Racecar Engineering

Many were predicting a reliability horror show at the Daytona 24 hours as the new GT Prototypes ran with a hybrid system that had, at best, been heavily criticised in the run up to the race. However, come the 24-hour race, the opening round of the IMSA WeatherTech sportscar series, the new hybrid-equipped cars ran well, and the fight for the win came down to usual racing dramas: mistakes in the pit by teams; mechanical issues that could be expected of any new cars; and varying driver tactics in managing traffic. From a supplier perspective – Bosch, which supplied the MGU, WAE that provided the battery and Xtrac that made the gearbox for the hybrid system that was used by all the GTPs – each of the components performed better than expected.…

With the collapse of the GTE / GTLM regulations in top-flight American endurance racing at the end of the 2021 season, General Motors faced something of a challenge. The rules for GT racing in the US had switched to GT3 and the company did not have a suitable car to enter the competition. Instead, it reached an agreement with IMSA organisers to downgrade its existing car to meet the performance windows set by the series’ technical team (see RE V32N4) and started work on a completely new racecar with which to enter global competition. A full 12 months before the car will make its race debut, Corvette launched the Z06 GT3.R and outlined some of the main differences between it and its predecessor. Key among those is the chassis, which comes…

Many were sceptical about the announcement in March 2022 that NASCAR would take one of its Gen 7 Cup cars to Le Mans to compete as the Garage 56 entry for the 2023 centenary race. It seemed to be an unlikely pairing for the race, but GM’s Hendrick Motorsport, NASCAR and IMSA are working to get the car prepared and ready for the Centenary race in June. The announcement was made at Sebring, and was immediately controversial. GM’s Hendrick Motorsport was confirmed to run a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which could have disadvantaged both Ford and Toyota, both of which compete in the US Touring Car series. Some claimed it was just a marketing gimmick, one that would take up a space on the grid instead of a more deserving competitor, likely from…

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then you’re pretty sure what species of waterfowl is in front of you. But if it goes like a Ford Escort, sounds like an Escort and, perhaps most importantly, slides like an Escort, don’t be so sure there’s a Blue Oval fixed to the grille. This is because Welsh company, MST, has taken to building its own version of the classic rally car, in Mk1 and Mk2 form, each one completely new from the ground up, and not one of them bearing the name Ford. MST stands for Motor Sport Tools, a company that its boss, Carwyn Ellis, set up to sell tools and equipment to the motorsport community from its picturesque base on a hillside…

Statistics tell us that in the grand prix seasons of 1952 and ’53, Ferrari and Alberto Ascari were the preeminent forces, winning two world championships in a row for both maker and driver. Ascari won an incredible seven championship grands prix in a row, indeed nine if we overlook Indianapolis, which in those days counted for world points. The driver was a marvel, a man of phenomenal talent and determination, in spite of anxieties driven by superstition. But he also had the benefit of being an exceptional racecar. Ascari’s dominant performance traced its origins back to a Sunday in early June of 1951. Ferrari engineering director, Aurelio Lampredi, was in his office at Maranello, as usual, when Enzo Ferrari reached a conclusion. The two men had been debating the sort of…

Wiring and electronics systems remain among the most widely developed parts of the latest generation of racing vehicles. The functionality, builtin redundancy and filtering capability of a modern motorsport electronics system are far advanced from the technology seen only a few years ago. This is partly thanks to the complexity of the latest generation of power units and the sheer number of interlinked systems on a modern racecar. However, as our understanding of the relationships between systems in a car develops further, so will the electronics and wiring between them. Each year, the reliance on electronics and electrically-powered systems in race vehicles increases. The introduction of hybrid powertrains, in particular, has led to immensely complex systems, and the information engineers want to gather from them is now more detailed, and more crucial…