Race Tech - September 2022

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September 2022 CONTENTS Issue 262 3
The fan car that smashed Goodwood record
Driving Technology Into Pole Position I N T E R N A T I O N A L
Motorsport Engineering
i i
Volume 29 Issue 10
Published August 2022
The next issue will be published
in early September 2022
ISSN 1356-2975
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28 McMURTRY SPÉIRLING 72 Porsche’s unveiling of its 963 at
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Chris Pickering talks to the UK squad Goodwood raised many issues for debate,
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propelled into the limelight by record- but Sergio Rinland believes there is one
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BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE:
FORMULA STUDENT 2022
8,9,10,11,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,
29,30,31,32,33,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48, 36 PORSCHE 963 54 Sara Goodsell quizzes Formula Student
49,50,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,66,67,68,69,70,71, Head of Porsche Motorsport Thomas chief design judge Dan Jones after an event
72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90, Laudenbach talks LMDh, Le Mans, Formula that mirrored the trends witnessed in the
91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106, E and Mission R. By Chris Pickering wider automotive and motorsport spheres
107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,119,120,
121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130,131,132,133,134,
46 NASCAR PIKES PEAK
135,136,137,138,139,140,141,142,143,144,145,146,148,149,
Eric Jacuzzi, managing director of 62 Could Ken Block’s ‘Hoonipigasus’ be the
150,151,152,153,154,155,156,157,158,159,160,161,162,163,
164,165,166,167,168,169,170,171,172,173,174,175,176,177, aerodynamics and vehicle performance at last big-budget ICE project ever built for the
178,179,180,181,182,183,184,185,186,187,188,189,190,191, NASCAR, talks Chris Pickering through the Pikes Peak Hillclimb? Hal Ridge examines a
192,193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,204,205, aero development of the Next Gen racecar car with a vintage silhouette, packed with
206,207,208,209,210,211,212,213,214,215,216,217,218,219, the latest technology
220,221,222,223,224,225,226,227,228,229,230,231,232,233, INDUSTRY NEWS
240,241,242,243,244,245,246,247,248,249,250,251,252,253,
6 Lola Cars reborn; F1’s commitment to
254,255,256,257,258,259,260,261
sustainable fuel; why Artificial Intelligence
Price including post & packing: is the “new frontier”; F1 pursues bid to
UK: £5.95, Europe: £6.50, Rest of World: £7.55 control flex floors; ‘Our Eclectic Future’
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Peugeot reveals lure for WEC comeback;
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category for electric rally cars; Michelin ups
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INTRODUCTION Issue 262 5
GROUP FOUNDER
William Kimberley
ARE WE BEING
CONSULTANT EDITOR
Mark Skewis
HEAD OF DIGITAL
HANDED A
Sara Kimberley
PHOTOGRAPHY
LAT
FINAL WARNING?
ART EDITOR
Paul Bullock
ACCOUNTS
Fiona Keeble
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR
Maryam Lamond
T
HE world has endured a chastening showcase their use in order to win ‘the hearts
MANAGING DIRECTOR few weeks. Swathes of Europe have and minds’ of a public that will need to be
Adrian Goodsell been in flames; temperatures hit new persuaded to use them. In fact, we need a
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR record highs in the UK, topping 40 degrees C. public that demands to use them!
Soheila Kimberley As temperatures soared, it really did feel More than ever before, there is a pressing
as if the planet was sending us a final need for motorsport to sort out its act – on
warning. Any climate crisis non-believers in so many levels – and to show the world
evidence near you? the progress it is making. Which is why this
It appears that we have been caught by the December’s RACE TECH World Motorsport
perfect storm. Just as the need to decarbonise Symposium will be titled: ‘Sustainable
becomes more pressing than ever, the energy Motorsport 2030 – from Race to Road’.
crisis set in motion by Russia’s invasion of Just as some people insist they don’t believe
Ukraine has forced some EU countries to in the climate crisis, others will try to tell
reactivate coal-fired power stations. Desperate you that tech transfer from the racetrack to
times; desperate measures. the road is also a myth. But as Laudenbach
It’s not only temperatures rising fast. The points out, we might not transfer a modular
soaring cost of living is dampening the component directly from the racecar to
appetite to invest further in the pursuit of the its road counterpart, but we do frequently
renewable (green) energies we urgently need. take the approach, the software solutions,
So what can motorsport do to help? As the cooling concepts, the manufacturing
Porsche’s head of motorsport, Thomas methods and all sorts of things that we learn.
Laudenbach, suggests in his interview It will be the same as we make breakthroughs
elsewhere in this issue, we need to be part of in our push towards a sustainable future.
the solution, rather than part of the problem. All of these issues will be on the agenda at
As well as heading down the electrification the Symposium. There is so much to do. And
route, Porsche has invested in the quest so little time. Join us there.
Driving Technology Into Pole Position I N T E R N A T I O N A L for a greater supply of e-fuels. It’s a theme
echoed elsewhere in this magazine, with Mark Skewis
i i Formula 1 confirming that it will be using CONSULTANT EDITOR
sustainable fuel by 2026.
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6 MOTORSPORTS PROFESSIONAL
REVIVAL OF
A LEGEND
Reborn Lola Cars to focus on new cutting edge technologies for

