
In another move, Shell/Pennzoil is replacing
Mobil as the Penske Racing team’s official fuel
and motor oil supplier next year. It will also
sponsor the Kurt Busch No 22 car.
NO SPOILINGNASCAR’S PARTY
ABOVE The new Sprint Cup spoiler, seenhere on Juan-Pablo Montoya’s Chevrolet.(Photo: Rusty Jarrett for NASCAR).
ABOVE Team-mates Jimmie Johnson and JeffGordon battle at Texas in their now be-spoileredcars. (Photo: John Harrelson for NASCAR)
RT
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BELOW John Watson's McLaren atthe Caesars Palace GP in 1982. Is areturn to Las Vegas on the cards?
MOTORSPORTS PROFESSIONAL
May 201014 www.racetechmag.com
www.racetechmag.com
14
F1 TO RETURN TO THE US?
GAS TURBINES BACKON THE AGENDA
SHANGHAI, China – Formula One could
be returning to the US following informal
talks between Bernie Ecclestone, the F1
commercial rights holder, and Tony George
the former Indianapolis Motor Speedway
and Indy Racing League chairman.
George attended the Chinese Grand Prix
in Shanghai at Ecclestone’s invitation to
examine how and where to get a Formula
One race back to the US. Despite George’s
links with Indianapolis, Ecclestone is known
to favour other venues, his first choice
being New York. However, he is also said to
be considering Las Vegas, Miami and San
Francisco and possibly even two races in
the country following strong support for
the idea from sponsors.
Although he retains a share in the
Speedway, where he spent around
$30 million of the Hulman-George
family fortune to build the 2.6-mile
road course needed for the US GP,
George is a free agent.
The US GP has struggled to find a home
in the US since leaving Watkins Glen in
1980. Long Beach in California was the
home to eight grands prix but the two
events in Detroit and Las Vegas, the single
event in Dallas and the three events in
Phoenix never caught on with the US
public. However, the event left after George
and Ecclestone could not come to an
agreement that made financial sense for
both sides. Reports from IMS management,
though, have stated that they would be
interested in bringing an F1 race back to
the Speedway under the right financial
circumstances, the stumbling block being
the high F1 sanctioning fee.
Athens, Greece: The turbine engine, last
seen in Formula One nearly 40 years ago,
could make a return. Project 1221, a
specialist company based in Athens that is
dedicated to creating and marketing gas
turbine vehicles, claims that it has
approached F1’s commercial boss Bernie
Ecclestone with a proposal. It says it could
have an engine ready to power a car by 2013.
The company claims it is working on
different turbine engines for land, sea and
air, working on new concepts to power
supercars, ‘superyachts’ and even
‘supersonic business jets’.
According to Andreas Andrianos, Project
1221’s CEO, gas turbine engines would be
cheaper to run than an internal combustion
unit. While fuel consumption would be higher
than with the current breed of petrol-fuelled
V8s, the inefficiency would be more than
offset by use of bio-diesel fuel, which would
make the engines more environmentally
friendly. With no traditional cooling required,
the engines present fewer packaging
problems, although the units could not be
used as stressed members of the car and
would also cause challenges with the gearbox.
Williams F1 recently acquired a majorityshareholding in Williams Hybrid Power(WHP), increasing its stake in thecomposite flywheel specialist to 78percent. It comes after WHP’stechnology made a successful racingdebut in the Porsche 911 GT 3 R Hybrid,which won its class at the second race ofthe VLN series last month.
PersonnelAnd finally...The recent spin-off of McLaren Automotive fromMcLaren Group has led to a fundamentalmanagement restructure with Ron Dennis willresuming his role of executive chairman ofMcLaren Group as Sir Richard Lapthorne resignsfrom being the non-executive chairman.However, he will continue is his role as aconsultant to McLaren Automotive.
Reporting to Dennis will be Tim Murnane, group
legal director and company secretary, and AndyMyers, financial officer, both of the McLaren Group.
Meanwhile Martin Whitmarsh has beenappointed to two new roles – chief executiveofficer of McLaren Group and deputy chairmanof McLaren Automotive. He will also continue inhis role of team principal of Vodafone McLarenMercedes. Antony Sheriff will continue in his roleof managing director of McLaren Automotive.
RT
RT
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Adverts 113 main section.qxd:Racetech.qxd 27/2/10 18:05 Page 3
May 201016 www.racetechmag.com
www.racetechmag.com
16
Pat Symonds examines the generation of temperature in racing tyres and the different strains the rubber endures
track, there are three distinct areas of tyre
tread we should distinguish when we are
considering the thermal equilibrium.
Figure 1 shows a tyre running on the track
before it has reached thermal equilibrium.
The segment of the tyre that is marked (1)
is the part of the tyre that is adherent to
the road, the segment marked (2) is the
part of the tyre that is sliding and the
segment marked (3) is the large part that
is rotating in contact with the air.
In the adherent area (1) the thermal flow
is from the tyre to the road by means of
conduction (assuming that the tyre is at a
higher temperature than the road). In
segment (2) there is a lot of sliding
IN THE first part of this article, we
examined the peculiar properties of the
rubber mix used in tyres and identified
why temperature, amongst other things,
was fundamental to the grip that a tyre can
produce. We will now go on to look at the
generation of temperature in tyres and the
effect of the various strains that a tyre
undergoes in racing conditions.
TEMPERATURE EQUILIBRIUM
Before we look at the generation of the
temperature, we should first think about
the temperature equilibrium of the tyre.
If we consider a tyre running on the
A GRIPPING
FORMULA ONE PAT SYMONDS ON TYRE GRIP
FIGURE 1
Formula One-Pat Tyre Grip Part2.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 13:52 Page 1
BELOW With each revolution theracing tyre gains and losestemperature in three distinct areas
energy and strain energy putting work into the tyre and hence
producing a large heat flow into the tyre. In the final segment
(3) the tyre is generally at a higher temperature than the
surrounding air and loses heat to the air by the mechanisms of
convection and radiation.
If we consider the temperature of the tyre surface as a function of
time through one revolution and if we assume that the tyre is
hotter than both the track surface and the air but not yet at
thermal equilibrium, we will see the conditions shown in Figure 2.
Area 1 shows the decrease in temperature as heat flows from
the tyre to the tarmac. Area 2 shows the very rapid increase in
temperature as the tyre does work through slippage and area 3
shows the loss of temperature of the tyre as it is cooled by the air.
This follows an approximate Newtonian cooling law.
It can be seen that in the cycle shown above the finishing
temperature of the tyre is higher than the starting temperature by
an amount . This implies that during this one revolution of the
tyre it is still increasing in temperature. Even with pre-heating in
tyre blankets, it still takes some time for the tyre to reach full
working temperature. True equilibrium can take six or seven laps
to be reached and, of course, this equilibrium temperature may
be above the ideal working temperature.
We achieve thermal equilibrium when
where Cp is the specific heat capacity of the tyre and Q is the heat
energy. The inflow of heat arises from the environmental conditions
and external heating discussed below. The outflow of heat is the
conduction to the road and the convection to the air while the
generated heat is the main source of heat energy that we will look
into in some detail.
At this point it is worth trying to decide what we mean by tyre
temperature. Rubber is a very good insulator. It has a coefficient
of thermal conductivity of only 0.16 Wm-1K-1. By way of
comparison, the Styrofoam used for insulated plastic cups is
about a fifth of this value and aluminium is over 1,500 times as
conductive. This means that the heat generated in any part of a
tyre moves very slowly through it. In Figure 2 we are considering
the tread temperature but this can be quite different to the bulk
temperature of the tyre.
Race teams tend to make three measurements of the temperature
of the tyres. When the car is running they can measure the tread
surface temperature. This is measured by remote infrared sensors.
They can also record the temperature as measured by the tyre
pressure measuring system (TPMS) which relates to the bulk
temperature. Both have drawbacks and need to be treated with
caution. The measurement of tread temperature is very sensitive to
the aim of the focal point of the sensor. Typically, a sensor will have
a viewing angle of around 15 degrees and will average the
temperature of all it sees in its viewing spot. This means that at a
distance of 250 mm it is averaging the temperature in a spot of
over 65 mm diameter. There is obviously a temperature gradient
across the width of a racing tyre that needs to be considered and if
the tyre has grooves or a tread pattern then large inaccuracies can
be present. TPMS systems tend to measure the temperature of
the gas in the tyre cavity. This is, in general, a reasonable
indicator of the tyre rubber bulk temperature. Unfortunately the
TALE
FIGURE 2
Formula One-Pat Tyre Grip Part2.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 13:53 Page 2
ABOVE The flow of heat from thebrakes into the tyres can be avery significant factor
May 201018 www.racetechmag.com
FORMULA ONE PAT SYMONDS ON TYRE GRIPwww.racetechmag.com
18
sensors themselves are difficult to insulate
from the wheel and therefore can be
influenced by the fact that the wheel is
heated quite strongly by the brakes.
The final measurement used is that
made by the tyre technicians in the pits.
This is done with a needle thermocouple
that is stabbed into the tyre. It is essential
to use a thermocouple that has a depth
stop on it so that the temperature is
always measured at the same distance
into the rubber. The technician will
normally make three measurements across
the width of the tread and again it is
important that he makes the
measurements in the same place every
time as, particularly near the shoulders,
there can be large temperature gradients.
This method can be quite accurate as the
slow heat flow in the tyre actually helps
make this a stable measurement. It relies
more than anything on the driver driving
consistently hard on his in-lap – something
all drivers should be required to do
anyway. In absolute terms the conditions
on entry to the pit can make a difference.
