Racecar Engineering October 2020

engineering is cool

This year has been tough on everyone. The Covid pandemic has caused chaos across the world, but I find myself particularly annoyed by what some of the recent decisions made here in the UK mean for the generation that, in five to 10 years, will be a part of the workforce trying to fix the mistakes my generation and those before have made. To fix those mistakes, they need a good step into their careers, which for many start with their GCSE, A Level and Highers grades, and the results fiasco over the past couple of weeks in the UK is not the start these young people need. My parents came to England in the 1970s from India with one goal: to provide their children with an education that would set them…

the trouble with tyres

Let’s be honest. Brake ducts have long been allowed to also function as effective aerodynamic devices on F1 cars, which reinforces Renault’s right to protest Racing Point on the basis of obtaining these now ‘non-listed’ items from Mercedes. But what everyone is really waiting to know is whether there was any forbidden technical collusion between Mercedes and Racing Point that has allowed the latter to construct such an apparently detailed clone of the former’s 2019 car. I can understand and respect Lawrence Stroll being adamant in defence of his team and reputation, hence the protest against the FIAimposed punishment. However, if one sticks one’s head above the parapet to the extent Racing Point has, with its alleged copy of a whole car, one should expect to be shot at. Some might…

last dance

This year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans will take place not only behind closed doors and without many competitors from IMSA, but it will also be the last time the LMP1 hybrids will grace the Sarthe circuit. It brings to an end a period that started with the advent of the World Endurance Championship and involved full factory development programmes from Toyota, Audi, Porsche and Nissan. Next year, the Hypercar regulation set will replace these regulations which have remained similar since 2012. These are hybrid prototypes that will be performance balanced. In 2022, the Hypercars will be joined by LMDh, which has a regulation set based on IMSA’s existing DPi philosophy. The entry list for the 2020 edition of Le Mans boasts 60 cars, but the majority of the grid is made…

lmh and lmdh

At Le Mans in September the Automobile Club de l’Ouest will announce the final regulation set for the LMDh prototype category that is scheduled for introduction in 2022. The regulation is based on IMSA’s Daytona Prototype International (DPi) regulations that uses four chassis manufacturers (Dallara, ORECA, Multimatic and Ligier) with homologated running gear, including the gearbox. Manufacturers will be able to produce engines and aero kits that fit the base chassis and it seems this will be a popular move as manufacturers look to privateer teams to represent them in competition as they do in GT3 racing. The alternative is Le Mans Hybrid (LMH), which allows a manufacturer to develop an entire car from the ground up, including the hybrid system. Development is limited for five years, which should keep costs…

toyota – the consistent improver

Toyota is the last of the manufacturers still standing after successive rivals ditched their programmes for various unrelated reasons. The Japanese manufacturer has released details of its development curve since it first joined the WEC in 2012, showing a dramatic drop in fuel consumption, increase in power and reduced lap time in the past eight years. Comparing 2012 with the best of subsequent years, 10 seconds has been shaved off the fastest qualifying time, from 3m24.842s at the start of the programme to 3m14.791s in 2017. A similar amount has come off the fastest race lap, from 3m27.088s in 2013 down to 3m17.297s in 2019. Perhaps more significant is the fastest 20 per cent of laps in the race, which in 2012 was 3m28.82s compared to 3m19.10s in 2018. A big jump in…

lmp2 – safety in numbers

The LMP2 class is dominated by ORECA and Dallara chassis, with only three teams choosing the Ligier baseline for the 24-hour race. Each of the cars is powered by Gibson’s GK428 4.2-litre V8 engine that is the European standard in the European Le Mans Series and World Endurance Championship. The company also supplies IMSA teams, and produced the GL458 for Rebellion’s LMP1 programme. With 24 cars in the class, LMP2 will be hotly contested. It is also the only category in which there is tyre competition between Goodyear and Michelin, with four teams on Goodyear. For 2021, Michelin will supply the top prototype class and GTE-Pro, while Goodyear will supply the customer LMP2 and GTE-Am classes.…