Racecar Engineering June 2017

You might say that Formula 1 racing has an addiction to downforce Baroque is a style of European architecture, music, and art of the 17th and 18th centuries that is characterised by ornate, intricate detail. The word comes from the French baroque which in turn is derived from the Portuguese word barroco which refers to a ‘rough or imperfect pearl’. The Palace of Versailles represents it in architecture, so does Christopher Wren’s works in England. In music, the major composers include Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel. On the visual side Caravaggio and Rubens are baroque artists. In informal usage, the word baroque can simply mean that something is elaborate, with many details, but baroque has a resonance and application that extends beyond a simple reduction to either a style or period. Well, here we are…

There’s nothing like a bit of a flurry on the pit wall or in the garage to liven up the show and favour those who can think best on their feet To create more surprise, results in motor racing require a degree of randomness. This, joy of joys, is what we sometimes see when variable weather conditions catch out some drivers and allows the talent of those usually labouring under the shadow of uncompetitive equipment to shine through. Safety car situations can also upset the order, if not always for the best. Some people have suggested that the amazing reliability of contemporary racing cars has encouraged predictable results, especially in F1 (until, gladly, maybe this season – at time of writing Ferrari 2, Mercedes 1). While this is partly true, racecars dropping…

‘Our downforce last year was clearly too low, but we have been able to step up and we have more now’ On paper, it looks as though the Toyota TS050 has merely been through an update process; the monocoque is held over from last year, and it still runs with a 2.4-litre twin-turbo engine. However, this LMP1 car is anything but a simple update. Although the engine retains its capacity and architecture, it has a completely different lean burn characteristic. The gearbox, too, is completely new, as is the front and rear suspension. The battery is designed to run with less cooling in mind, and therefore less drag, and the whole car has been optimised to accommodate new aero and tyre regulations. In fact, the only thing that was missing from the raft…

What is perhaps the most unlikely car in GT racing is set for another strong season in 2017 The finale of SRO’s Intercontinental GT Challenge last year was held at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia. Among the smattering of FIA GT3 specification Audis, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and Aston Martins was a strange interloper, a Toyota Prius. This was no Uber driver having taken a very wrong turn somewhere. No, this was one of two highly potent GT300 specification mid-engined rear-wheel-drive Toyota Priuses built for the Japanese Super GT championship. Super GT’s second tier class GT300, so called as the cars are supposed to produce around 300bhp (though in reality they are substantially more powerful), is open to three distinct types of car, each with their own set of regulations. The most popular…

The Toyota Mark X is a rather unremarkable luxury saloon. It features rear-wheel-drive or 4wd depending on the exact trim level chosen by the customer. It does not stand out in a crowd. Currently the car is only available in Japan and only via the Toyopet dealer chain. At a stretch you could see it being adapted for use in VLN but certainly not GT racing. However, that did not seem apparent to Takayuki Hiranuma, the general manager of the Toyopet chain in Saitama, a suburb of Tokyo. In 2013 he launched a new racing team staffed entirely by mechanics from his service centres, believing that the best way to prove the abilities of his staff was to have them take part in motorsport while he could also take advantage of…

About 90 per cent of the parts for the MRT06 were completed when the team entered administration Before the 2010 season the FIA opened up the F1 entry list and four brand new teams entered the sport. Seven years later and every one of them has collapsed. USF1 never really got going, HRT collapsed at the end of the 2012 season and Caterham failed at the end of 2014. The last of this group of new teams, Manor F1, closed its doors in January 2017, but not before it had completed the design of a brand new car. The team had been rescued from administration at the start of the 2015 season and looked to have a hopeful future. A small squad was put together blending youth and experience and things were…