For example at Spa, when using the F1
pit lane, the temperatures are highly
influenced by the high loadings at
Blanchimont but for comparative
purposes this does not matter.
SOURCES OF TYRE HEATING
There are three primary sources of heat
generation in racing tyres. The first of
these is the heating from what may be
termed the environmental conditions. In
a racing car, a large part of this will be
heating from the brakes. Secondly, there
is the heat generated by the strain energy
loss in the constantly deflecting tyre,
which occurs in the tread bulk and
carcass area, and finally there is heat
generated by the friction of the tyre on
the road or more specifically that caused
by tyre slip. This occurs largely in the
tread surface of the tyre.
Environmental conditions, particularly
track and air temperature, will play a part
in determining the running temperature of
the tyres but is not, at least in the first
order, a source of heating.
Although generally the environmental
conditions will dictate a net heat flow out
from the tyre into either the tarmac or the
surrounding air, there is a particular case
when there can be additional heat flow
The flow of heat from the brakes into thetyres is not something that is commonlylooked at outside the racing industry’
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into the rear tyres from the exhaust plume. This has been used as
a tuning aid by at least one Formula One team that had exhaust
tail pipes that were angled toward the rear tyres for use in cold
conditions and away from the rear tyres for use when the tyres
were easily able to achieve their operating temperature.
The flow of heat from the brakes into the tyres is not something
that is commonly looked at outside the racing industry. In a car
with carbon brakes it can be very significant. In racing there is
little that can be done to alter this effect other than to polish the
inside of the rims if it is desired to minimise this effect or to coat
them in a dark colour if it is desired to use this heat energy.
Thermal barriers on the brake cowlings can also have some
influence. This effect is not completely unique to motor racing,
however, as a paper was published in 1998 by authors from
Mercedes-Benz and Pirelli in Brazil that examined the effect of
brake heating on urban bus tyres after a number of tyre failures
on buses in Sao Paulo!
STRAIN ENERGY LOSS
The strain energy loss is a function of the tyre forces in X, Y and Z
directions as well as the camber angle, rotational speed and
inflation pressure. There are other factors, for example while the
slip angle is mainly thought of as a generator of frictional heating,
the deformation of the tyre carcass resulting from the slip angle
causes an additional source of strain energy loss. Strain energy
arises from the tread bulk area.
This strain energy loss contributes around 90% of what is termed
the rolling resistance of the tyre. It is largely generated by the
vertical deformation of the tyre as vertical load is applied to the
carcass as it enters the contact patch area and the relaxation of
that deformation as it leaves the contact patch area.
In Figure 3 we can see that as the tyre flattens in the contact
patch area there is a longitudinal deformation of the crown that
leads to bending as well as shearing and the compression that
arises from vertical force. The angle shown as α is known as the
“de-radialisation” angle which indicates the angular deflection
which leads to shearing in the sidewalls.
The distribution of energy dissipation is approximately 14% in the
bead area, 25% in the sidewalls, 27% in the shoulder and 34% in
the tread. Approximately 70% of the heat build up is therefore in
the tread and shoulder (edge of belt) area. Anyone who worked
with extremely soft qualifying tyres in the past will remember that
they often blistered on the straight. This is the reason why.
Let us look at the strains involved before reminding ourselves of
how these heat the tyre. Firstly we have the bending strain in the
rubber entering and leaving the contact patch. This strain depends
on the change from the initial curvature in the upper part of the
tyre, through its curvature in the transition zone at the leading
edge of the contact patch, and through and out of the contact
patch. In the contact patch itself the radius is of course infinite as
the tyre is flat on the track surface. A simple model known as the
Koutny model can be used to construct the geometry of curvature.
The maximum strain of the tread subject to bending is
where h is the tread thickness, Ri is the initial radius of curvature
and Rf is the final radius of curvature. Note that when an object is
flat its curvature radius is infinite and hence 1/R equals 0.
The second strain is the compression strain of the tread and is
defined as the ratio between its deformation (Δh) and the initial
height (hinitial) such that
The compression strain depends on the pressure (σ) exerted on
the tread and the modulus of rigidity of the material (M) but the
modulus of the material is also a function of the pressure exerted
on it. This is because rubber is in fact essentially incompressible.
If you apply a load to a block of rubber it will deform in the
direction of the load but at the same time it will bulge out
sideways if unconstrained. This bulging (known as dilation) is
not, however, infinite. Even when unconstrained, the more load
that is applied, the more the rigidity increases. To take this into
account the compression strain may be calculated by the
following formula:
where σ is the pressure, M10 is the modulus at 10% stretch or
compression and F is the aspect ratio of the tread footprint defined
as shown in Figure 4.
The final strain involved in the total strain energy loss is the shear
strain. If a block of rubber is placed in shear then it will take an
angular deformation. If the block has a height of h and is displaced
by a distance d then it will have an angular displacement of
May 201020 www.racetechmag.com
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FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4
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This angle α is the so-called “de-radialisation” angle
shown in Figure 3. It can be shown geometrically that
If we consider these three strain energy losses for a typical rolling
tyre, we may see that the bending strain is around 3% and acts
through both transition areas as well as the footprint itself. The
compression strain will be around 5% (less for a slick tyre as F is
larger) and will act only in the footprint area. The shear strain will
peak at around 8% at the entry to the contact patch and 10% on
exit while reducing in the middle.
SLIPPAGE AND FRICTION ENERGY
In part 1 of this article we considered slippage and friction in some
detail as it is the most fundamental requirement of any tyre, let
alone a racing tyre. Fortunately, it is also much easier to determine
than the various types of strain energy loss. Friction energy arises
from the tread surface area. The total energy from slip is simply the
sum, in the X and Y directions, of the slip multiplied by the force.
May 201022 www.racetechmag.com
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ABOVE Even after the use of tyre blanketsit can be half a dozen laps before a tyrereaches its full working temperature
The stress-strain curve has “memory” ’
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From Figure 5 we can determine the longitudinal slip speed (Slip X)
which can be approximated for small angles to
Similarly for the lateral slip speed (Slip Y)
The slip energies are therefore, from the X direction:
And from the Y direction:
ENERGY TO HEAT
So how do these energies relate to the heat generation? In part 1
of this article, we looked at the phase diagram for a visco-elastic
material. It is reproduced as Figure 6 in a slightly different form.
In this representation, we have applied a sinusoidal stress to the
material just as before and have a phase lag between that stress
and the subsequent strain. As the X axis is expressed as the angle
of the sinusoidal input we can now express the lag as an angle δ.
Engineers will often use this phase lag as a measure of hysteresis
by referring to the property of the polymer known as “Tan δ”.
This arises from the difficulty of determining a single value for
May 201024 www.racetechmag.com
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70% of the heat build up is in thetread and shoulder, which is whyextremely soft qualifying tyresused to blister on the straight’ ABOVE Track and air temperature
both play a part in determining therunning temperature of the tyres(Photo: Bridgestone Corporation)
FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6
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the modulus of rubber. The stress-strain
curve has ‘memory’ and does not follow
reversible stress-strain relations. For filled
rubber there is no valid constitutive law.
The higher the value of Tan δ, the more
inherent damping there is in the rubber.
This leads to higher heat dissipation but
also a higher potential for sliding friction.
In order to describe the modulus of
rubber engineers use a descriptor named
the dynamic modulus. In tension this is
referred to as E*. This value is the stress
amplitude divided by the strain amplitude
but, by means of the phase lag δ, allows
the modulus to be split into two parts.
The first is the storage modulus (E’) which
relates to the spring part of the
Kelvin–Voight model we introduced in part
1 and therefore converts kinetic energy
into potential energy. The second is the
loss modulus (E’’) which relates to the
damper element of the model and
therefore converts kinetic energy to heat.
These are related as follows:
So therefore the measure “Tan δ” is:
If we consider the two main sources of
heat generation, friction loss and strain
energy loss, then we find that typically,
even in a racing tyre, the strain energy loss
is the more significant. In general, between
55% and 65% of the total heat generated
by both friction loss and strain energy loss
will come from the strain energy loss.
A NOTE ON TYRE WEAR
It may not have escaped your notice that
the slippage and friction energy is the
energy that has the primary influence on
tyre wear. If we integrate this energy with
respect to time we can determine
and
By integrating the slip velocities with
respect to time, the wear is dependent on
the force and the slip distance. If the limits
of integration are zero and the lap time
then the relevant distance is the lap
distance. This integration shows that equal
wear could be obtained under conditions
of low load and high slip as may be
obtained under conditions of higher load
and reduced slip.
In generalisation, the wear rate will be a
function of the sum of these energies
multiplied by factors that pertain to the
track abrasion, the general compound
wear characteristics and a coefficient that
describes the change in wear rate with
temperature.
ABOVE The theory isn’t confined to the laboratory:tyre companies have worked hard to improve theteams’ assessment of grip and understanding ofthe way the car behaves over consecutive laps
Formula One-Pat Tyre Grip Part2.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 13:54 Page 11
ABOVE Energy generated from slippage and friction isthe primary influence on tyre wear. This is RubensBarrichello’s Williams (Photo: Bridgestone Corporation)
RT
USING THIS INFORMATION
It may seem that this information is largely
academic. In fact, this is far from the case. In
Formula One the tyre companies have spent
considerable effort in the last few years to
develop thermal models that can be used to
supplement the general Pacejka model to
improve the teams’ understanding of the way
the car behaves over consecutive laps and
give a more accurate assessment of grip. The
ability to predict the bulk temperature of the
tyre, together with knowledge of the thermal
behaviour of a particular compound, can also
be used to determine if the compound may
be prone to blistering on a particular circuit
and, even if blistering is not a problem,
ensure that a compound with a suitable
working temperature range is chosen.
