Racecar Engineering July 2021

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

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

BMW has launched the M4 GT3, a car the Bavarian manufacturer hopes will win major endurance races in customer hands. The all-new challenger is the first to be built under a new rules package created by the FIA to allow for greater freedom of design. However, as the new regulations require BMW to sell 20 of the cars in the first two years in order to retain its homologation, it has been circumspect with the design. The car replaces the outgoing M6 that was introduced in 2016 and which won the Spa 24 Hours in its first season, and again in 2018. That car had shortcomings, particularly in terms of tyre wear, and it is this feature BMW’s development team has worked particularly hard on in order to prepare the M4…

After years in the making, countless hours in the computer design phase – that was further elongated by Covid – and more than 1100 hours in the wind tunnel, NASCAR has finally unveiled its Next Gen regulations that will debut at Daytona, 2022. At a ceremony in North Carolina early in May its three competing manufacturers, Toyota, Ford and Chevrolet, unveiled their contenders for the Cup Series under the moniker of ‘Stock reborn’. The Next Gen cars are a complete departure from the Gen-6 cars they replace, with new technology in safety, suspension set-up, body panel materials and aerodynamics, as well as a focus on aesthetics and a reduction in cost, in order to make the category more attractive to a potential fourth manufacturer. There is also thought given to the future…

The introduction of the Hypercar formula to the FIA World Endurance Championship was always predicted to be challenging and, at the opening round of the 2021 season at Spa Francorchamps early in May, so it proved. The new cars are considerably slower than the old LMP1s by design, with cost at the heart of the regulations designed to encourage competition, and this has led to a compromise for every one of the classes in its portfolio. The new cars are considerably slower than the old LMP1s by design, with cost at the heart of the regulations designed to encourage competition Slow burn By introducing a slower top class, LMP2 for amateur drivers has had to be performance balanced to slow it down. GTE has remained largely untouched, but is now so close to the…

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