In the concluding article we will look at
how tyre companies may use this
knowledge to choose the correct tyre
compound for a given set of conditions and
how the competitor may use means at his
disposal to alter the characteristics of the
tyre that has been supplied to him.
Of the two main sources of heatgeneration – friction loss andstrain energy loss – the latter istypically the more significant’
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May 201028 www.racetechmag.com
COVER STORY LOTUS RACINGwww.racetechmag.com
28
Technical chief Mike Gascoyne tells William Kimberley that having won its race against timeto make the grid, Lotus Racing faces a tough choice: develop its car or focus on 2011
STICK OR
TWIST?
ABOVE The T127 has acquitted itself well in the early races, notablysurviving the punishing heat in Bahrain
When you are sitting there with 15people and six months to do it, youhave to make value judgements ofhow to get the car to the race on time’
and with all the facilities here, it was very easy
to get up and running. It’s very similar in size
to the old Jordan or Force India factory but in
some ways slightly better equipped – and it’s
on a site where there are other buildings
available for expansion purposes.”
No matter how romantic that the new team
has located in Norfolk, a more logical choice
would have been to move to a more
centralised region and not one on the edge,
but Gascoyne disagrees. “There are quite a
number of people in the industry who work
in Formula One teams that have families in
the county because they come from the
infrastructure that exists around here. So in
the event there have been quite a number of
people who have been willing to move back
to the county as they were originally Norfolk-
based and have family connections here.”
The proof of the pudding was that more
than 1,000 people applied for a job when
recruitment began in earnest last autumn.
The main problem, though, has been
getting people with Formula One
experience in quickly enough.
“The bigger problem has been in terms of
designers because while Formula One
experience is not necessary on the production
side – there are composites facilities in Norfolk
because of the junior formula infrastructure –
the main problem is attracting the design and
technical staff,” says Gascoyne. “Most people
in the industry can be on three or six months
conservative to produce a reliable car.”
Being up against it in terms of time and
with little more than a skeleton staff,
Gascoyne had to turn to help wherever it
was offered. “It wasn’t just about the best
supplier but the one that could do it in the
time available. It was quite different criteria
than usual for selecting suppliers,” he says.
“Our hands were very tied in some areas
because it was a case of who had the
short-term capability as opposed to where
the best place was in getting a job done.
For example, we had to use some suppliers
in Germany for the major composite and
suspension components.”
Apart from work on the car, the other
principal challenge was finding a factory
and then staffing it. At first, the talk was of
establishing a state-of-the-art facility in
Malaysia, home of the investors behind
this Formula One team, but a reality check
quickly established that this was impossible
in the circumstances. The immediate
problem was therefore finding somewhere
suitable in Europe.
“Initially it was odds-on that we would
move to Malaysia but there has been a
realisation from the owners that it’s not really
possible,” says Gascoyne. “For the
foreseeable future, Lotus F1 Racing is going
to be based in the UK, specifically Norfolk,
and we are looking at setting up research
centres and maybe a wind tunnel and calling
upon the expertise of such local companies
as Carbon Fibre Technologies, which works
closely with Airbus, and establishing a
partnership with them. During any car-build
period even the biggest teams look to get
help from high-quality sub-contracting
experts and we are very lucky in Norfolk to
have so many great companies on our
doorstep. We will also be using specialists
from Europe and beyond and, of course,
Malaysia but already we have a number of
May 201030 www.racetechmag.com
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ABOVE & LEFT The evocative sightof Ayrton Senna at the wheel of theLotus 97T at Monza in 1985 (above).The team’s history has burdened itwith expectation. Left, in case ofvictory: Colin Chapman wouldcelebrate wins by throwing his capinto the air and the team is readyand waiting if a twist of fate offers itthe chance to emulate its founder
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ABOVE Jarno Trulli in the thick of the action.The T127 will get an update package forrace five but resources could be switchedearly to focus on the 2011 challenger
WHY LOOSE WHEELSDRIVE US NUTS!With all the technology at our disposal in Formula One, it seems crazy that loose wheels are still the cause of retirements.Pat Symonds sheds new light on a familiar problem
A FORMULA ONE car is an incredibly sophisticated piece of
equipment designed by some of the best engineers on the planet and
maintained by technicians chosen for their understanding of
engineering and their attention to detail. How, therefore, can a
fundamental problem like a loose wheel cause a race retirement – a
situation we saw twice in the first three races of the season?
Losing wheels is certainly not a phenomenon exclusive to
motorsport. Reports can even be found in Horse and Hound magazine
about accidents caused by wheel nuts coming off horseboxes.[1] Prior
to EU rules on the subject, many heavy goods vehicles used left-hand
threads on the wheel nuts fitted on the left-hand side of the vehicle.
Recent research carried out in both the UK and Finland [2] showed
that there was a bias toward the problem occurring on the left-
hand side of vehicles. However, the bias was small for loose wheel
nuts but large for wheel detachment, suggesting that the thread
hand influence may be a small factor in the root cause of nut
loosening but may be a large influence in the subsequent
unwinding of an already loose nut. The fact that similar numbers of
wheel loss incidents occurred in countries that drove on the left as
those that drove on the right again suggests that the hand of the
thread is fundamental to this problem.
MULTI-STUD WHEEL FIXINGS
Before we consider centre lock wheels we should examine the
common coned wheel nut or bolt.
If this type of nut were to come loose then the weight of
the vehicle forces the cone to rest in the bottom of the
conical socket in the wheel. This is shown, with exaggerated
clearances, in Figure 2.
The result of this is that the nut has a smaller effective
diameter than the “socket” formed by the wheel and hence rolls
at a speed greater than that of the wheel. Expressed a different
way, it rotates on the stud in the same direction as the rotation
of the wheel. If the thread of the stud is right-handed,
therefore, nuts on a right-hand wheel will tend to tighten while
those on a left-hand wheel will tend to loosen. With tapered
nuts and wheel recesses, the effective gearing of the mechanism
will alter as the nut unwinds and so any loosening occurs at an
ever-increasing rate.
With this in mind, it was common practice some years ago to fit
left-hand threads on the left-hand side of vehicles. This was
particularly true of heavy goods vehicles but in the USA until
1965 Buick, Pontiac and Oldsmobile used left-hand threads on
the left-hand wheel nuts and Chrysler used them on some models
until 1975. Perhaps the extreme example will be one known to
many a home mechanic: the rear hub nuts on the Mini. On this
vehicle the left-hand rear hub nut was not only of a left-hand
thread but was also castellated and fitted with a split pin!
1 http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/article.php?aid=55832&cid=3972 TRL Ltd project Report PPR086 “Heavy vehicle wheel detachment: frequency of occurrence,
current best practice, and potential solutions” Knight, Dodd, Grover, Bartlett & Brightman
While wheels with a single central nut (or centre lock as
they are commonly known) may be a completely
different design to the multi-stud fixings described
above, the problem is a similar one. Many British and
European sports cars were fitted with centre lock wheels
up until the 1970s. These nearly always had a left-hand
thread on the right-hand side of the car. Interestingly one
notable exception was the Lotus Elan that used left-hand
threads on the left-hand side.
If we examine a typical centre lock wheel as used on
most race cars that are involved in pit stops we see that
they use a coned male nut which locates in a female
coned wheel (Figure 3).
It can be seen that there are topographical
similarities between this design and the simple
coned wheel nut used on many road cars. There is a
difference in that with the road car wheel the drive
torque is transmitted through the wheel stud (or
bolt). In the typical racing design, the torque is
transmitted through drive pegs. On classic British
sports cars, the drive was taken through a spline on
the axle that engaged with a female spline in the
wheel. If these drive mechanisms were a perfect fit
then there could be no relative radial movement
between the wheel and axle or indeed between the
wheel and nut. In reality, there has to be clearance
in order to be able to fit the wheels.
In a typical Formula One wheel the drive peg holes in
the wheel are elongated to allow for the vastly different
ABOVE & BELOW The wheels coming off the wagon is farfrom a new problem. Above, Michael Schumacher retires witha loose wheel on his Mercedes in Malaysia 2010. Below,Nigel Mansell lost the 1987 Hungarian GP when the rightrear wheel nut came off his Williams FW11B
ABOVE The refuelling ban has reintroduced lightning-fast pitstops to F1 but mistakes can be made under pressure. HereRenault’s mechanics produce a slick stop to send RobertKubica on his way (Photo: Steven Tee/LAT Photographic)
There is a ‘geared’ mechanismbetween the wheel and the nutas well as the nut and the axle’
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carefully calibrated air guns.
Formula One cars can generate enormous
braking torques. When Sebastian Vettel’s
wheel came loose in Australia it was not into
a turn with very severe braking but
nevertheless the left front wheel drive system
would have been resisting over 2,500 Nm of
torque. The Red Bull car has the drive pegs
in the wheel itself. On the front wheel there
are just three of them, each with a diameter
of around 10 to 12 mm. Even if these are
made of maraging steel the shear stress
under heavy braking would be
uncomfortably close to, or even over, the
yield strength so some additional torque
transfer mechanism is required.
A typical Formula One axle has a thread of
around 60 mm diameter and a pitch of 1 mm.
The nuts are done up to around 700 to 750
Nm. This generates an enormous clamping
force between the wheel and the hub,
normally via the disc bell, and this makes a
significant contribution to the drive system.
The static friction coefficient between dry
magnesium (which the wheel is made of) and
dry aluminium (which the disc bell is made
of) is around 0.6 so this clamping load
contributes a significant amount of the drive. I
suspect that when Vettel’s wheel came loose,
his drive pegs sheared, losing the ability for
that wheel to react the braking torque.
LOCKING SYSTEMS
A search of patents finds an enormous number
of locking devices for threaded fasteners, with
several specifically dedicated to the problem of
wheel nuts. Among the interesting ones are
those of Lees [3] and Vanderdrift [4] as well as a
patent by Wolfgang Weiss [5] that has been
presented to Formula One teams in the past.
Perhaps, though, the most intriguing in its
simplicity is a patent filed by J.V. Pugh in
1911 entitled “Improvements in and relating
to detachable wheels” in which he simply
inverts the gender of the nut and wheel such
that the wheel has a male register and the
nut a female one as shown in Figure 5. This
rather old patent was brought to light more
recently by Thorpe [6] whose discussion is
summarised here.
If we now consider the cross section
shown as A-A in Figure 5 (with
exaggerated clearances) we see an
arrangement as shown in Figure 6.
Once again, this figure shows the
clearances taken up by the weight of the
vehicle on the wheel. While the axle to nut
interface is still at the bottom of the
assembly, the wheel to nut interface is now
at the top. If we consider the wheel
rotating clockwise and the vehicle moving
forward, the whole system rotates but the
interface lines remain vertically aligned.
The axle to nut relative rotation is similar to
the standard coned wheel nut to wheel
rotation shown in Figure 2. The nut
therefore rotates anti-clockwise relative to
the axle. If we consider the wheel to nut
interface, it can be seen that the wheel will
rotate faster than the nut due to the
“gearing” and the nut therefore is subject
to an anti-clockwise rotation relative to the
wheel. As the wheel and axle is constrained
rotationally by the drive pegs, this implies
an anti-clockwise rotation of the nut
relative to the axle. The axle-nut interface
and the wheel-nut interface therefore both
cause the nut to rotate in the same
direction relative to the axle.
With this arrangement, the relative
rotations are more clearly defined and less
reliant on local conditions. As shown, the
vehicle would require left-hand threads on
the right-hand side and vice-versa and
would inhibit the loss of a loose wheel nut.
SOLUTIONS
So what, if any, is the solution to this
aggravating and yet potentially serious
problem? With a conventional internal,
centre lock, wheel nut (that is a male nut
that engages a female wheel), it is probable
that the physics are such that a left-hand
thread on the right-hand side of the vehicle
and a right-hand thread on the left-hand
side of the vehicle are best. With multi-stud
fixings the opposite is true and left-hand
threads should be used on the left-hand side
of the vehicle. However, to eliminate the
worries brought about by inconsistencies,
the external nut proposed all those years
ago by Pugh is worthy of adoption.
Having said that, there is one vital point to
get across: if a wheel nut is tightened
properly, it will not come loose irrespective
of the design of the axle thread and the nut.
Equally and even more importantly, if a
wheel nut is loose then using threads of the
correct hand for the particular side of the car
will inhibit the departure of the wheel nut
but no more than that.
ABOVE Sebastian Vettelstreaks clear of the field inAustralia, only to surrendera potential 25-point haulwhen his Red Bull’s wheelnut worked loose RT
3 US patent 6,916,144B2 July 2005 Wheel Nut Assembly4 International patent WO 97/14892 October 1996 Self locking Ratchet Nut5 US patent 7,445,413B2 May 2003 Screw nut assembly including an integrated securing arrangement6 T.E. Thorpe “Self Locking Wheel Nuts” Proc IMechE Vol. 209
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40
THE PAININ SPAIN
BELOW The key action hastaken place in the garage,rather than on the racetrack
The infancy of Hispania Racing has been uncomfortable, but gradually order is emerging from chaos. De facto technical director Geoff Willis gives Matt Youson a frank account of a tempestuous beginning
ABOVE Bruno Senna claimed it was a “miracle” justto have the cars running at the first grand prix
WHICH IS the most impressive
team in Formula One at the
moment? Would anyone
accept it is Hispania Racing?
Red Bull clearly has a quick car; Force India
is arguably the most improved. Renault is
better than anyone expected and Lotus
seems to have a pragmatic and tidy base on
which to build – but Hispania is something
different. Its car has no testing, its crew no
experience. Many of the parts are quick-fixes
and last resort bodges – and yet it made it to
the grid in Bahrain, crawled to the chequered
flag in Australia, enjoyed a comparatively
spritely double finish at Sepang and repeated
the feat in the rain in China. Compared to
where it was 24 hours before the racing year
began in earnest, that must surely go down
as the achievement of the season.
After a stalled development programme,
financial difficulties, poor supplier
relationships and an 11th-hour transfer of
ownership, Hispania arrived for the first race
of the year with no testing and its cars still as
yet unassembled. Working 24-hour days, it
managed to get one bolted together and on
track for second practice on Friday and the
second for qualifying on Saturday. The gap to
the leaders was around 11 seconds. Given
that the interval between front and back had
by the end of 2009 fallen to as little as 0.7
seconds, Hispania’s debut was reminiscent of
the disastrous MasterCard Lola of 1997.
Lola’s problems were caused by a pushy
sponsor demanding the team enter a year
ahead of time. Hispania’s issues came about
through a lack of sponsors (pushy or
otherwise) but its problems were broadly
similar – the car simply wasn’t ready. But
while the Spanish team was a long way out
of its depth, it was at least racing. It also
gained recognised management. In February
the experienced Colin Kolles had arrived as
team principal and Geoff Willis as a technical
consultant; the hired guns were there to
stabilise things and get the team moving in
the right direction. Gradually they have done
precisely that, while acknowledging there is
a great deal wrong with the team, and a lot
of work to do before it will be able to
compete with Virgin and Lotus.
The other new teams (save the ill-fated
USF1 project) had their cars built up by mid-
February, a few weeks behind the
established outfits. With the HRT F110 being
first fired up on March 12 it suggests the
team was nominally a month behind in its
development programme. Willis, in a brief
respite from fire-fighting, argues the
situation was actually far, far worse.
“Because the car build started so late,
corners were cut in many areas. Bodywork
had to be trimmed manually, various
brackets weren’t completed, some systems
were being drawn and made on the fly, so
it really wasn’t a normal car build,
regardless of when it took place.
“Also, Dallara had not built an F1 car in
many, many years, and I think they simply
underestimated the level Formula One has
now reached. With an F1 car we try to
minimise the amount of customisation that
goes on at the build stage; we try to
design everything so that the car can only
be built one way. The reasons for that are
at least partially based on the packaging
demands: we need to know exactly where
everything is because things won’t fit if
they don’t go in exactly.
“Finally, the astounding reliability now
experienced in F1 is based upon taking
nothing for granted: every part of the
electrical loom is properly supported;
hydraulic lines are anti-vibration mounted
and are the correct lengths and not under
strain. All the services in the car are
properly laid out – and that level of detail is
just missing from this car, which puts a
huge load on the car build itself.”
"GP1" RATHER THAN F1
Willis is obviously critical of the way in which
Dallara has managed the project. Having
been in Italy for the initial build, he expresses
surprise that the manufacturer did not hire a
greater number of experienced F1 personnel.
With reference to the company’s successes in
GP2, he suggests what it has produced is
more akin to an advanced GP2 chassis than
a fully-fledged F1 car. “It’s GP1 rather than
F1 and I’m sure the integration, the detail
and the quality of components in the
garages next to ours [ie those of the other
new teams] will be significantly better.”
The problem, says Willis, is that the project
falls between two stools. If not intending to
enter with a competitive car it would, he
argues, be perfectly feasible to begin life in
F1 as a ‘Super-GP2 team’, gain experience,
build up a technical group, ramp up quality
and slowly advance to the higher level, “but
what we have is neither cheap enough and
sufficiently easy to work on to take that
route, nor is it of a high enough quality to
follow the conventional approach.”
The big question being wrestled with at the
time of writing is whether HRT will continue
Hispania arrived for the firstrace with no testing and itscars still to be assembled’
F1-Hispania.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 01:40 Page 2
Willis’ shopping list includes the usual
teething problems that afflict most new
builds but also some fairly fundamental issues
in need of remedy. “We certainly need some
more cooling options on the brakes and
we’re going to redesign the steering wheels,”
he says. “We want to give the hydraulics a
facelift to improve the packaging and the
reliability; we’ve got to do something about
the driver installation because the cockpit
isn’t tidy enough, which means we don’t
have enough freedom to move the drivers
where we want them to go. Added to that
are a whole series of serviceability issues
that need to be addressed: it takes too long
to make a suspension change; too long to
put a floor on; there are too many fasteners
in the bodywork and it’s too dependent on
individual hand-building. The car is just too
difficult to work on so we have to simplify
all of that.”
With the future ownership of design
responsibility uncertain, the question of
who will address these issues is also
ambiguous. “There is a discussion about
the level of fault resolution that comes with
the new car design – but when does fault
resolution become car development?” asks
Willis rhetorically.
Hispania’s problems do not begin and end
with design and manufacturing, it also faces
the experience deficit with which any new
team must cope. Of the small crew, only three
of those working on the mechanical side of
May 201042 www.racetechmag.com
FORMULA ONE HISPANIA RACING F1 TEAMwww.racetechmag.com
42
You have to make sure every problem is properlyreported, not just dealt with quietly at the scene’
ABOVE Senna’s F110 runs wheel-to-wheel with the Lotus ofHeikki Kovalainen but the team knows it will be a long hardfight to drag itself up to the level of its fellow newcomers
from more effort at the design stage, and
which are the product of the choice between
doing it the way it has been done or not
having a car. In some instances it’s easy to
judge what has been rushed through,
jumping [manufacturing] stages all the way –
the quality of composite components
depends an awful lot on the pattern, mould
and paint preparation, the time taken to
laminate and de-mould and cure and trim.
Work at the proper rate and you get a
quality product; rush it and what you get
doesn’t look very nice…”
the partnership with Dallara, or obtain the
geometry for the F110 and set up its own
development programme. “Those are the
two options available to us. The latter will
take a few weeks to sort out and realistically
any standalone programme would be 10 or
15 weeks away from producing anything for
the car,” Willis says.
Rare for a Formula One team, development
isn’t top of the priorities list at Hispania.
Understanding what it has, and then
optimising it, is viewed as the more urgent
matter. With a non-negotiable deadline of
Bahrain qualifying on March 13, neither car
was built to its design specification. For
example, steel suspension makes its return to
F1 because there was not sufficient time to
manufacture composites, and both cars are
running with a minimal racing loom, limiting
data channels to the bare necessities.
Of the parts the team does have, Willis says
some are well-concepted and manufactured,
while others are rather crude. “In terms of
refinement, the design is certainly some way
behind where a mid-grid F1 car would be.
How far behind is difficult to say; certainly the
BARs of the early 2000s would be much
better integrated and easier to work on.
“How much that reflects the target of
Dallara and how much it reflects the lack of
time at the end of the programme is difficult
to judge. I will need to go through on a
component by component basis and
determine which parts could have benefited
ABOVE Out of the darkness:the Hispania Racing F1 Teamwas born only after an 11th-hour change of ownership
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carbon main case “a no-brainer”. Seamless
shift is likewise desirable, “but there is
sufficient experience in the pit lane to do it
yourself if somebody else’s geometry didn’t
precisely suit your needs.”
Despite the problems of its birth, the more
the technical director is able to discuss the
long-term future, the more the problems of
the moment appear to be transient.
Over the last decade there has been a
tendency to think of F1 development in
terms of the things that are most readily
apparent. Horsepower and aerodynamic
efficiency are at the top of the list, followed
by suspension and handling for the more
enquiring. Anything that isn’t a
performance differentiator falls off the radar
because it simply isn’t relevant. Hispania’s
issues shine a light into a dark corner long
forgotten. Issues such as manufacturing
methodology, process control, packaging
practices and fault reporting aren’t ever
discussed because they’ve become second
nature; the attention to detail may be
extraordinary but the application of the
extraordinary has become mundane.
The difficult beginnings of Hispania serve
to bring those underlying foundations back
into view. Doubtless as the team improves
over the coming months they will once
again be covered and forgotten, until the
next new teams appear.
May 201044 www.racetechmag.com
FORMULA ONE HISPANIA RACING F1 TEAMwww.racetechmag.com
44
the operation have prior F1 experience. The
rest, while experienced in motorsport, are
learning on the job. “And without being
snobbish, there is a fundamental difference,”
says Willis. “This is the only formula with an
engine that revs to 18,000 rpm: the
vibration from that does a lot of damage to
sensors, actuators, looms etc; the intensity of
braking and kerbing events causes higher
acceleration levels; and the packaging is
much tighter than anywhere else. Le Mans,
for example, is equally high-speed, but those
are much bigger cars, much heavier and can
absorb more weight to protect systems,
while also having more room to play with.
F1 has all sorts of unusual quirks which make
it a very difficult environment to work in and
if you haven’t got the experience, you have
issues with the car because of problems you
haven’t seen before.
“Reliability comes predominantly from
design and then quality control through
manufacture and then procedure and
attention to detail in the car build stage…
but certainly not least through the fault
reporting mechanism in the garage. You have
to make sure every problem is properly
reported and not just dealt with quietly at the
scene: it should be reported, it should be
fixed, and the fact it’s been fixed should be
reported, so that somebody is required to
come up with a proper solution, whether it
requires a process or a design change. We’re
just not in a position to do that yet.”
The ‘yet’ in that sentence is important. In
stark terms Hispania seems chaotic, but the
work going on in the garage is calm and
methodical; the team got one car home in
Australia and both in Malaysia and China,
albeit several laps off the pace. Willis
acknowledges that he is putting together a
design group with experienced F1 personnel
that will – subject to a budget being agreed –
begin to look at topics covering a wide
spectrum of performance and non-
performance related issues.
TECHNICAL COLLABORATION
In the longer term he doesn’t rule out the
possibility of a technical collaboration with an
established team (similar to the Force India-
McLaren arrangement), but he is encouraged
by the performance of Hispania’s current
engine package: “It [technical collaboration]
is certainly a possibility but at the moment
the Cosworth looks like a pretty good
engine. It has a glitch mid-range but in
terms of fuel consumption and top-end
power, I’m pretty happy with it.”
Willis does, however, also say that the
current Xtrac gearbox is too heavy and that
the proposed regulations regarding greater
gearbox longevity make the need to source a RT
INSET Paper trail: many of thesystems that F1 teams take forgranted are only just being put inplace at Hispania Racing
BELOW Having run 11 seconds offthe pace initially, the team has madesteady progress. In Malaysia and China it got both cars to the finish
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ENGINE TECHNOLOGY TEAM AON LPG FOCUSwww.racetechmag.com
46
LPG BECOMESFOCUS OFATTENTION
BELOW Although tyre troubles at Thruxton masked thetrue pace of the LPG-fuelled Team Aon Focus, poleposition at Rockingham left nobody in any doubt
Chris Pickering investigates the LPG engine project that is ruffling feathers with its pace in the British Touring Car Championship
THE BRITISH Touring Car
Championship is a rather interesting
place to be at the moment. You’ve
got front-wheel-drive cars racing against rear-
wheel-drive cars, saloons against hatchbacks,
turbocharged engines against naturally
aspirated units, and the impending upheaval
of next year’s rule changes. And now, as if
that wasn’t enough for the scrutineers to deal
with, a new fuel has just been thrown into the
mix. What’s more, the powerplant doesn’t
strictly fall into any of the existing categories.
While the familiar naturally aspirated Super
2000 engines continue to dominate – at least
in numbers – the only official regulations for
turbocharged units are those which fall under
the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC)
rules for direct-injection petrol engines. The
new unit, developed by Essex-based
Mountune Racing and campaigned in the
Ford Focuses of Team Aon, is neither. It uses a
turbocharger, like the forthcoming NGTC
engines, but it’s actually based on a Super
2000 unit, with conventional manifold fuel
injection. There’s also the small matter of the
LPG system, of course. All this puts it quite
literally in a class of its own at the moment,
with a one-off homologation agreed with
series organisers TOCA.
DOUBLE WHAMMY
The project came about last year while the
team was considering its engine options for
2010. It was assumed at the time that the
TOCA NGTC ‘package engine’ would be the
way to go performance-wise, but the team
was uneasy about fitting a non-Ford engine.
Although officially unbranded, its origins –
from one of the blue oval’s closest
competitors – are fairly widely known. At the
time the team was also on the lookout for a
new sponsor and a solution was about to be
found to both problems. Paul Onslow-Cole,
father of Team Aon driver Tom Onslow-Cole,
has an LPG fitting business and it was he who
introduced the team to LPG specialist Calor.
When the possibility of a significant
sponsorship deal was mooted the switch to
LPG was all but agreed.
The next call was to BTCC technical chief
Peter Riches, who agreed he liked the idea
of LPG and offered to work with the team
on the regulations. With the NGTC rules
still far from finalised at the time,
Mountune was given a basic set of
guidelines and left to carry on. “There was
an acknowledgement that time was short
and the team were basically told ‘get on
with it, just don’t push your luck’,” recalls
Mountune founder David Mountain. The
key restraints were a capacity of two litres,
in line with both the NGTC and Super 2000
cars, and a turbo boost pressure of no more
than 1.8 bar absolute and a maximum
7,000 rpm (again, as per the NGTC rules).
Perhaps not surprisingly, the fuel system has
provided the main challenge. While
Mountune is no stranger to forced induction,
or indeed the Ford Duratec, LPG in a race
application was new territory. “LPG was
something of an unknown – when we ran
the budget numbers for the team that was
the only bit we couldn’t predict,” recalls
general manager Roger Allen. “We knew how
much it was going to be from the injector
down, but before that we needed help.
ABOVE The turbocharged powerplant on the dyno. Note the thermocouples at the back ofthe engine used to monitor exhaust gas temperatures and infer combustion conditions
SUPPORTING CASTalso takes its Pectel SQ6M engine control
unit from the NGTC specification. Unlike the
TOCA engine, it also features an additional
boost pressure monitoring system that feeds
straight into a sealed TOCA data logger –
presumably just in case Mountune ever feels
tempted to turn the wick up.
Despite raiding the BTCC parts bin, the
build hasn’t been a straight swap. The fuel
tank, for example, still provides all the usual
challenges associated with fuel surge and
low running quantities, but it’s also added
to the LPG car’s weight issues. The tank
alone weighs 30 kg and you need to fill it
with a greater quantity of liquid than you
would a conventional system. If you really
want to get David Mountain talking,
however, it’s worth mentioning the subject
of the lubrication system. Although this isn’t
an LPG-specific issue, it’s clearly a point of
contention in touring car circles.
“We’ve said for a long time that a dry
sump system would be cheaper, more
reliable and easier for everyone,” he
comments. “Big parts of the budgets are
routinely spent trying to make a wet sump
system with the standard production sump
pan work in a racing environment [as
mandated by most touring car series]. It’s
been nothing but a nightmare for every
project we’ve been involved with, right back
to the Sierra Cosworth days.”
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ENGINE TECHNOLOGY TEAM AON LPG FOCUSwww.racetechmag.com
50
Once the mixture is fully vaporised and
safely inside the cylinder the combustion
process is broadly the same as a spark
ignition petrol engine, but there are some
differences. LPG burns somewhat richer
than petrol and its calorific value is lower,
meaning you need around 20 per cent
more fuel mass for the same power output.
It also burns cooler, with exhaust gas
temperatures typically 70 to 100 degrees C
down (which bodes well for exhaust valve
and turbo durability), but it’s not without
its problems. LPG doesn’t have the same
lubricating properties as petrol does and
it’s not unknown for LPG engines to suffer
valve seat recession. Some road car systems
use an additional lubrication system to
supply oil, but Mountune has elected not
to do this because it lowers the octane
rating and the mileages in question aren’t
really high enough to cause problems. “We
did consult our oil supplier and the
response was that normal lubrication
would be fine for LPG in a racing context,”
confirms Mountain. Indeed, barring a
problem with the oil breather system on an
early test run, the engines appear to have
fared very well in-car.
When the concept first emerged there had
been talk of running the car in a naturally
aspirated configuration. In order to make it
competitive on LPG the engineers
hypothesised that they would need to raise
the compression ratio to something like 14
or 15:1 as well as re-engineering the head
to provide considerably larger valve lift.
Fortunately the idea of turbocharging
eliminated this problem, and enabled them
to run what is in many respects a fairly
standard Super 2000 engine.
PICK AND MIX
As the concept took shape Mountune’s
engineers, along with the scrutineers, pieced
together a kind of pick and mix of touring
car regulations. The fundamentals, such as
compression ratio and component weights,
were taken straight from Super 2000, while
the lower 7,000 rpm rev limit and the boost
pressure settings were taken from NGTC.
Internally it remains fairly conventional; the
head is said to be pretty much identical to
the old unit from the plenum downstream,
with the only real changes to the
reciprocating assembly.
“We’ve gone up a spec on the pistons and
rod,” explains Allen. “The torque is
somewhat higher, so we’ve gone for a
turbo-style rod and pistons. They’re just
slightly beefier designs optimised for low
speed, high cylinder pressure, high torque
applications.” The team hasn’t had a chance
to carry out a cylinder pressure study, but
it’s thought to be relatively close to the
equivalent turbocharged petrol unit. The car
ABOVE & RIGHT The fuel tank in the ‘back seat’ is fromPropane Performance Industries and draws on thecompany’s expertise with alternative fuels. “It involves alot more than just bolting a gas tank in the back of thecar,” said Arena boss Mike Earle after Rockingham. “Untilyou’ve tried it, nobody will understand what a technicalchallenge this programme presented us with.”
ABOVE Classic Indy 500 action at the startof the 2009 race (Photo: Dan Helrigel/IMS)
LEFT The pre-raceatmosphere is electric(Photo: Chris Jones/IMS)
RT
Tom Weisenbach, executive director of the Indiana Motorsports Association, explains why the Indy 500 is so special to the US racing industry
Indy 500.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 01:47 Page 1
suppliers racing teams
crews drivers
IMIS-INDY.com
FASTERINTERNATIONAL
SHOW
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INDY 500 WINNING THE BIG RACEwww.racetechmag.com
54
THE SECRETS OFINDY SUCCESS
OVER THE last few years the Indy
500 has lost some of its glamour
due in part to the IRL becoming a
closed series. While there is much to be said
for standardisation as it reduces the costs of
competing, it comes at the expense of
variety, innovation and thinking up outside
of the box solutions.
Looking back over the 98 years that the
race has been run, those events that stand
out tend to be the ones that either had a
close finish or featured cars that redefined the
racing car. The advancement of technology,
sometimes successful and other times not, is
the advantage of having an open formula.
The argument for having a closed formula is
that it ensures a level playing field so that the
driver for an underfunded team has as much
of a chance of winning as one from a wealthy
one, which means that it comes down to
driver skill – or does it?
Over the last 10 years, from when the race
was more open with a variety of engine and
chassis suppliers through to the present time
with the closed series, records show that
Penske has won its five times, Andretti
Green and Chip Ganassi twice each and
Rahal Letterman once. It goes without
saying that they all had great drivers but is
there more to it than meets the eye?
The answer, says Mike Hull, a key member of
Chip Ganassi Racing as its managing director,
is process, people, resource and refinement,
to which can be added experience and focus
according to Tom Anderson, senior vice
president of Andretti Autosport.
“It’s very much a daily process that is
driven by priority and that is how we
approach everything that we do,” says Hull.
“On the first day back to work after the
Indy 500 we sit down and talk as a group
about how to improve ourselves for the
next race. We look at what was good for us
and what could be improved in all areas.
We look at ourselves with open eyes and try
to make ourselves better so that we can be
ready for the next event.”
People, though, and not just the drivers, are
key says Hull who is charged with organising
the process and keeping the large team
focused. “I think that in order to be successful
at Indy what you need is an integrated group
of people who are dedicated to the process
of being ready to race the race with the
goal of winning. Anything less than that is
truly disappointing.”
“You also need the correct amount of time
to prepare, the proper amount of funding or
sponsorship, enough experience or talent in
all departments from the drivers, crew chief,
engineering right on down to the pit crew,”
says Anderson who joined the team last
December bringing with him 40 years of
experience. This includes being co-owner and
managing director of Fernandez Racing from
2001 to 2009 and before that the managing
director of Chip Ganassi Racing from 1990 to
2000 when he helped lead the team to four
consecutive CART championships between
1996 and 1999. The team also claimed a win
in the 2000 Indianapolis 500.
“The next thing is that you have got to have
the chemistry with everyone getting along
When everybody has the same technical package, what gives teams the extra edge it takes to win the Indy 500? William Kimberley finds out
ABOVE Helio Castroneves leads the pack. The fitand finish of the car is crucial as teams seek togain an edge by the reduction of friction whereverpossible (Photos: Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
ABOVE Vitor Meira’s car catches fire at a pit stopin last year’s race. The quick reactions of the pitstop crews play a crucial role in the outcome of arace that is often littered with caution periods
in – the more you have been to a place like
Indy, the more you understand the pressure
that it creates and the more you can cope
with that environment, the more likely you
are to make better decisions.
“In Indy, unlike some other races, a huge
amount is put into the preparation before the
race rather than in the race itself. Once upon
a time it used to be three weeks of
preparation at Indy, then it was down to two
weeks and now it’s down to one, so it’s going
to be a real interesting month of May this
year. Understanding the race track and
understanding how the car relates to it and
the weather conditions, which can be variable
at this time of year, is extremely important.”
Both Hull and Anderson agree that the
closed formula has altered the way they work
and prepare for the race compared to earlier
times when the race was more open.
“I think that any open formula was down to
‘big bites’,” says Hull, “and typically in a big
bite situation when the box was a great deal
larger, it wasn’t necessary to refine the small
details of the racecar. You could rely on the
ability of the guy driving the car and the guys
going over the wall that looked after it for the
pit stops. Other factors included things like
Cosworth possibly giving you 50 more
horsepower or maybe your tyres were more
durable than your competitors’ tyres, or it
could be that the Eagle chassis was better
than the March one. At Indianapolis over the
years you created an edge with the
technology from various supporting vendor
groups and then on top of that were the
engine companies that would help with
testing and additional engineering support.
“These days we do the same thing but we
zero in microscopically with our product –
it’s a totally different way to race in terms of
that today. We examine the fit and finish of
the car with the bodywork where every little
fastener is in the airstream, how the
suspension is oriented to the airstream, how
the driver sits in the cockpit and so on – it’s
all about nailing everything down in minute
detail these days. We refer to it as the
creation of frictionless racing, which is what
we are trying to achieve from an engineering
point of view. If you reduce friction, in a way
you create horsepower.”
To reinforce how the game has changed
since 2003, Hull refers to the time when
Ganassi Racing switched from CART to the
Indy Racing League. The year was, he says, a
The creation of frictionless racingis what we are trying to achievefrom an engineering point of view’
Indy 500.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 01:47 Page 4
jolt for the team. “When we left the CART
championship at the end of 2002 to join IRL
on a full-time basis we had our eyes opened.
We got beat up pretty good and although
we won the championship with Scott Dixon
that year, the people we were racing against
were just so much better than we were in
terms of the details on the racecar – and
we’d won championships.
“There was a steep learning curve in what it
took to be really good on ovals. It was a great
educational experience for all of us and made
us all try to be better in terms of refinement
with our product and over time I think that’s
where we’ve been. If you walk up and down
the grid at any IndyCar race now, you are
going to see some well turned out racecars
from end to end on the grid.”
“There was a time when a boxed stock
car from the manufacturer could win the
race,” says Anderson, “but those days are
gone. There are things on the car that
were not even thought of when it was
designed in 2003.
“There’s now a tremendous amount of
variation in suspension geometry, gearbox
design and fitting and many other things
that in most racing circles would be
considered trivial and therefore not worth
bothering about. Unfortunately, though,
trivial has become reality in the series and
you will get beat by it every week unless
you catch on to it, but that is what it takes
to win the Indy 500.
“The race has become a situation where I
would bet a considerable amount of money
that no new team and driver could come in
and cherry pick this race. There was a time
when that could be done, such as when
Montoya won in 2000, but that’s not going
to happen any more.
“If you are changing chassis every year you
are going for larger pieces but because the
rulebook has contained us in certain areas
it’s opened doors on others – if there’s no
gas on the stove, you’ve got to find another
way to fry the egg.”
THE ‘BIG BITES’
So what were the “big bites” to which Hull
was referring? The arrival in 1963 of the
Lotus-Ford type 29, the lightweight rear-
engined car that revolutionised racing at the
Brickyard, is often rightfully highlighted as an
example. Although it finished second due to
yellow flag conditions negating its advantage
of not having to stop so frequently for fuel as
the front-engined Offenhauser-powered cars,
everyone that day could see that the writing
was on the wall for the Indy roadster. Within
two years, when a rear-engined Lotus did win
with Graham Hill at the wheel, the rear-
engine revolution was complete.
However, while this is the most popular
example of innovation at Indy, the event has
always been the breeding ground for pushing
the boundaries since the very beginning. For
example, the fourth running of the race in
1914, just before the outbreak of World War I,
saw some ground-breaking technology that
was to revolutionise the race engine in the US.
Again, the influence was European, but this
time it was from France. An historical moment
was the 1912 French Grand Prix which was
won by Georges Boillot in a 7600 cc Peugeot,
a small engine in comparison with the 14-litre
cars it was racing against. However, the real
point of interest was that it was the first
engine to have twin cams plus four valves per
cylinder in a hemispherical combustion
chamber, a revolutionary concept at the time.
As Griffith Borgeson remarks in his book The
Classic Twin-Cam Engine, it marked the
“manifest obsolescence of the ponderous
May 201056 www.racetechmag.com
INDY 500 WINNING THE BIG RACEwww.racetechmag.com
56
ABOVE Juan-Pablo Montoya (centre) brokeranks with the CART series to race and win theIndy 500 for Ganassi in 2000. Such is themicroscopic attention to detail demanded by thetight regulations today that a new team wouldbe unable to come in and win the big race
BELOW Al Unser Jr edges out Scott Goodyearby 0.043 seconds at the finish of the 1992Indy 500. With such small margins separatingthe cars of the modern era, painstakingattention to detail in race preparation can makethe difference between victory and defeat
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approach to racing car design”.
The following year this engine came to
Indianapolis. Following some persuasion by
a representative of Carl Fisher, the
Speedway creator, co-owner and financial
genius, who had sent an emissary to Europe
in a quest to recruit men and machines to
race in the Indy 500, Peugeot sent Jules
Goux and Paul Zuccarelli, the Jenson
Buttons and Lewis Hamiltons of their day,
to race the L76 Peugeots. The result was a
victory for the Frenchman who finished
over 13 minutes ahead of his nearest rival.
While his average speed of 75.93 mph was
not a new record, he was the first winner of
the 500 to go the entire distance without
the aid of a relief driver.
The following year, Peugeot again sent a
two-car works team with a pair of 1913 GP
Delages being their biggest threat. However,
there was also a private entry for another
Peugeot, another twin-cam engine car but of
only 3.0-litre capacity. This greatly worried
the French car company as it was concerned
that it would damage its image and would
look absurd in a race for cars up to 450
cubic inches (7347 cc). It therefore
completely turned its back on the entry,
denying Arthur Duray, who had borrowed
the car from chocolate-fortune heir Jacques
Meunier who had purchased it from Peugeot
for his daily transport, any support. When
the car arrived at the Speedway all it had
was a set of plugs and a few hand tools to
serve as equipment and spares. In the event
the race was won by René Thomas in a
Delage at an average speed of 82.47 mph.
In contrast, the speed of the “Baby
Peugeot”, the darling of the huge crowd,
with half the displacement, was 80.99 mph.
As for the works Peugeots, Boillot crashed on
the 141st lap and Goux finished fourth.
While the teams returned home, they left
the cars behind so that they were examined
in great detail by the engine builders of their
day. While not exactly copied, the design
influences lived on for more than 60 years,
the influence on the Miller/Offenhauser era in
particular being very apparent.
The regulations governing the Indy 500 did
a great deal to inspire the rapid development
of American racing equipment in the 1920s.
As displacement was cut from 300 ci (4916
cc) to 183 ci (2999 cc) and then to 91.5 ci
(1499 cc) it saw the advent of high-
compression engines, superchargers, four-
wheel hydraulic brakes, hydraulic shock
absorbers, low-pressure tyres and exotic fuels.
However, in something that resonates today,
the principal manufacturers one by one
withdrew from racing because of their
inability to compete successfully against the
engine specialists, particularly Harry Miller, the
Duesenberg brothers and Louis Chevrolet’s
Frontenac specials. Then there was the four-
cylinder Offenhauser developed from a
marine unit that came second in the 1930
race that was the basis of this company’s
racing engine for the next 35 years.
INGENUITY
There were also the one-off attempts to break
the mould during this period. Miller, whose
engines won every Indianapolis race from
1930-1938 – although he had sold the
business that bore his name in 1930 in
disgust at the rule change that allowed
production engines of up to 366 ci (6 litres) –
produced a V16 and two four-wheel drive V8s
in this period, but they were not a success.
Inspired by the Auto Unions, another
revolutionary jump was in 1938 with the
rear-mounted Miller Gulf special whose 2950
cc six-cylinder engine inclined at 45 degrees
drove all four wheels via a four-speed
gearbox. Four cars were built, running at
Indy in 1939, 1940 and 1941, but they
never completed a race.
A few years later the Novi V8 featured four
overhead cams, a centrifugal blower and
was credited with 600 bhp. Then there was
the six-wheeled Pat Clancy special and the
front and rear-powered Twin Coach in
which the driver sat astride the
superchargers between two Miller 90 ci
four-cylinder Offenhauser midget engines
that were shoehorned into the chassis.
However, none of these were winners but it
was not for want of trying and the
opportunity to have a go due to the open
nature of the regulations.
Perhaps the greatest technology leap,
though, was the turbine car. While it is the
Pratt & Whitney-powered STP car that almost
won the race in 1967 but for a five cent
May 201058 www.racetechmag.com
INDY 500 WINNING THE BIG RACEwww.racetechmag.com
58
Over the years you created an edgewith the technology from varioussupporting vendor groups’
ABOVE & BELOW The turbine cars representedone of the greatest technology leaps in the race’shistory. Parnelli Jones came so close to winningthe 1967 event with the STP-Granatelli car
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gearbox failing with only 10 miles left to run,
it was not the first such car at the Speedway.
In 1955 an ancient Kurtis roadster sported a
Boeing 502 turbine for tyre tests although it
never raced and in 1962 Dan Gurney was
behind the wheel of the “Trackburner”,
another Boeing turbine car. Unfortunately his
qualifying speed of 145 mph was 1 mph too
slow to meet the required speed to qualify.
Undaunted by the failure at the last hurdle
in the 1967 race, STP boss Andy Granatelli
reached an agreement with Colin Chapman
of Lotus to fund the development of the
Lotus-Pratt & Whitney type 56. However, the
project was blighted for a number of
reasons. Firstly, in order to meet the new
regulations concerning turbines at Indy, two
of the three axial compressor stages
preceding the main centrifugal compressor
were removed, similar in effect to reducing a
piston engine’s compression from around
6.3:1 to only 4.9:1 so the power output fell
back to a 430 bhp baseline.
TURBINES LOSE OUT
Secondly, the Drake-Offenhauser engines
were now developing between 600-700 bhp.
However, the killer blow for the project was
the death of Mike Spence testing the car at
the Speedway just a few weeks before the
race. Following the death of Jimmy Clark the
month before in a Formula Two race in
Germany, it rocked Chapman to his very core.
He was quoted as saying at the time: “I am
filled with grief at the loss of my long-time
friend and associate Jimmy Clark, and the
additional loss, just one month later to the
day, of Mike Spence. As an understandable
result I want nothing more to do with the
1968 Indianapolis race.”
In the event all three cars failed to finish but
once again defeat was snatched from the jaws
of victory when the turbine on Leonard’s car
shut itself down while in the lead with just
nine laps left to run.
Technological advantage or not, perhaps
the most stylish way to win the Indy 500
was demonstrated by a Frenchman (of
course) in 1913. Works Peugeot driver Jules
Goux informed the pits during a pit stop
that there was to be a bottle of chilled white
wine waiting for him the next time he
pitted. After some protestation by the team
manager, Goux’s will prevailed. At the next
pit stop he was greeted with a bucket filled
with ice and six pints of champagne. He
went on to win the race.
May 201060 www.racetechmag.com
INDY 500 WINNING THE BIG RACEwww.racetechmag.com
60
ABOVE & RIGHT Therace has a history ofinnovation. Billy DeVoredrove the six-wheel PatClancy Special to sixthplace in 1948 (above).The rear-engined Lotus29, driven by DanGurney (pictured right,car 93) and Jim Clark,didn’t win in 1963 but itdid signal the beginningof the end for thetraditional Indy roadster
BELOW Winning in style:Jules Goux at speed in1913. The champagnemust have done wondersfor his bravery!
RT
The more you have been to a placelike Indy, the more you understandthe pressure that it creates’
Indy 500.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 01:48 Page 9
Race Tech is an invaluable reference work: keepyour issues to hand in our stylish binders. Theseare both smart and strong and will ensure thateach and every copy of the magazine staysexactly as when you first received it.Each binder holds 12 issues, providing a secureand efficient way of storing the magazine as acollectors item and as the best source ofinformation upon racing technology.
Prices: (Incl p&p)Uk only: £7.50Europe: £9.50Rest of the World £11.00
ABOVE & BELOW The rich history of the Speedway is thekey to the Indy 500’s near-mythical status. Contrast thestart of the 2009 race (above, photo: Jim Haines) with thedrivers’ preparation for one of the first races at Indianapolis,in 1909 (Photos: Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
A serious change needs to takeplace in terms of rejuvenatinginnovation and becoming relevantto today’s automotive world’
submit new designs is very exciting. We
also need competition among engines
from the automotive manufacturers. This
will bring money into the sport and create
excitement for the fans.
Looking at what may happen in regards
to the new rules package for 2012 has all
of us in the industry on the edge of our
seat. The one common agreement is that a
serious change needs to take place in terms
of rejuvenating innovation and becoming
relevant to the trends in today’s
automotive world. The DeltaWing concept
certainly addresses these points. Its low
drag concept equates to high speeds being
achieved with a very low horsepower
requirement, which in turn leads to much
better fuel economy. Imagine a 500-mile
race being run at 230 mph and completed
using 50 gallons of fuel.
DeltaWing has also started a move to
build the entire chassis in Indiana, reaching
out to the state government and creating a
plan where funding will be in place for
companies that will build their chassis in
Indiana. After all, the resources are plentiful
in Indy to do this. Dallara, Lola and BAT
have all jumped on this bandwagon and
committed to manufacture their chassis in
the state while Swift is currently
manufacturing in California which still
keeps the revenue in the US. However,
there will be plenty of money spent
internationally with companies like Xtrac
and Alcon still likely to play a major role as
suppliers. Along with Dallara, they also
have facilities in the US.
BACK ON TOP
The excitement building around 2012
and the new car and engine package is
long overdue and very welcome but we
all are anxiously awaiting the direction
from the new leadership. The industry is
very supportive of Bernard and giving
him the backing he needs to be the new
leader but he must perform and make the
right decisions that put this series back
on top to the same level of success it saw
in the early to mid-‘90s. It is time to
bring innovation back into IndyCar and
put it on top. Something new and
exciting like the DeltaWing concept
would certainly do just that.
With the prospects of IndyCar racing
returning back to the cutting edge again,
it has to be said that this year’s race is
looking very strong and healthy, perhaps
the best it has been since the IRL/CART
split 15 years ago. Qualifying has been
revitalised with pole position being
decided by a new ‘shoot-out’ format for
the top fastest cars while several cars will
be bumped during qualifying. There are a
number of drivers who have to be
considered potential winners, including
three times Indy 500 winner Helio
Castroneves, Penske team-mate Will Power
who has had two wins from three starts
this season, Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, both of
whom have won the race, and Justin
Wilson. The race also has a reputation for
throwing up surprise winners and this year
looks no exception. RT
Indy 500.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 01:49 Page 12
BELOW Sulzer Metco’s SUMEBoreprocess, which can be applied to cast iron,has found popularity in the NASCAR ranks
May 201064 www.racetechmag.com
SPECIAL REPORT COATINGSwww.racetechmag.com
64
FOR A COUPLE of thousand years
before modern science mankind
became rather obsessed with the
subject of alchemy. Some of the greatest
thinkers of the day became bogged down
in the ultimately fruitless task of trying to
turn base metals into gold (although
some genuinely useful discoveries did also
come out of it). The actual task of turning
one elemental material into another,
though, turned out to be impossible –
unless of course you happen to have a
nuclear reactor to hand, but even Formula
One budgets may struggle to
accommodate this at the moment. So, it
seems we need another way of making
the surface of one material behave like
another. Fortunately just such a technique
exists, and you won’t need to don a
pointy hat or a wizard’s cloak.
The answer, of course, is to coat the
relevant surface with a material of the
desired property, be it thermal insulation,
wear-resistance or low-friction. There really
is little more to the principle of coating, but
the array of different materials and methods
is both bewildering and often extremely
sophisticated. New applications are being
found all the time, particularly now there is
an increasing emphasis on efficiency, and
the field’s importance in motorsport is
constantly growing. This month in Special
Report we catch up with some of the
companies leading the charge.
CALICO
Our rundown of the industry begins with
Calico Technologies, based in Denver, North
Carolina. The company supplies extensively to
the motorsport industry with applications
ranging from dry lubricants and thermal
barriers to ultra-hard diamond-like carbon
(DLC) coatings. Vice president of R&D Bala
Kailasshankar gives us the lowdown: “Friction
and thermal management continue to drive
coating and surface morphology
developments, but these days people are also
An ever-increasing number of applications are being found for sophisticated surface coatings in motorsport. Chris Pickering reports
MOTORSPORT’S‘GOLD RUSH’
Special Report.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 01:51 Page 1
ABOVE A stream of powder is fed into a jet ofplasma during the SUMEBore coating process
BELOW The finishedcomponents –representing about four man-days of work
Aircraft tubing fell out of the running
when one website mentioned a price of
‘34 per foot’. Whether that was dollars or
pounds was not even considered.
Elliptical oval would have been great –
according to my airfoil analysis program
it offered an almost identical level of drag
to the proper aero stuff. The drawback
was that more companies listed the stuff
than sold it. A suitable bulk order would
have got us what we wanted and an
awful lot left over to sell on to anyone
interested. That left flat oval which is
readily available and used on a wide
range of professionally built cars.
Before the decision could be made, Rod
had taken matters into his own hands
and had decided to make his own aero
tubing. This was not a total surprise since
the T4 featured flat oval tube that had
been converted from round tube by the
simple expedient of flattening it over a
die in a small hydraulic press. Before you
complain about the crudeness of the
process and the risks involved in
overstressing the material, bear in mind
that these wishbones have done 12 races
per season for 12 years and enjoyed their
fair share of contact and grass cutting
without a single failure.
Now he wanted to try a more
sophisticated technique – this time the
round tube was to be drawn over a
mandrel. The scheme went something
like this: take a short length of steel, give
it an elliptical cross section and pull it
LEFT The tool used toconvert round tube toelliptical showing the die(top left) and the endstop and thrust bearingthat allow the nut to pullit through the round tube
ABOVE & BELOW The wishbone jig with the bushesalready bolted in (above). The markings for the upperwishbone can also be seen. Below, the tubes aremarked out and cut and filed carefully to shape
ABOVE Fitting the tube to thethreaded bush. A good fit isessential for a successful weld
Tempering the metal is best done ina tray of sand on the kitchen cookerwhen your significant other issignificantly otherwise engaged’
Bernoulli is a quarterly journal that explores in unprecedented depththe theory and practice of road and race car aerodynamics. Its incisivecontent includes road and race car aero design and developmentstudies and insights into wind tunnel design and operation, the use ofCFD and on-track aero testing techniques.
Clearly, Bernoulli is essential reading for all involved in the operation ofwind tunnels, wind tunnel developers and suppliers of rolling roads,instrumentation and flow visualisation technology. It is equally vital formodel makers and testing service providers and for suppliers of CFDsoftware and design and manufacturing software.
Above all, this unique publication is essential reading for everyoneinvolved in optimising the performance of road and race cars, fromdesign right through to the actual competitive events.
Racecar Graphic are leading publishers of motor racing books and periodicals, and organisers of specialist
workshops for the industry. Racecar Graphic publish the monthly Race Tech magazine.
For further information please contact Racecar Graphic Limited e-mail: [email protected]
841 High Road, London, N12 8PT, UK, Tel +44 (0) 208 446 2100 Fax +44 (0) 208 446 2191
LEFT The aero tubehad to be reshaped toaccept the cylindricalbush. This was donewith a series oftapered drifts
ABOVE The finished components arefitted to the jig and tack welded. Note thepacking to raise them to the right heightand the weights to keep them in place
Opting for square tube overround brings a weight penaltyof around 30% size for size’
ABOVE The wishbone is then returned tothe jig so that the pushrod tabs can befitted. The square bar is bolted betweenthe tabs to locate them in the right position
ABOVE After tacking, thewishbone is removed from thejig and the welding completed
EVER WONDERED how drag racers get such traction for the
incredible sprint times they record? The answer lies partly
with the traction compounds used to coat the road surface,
and one such product is VP Racing Fuels’ Lane Choice 7
(LC7). The latest compound in the LC line is intended to
provide a universal traction compound for all conditions. As
well as maintaining performance in hot conditions LC7 has
been formulated specifically to improve upon the existing
compound’s cold weather performance.
“I found that a couple of tracks were mixing our LC6
product with another compound to get the required adhesion
– they liked how LC6 worked in the heat but they were
worried about it in the cold,” explains Jason Rueckert,
director of motorsport, VP Racing Fuels. After consulting with
the company’s chemists the decision was taken to remove
some of the resin and add some more adhesive. The result is
what has become known as LC7. It replaces LC6 Cold and is
expected to take over from LC6 in due course.
LC7 PROMISES IMPROVED COLD WEATHER PERFORMANCE
RT
RT
RED 115.qxd:Racetech.qxd 30/4/10 13:50 Page 1
Moto Tech is a brand new bi-monthlyjournal that explores in unprecedenteddepth the technology in high-performanceroad and racing bikes. It is a magazinewritten for riders, engineers, manufacturers,suppliers, mechanics, team managers andenthusiasts who demand a more in depthinsight into the workings of the motorbike –in fact, all who seek knowledge of the artand science of motorbike technology.
The days when a rider did not need tounderstand the workings of his bike are longgone – nowadays the control and theengineering of the machine are inextricablylinked. Blending technology and techniquesensures that Moto Tech will therefore beessential reading for everyone who wantsmore out of their biking experience.
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Racecar Graphic are leading publishers of motor racing books and periodicals, and organisers of specialist
workshops for the industry. Racecar Graphic publish the monthly Race Tech magazine.
For further information please contact Racecar Graphic Limited e-mail: [email protected]
841 High Road, London, N12 8PT, UK, Tel +44 (0) 208 446 2100 Fax +44 (0) 208 446 2191