the wider automotive industry and beyond. By Mark Skewis
L
OLA CARS is an iconic name from motor Bechtolsheimer cited his own business background
racing history, but its new owner’s ambition – his company specialises in energy, energy
is to transform it into a leading design and efficiency and renewables, including emerging
engineering force of motorsport’s future. technologies in the transport and automotive
One of the most successful manufacturers of worlds – and the example of Williams Advanced
customer racing cars of all-time, the constructor Engineering as influences on how he thinks a
has been dormant for a decade since the death relaunched Lola can succeed.
of Martin Birrane. But now Till Bechtolsheimer, a “Our plan is to re-establish Lola as a leading design
businessman, part-time racing driver and enthusiast, and engineering force in modern motorsport,”
has purchased the still-functioning Technical Centre he said. “I have built a career investing in energy
in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, UK, full rights to efficiency and see motorsport playing a significant
the Lola name, plus the designs and IP of every Lola role in the innovation and testing of new solutions.
model since its founding in 1958. Through Lola, we hope to develop and provide
“Motorsport across the board, from top to bottom, investment for some of these solutions.
is going through an awful lot of change at the “When you look at the success WAE have had, they
moment,” said Bechtolsheimer, 40, the founder have demonstrated that the innovation that takes
of New York-based investment firm Arosa Capital. place through racing has a much greater application
“All of the major forms of motorsport are seeing than just into motorsport, and I think that’s a big part
new regulations come in and pretty fundamental of my interest in Lola as well.”
questions are being asked on the approach to the
next century of racing. Daunting but exciting prospect
“That creates an interesting moment in time to try For the new owner the opportunity to acquire and
ABOVE Nigel Mansell’s
and do this, especially coupled with the automotive steer one of motorsport’s most iconic marques was
1993 CART title
industry at large going through probably its biggest one too good to waste. triumph: a time when
change since the Model T.” “I have had a lifelong passion for motorsport and, Lola could do no wrong
6 racetechmag.com September 2022 Issue 262 Subscribe +44 (0) 208 446 2100
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MOTORSPORTS PROFESSIONAL 7
like most motorsport fans, have RIGHT Iconic cars

always loved the Lola brand,” said like the T70 helped
the company
Bechtolsheimer. “What both Eric Broadley
achieve success
and Martin Birrane achieved with Lola is around the world
awe-inspiring. It is a daunting but exciting
prospect to try and rebuild Lola in their
footsteps and do justice to their legacy.”
Amanda Birrane, Chairman of Peer
Group plc, the Birrane family property
company based in London, said: “My BELOW Integrating
family is very pleased that the Lola brand new software and
systems into the
is in the ownership of a businessman and wind tunnel is a
racer who will write the next chapter for priority already
this long established British motor racing being addressed
icon. My father would be delighted to
see Lola back in competitive motorsport basis so far, to kick-start the revival. to take a lot of time to get there. But it’s
and especially back at Le Mans. We wish “The intention is to bring Lola back something to build towards.”
Till every success.” to a version of what it was,” said Above all, the new owner is taking a
Bechtolsheimer. “To me, it was always at grounded approach. The first priority
Wind tunnel upgrades the forefront of motor sport and whenever is to rebuild Lola’s infrastructure, in
There are immediate plans for substantial there was a new evolution of motor sport particular the wind tunnel, composites and
upgrades to the Lola Technical Centre, Lola was always there trying to put its mark manufacturing capabilities.
in particular the wind tunnel, which on that. Its DNA was always the customer Inevitable links with a return to Le
has remained as a functioning business offering, and secondly, partnerships with Mans and even IndyCar abound, but
since 2012 under the company name of automotive OEMs (manufacturers). That is Bechtolsheimer says: “We need to
Wind Tunnel Developments. Long-time ultimately what I’d like to get Lola back to. be careful not to get engrossed in a
Lola employee Chris Saunders, who has “I’m deeply aware that’s a bold statement vanity project. My main goal is making
maintained the business, remains on board and it’s not an underestimation of the sure that we’re chasing the right
and Bechtolsheimer has already made motorsport industry. I have a huge amount opportunities rather than starting off by
other hirings, mostly on a consultancy of respect for the industry and it’s going chasing the spotlight.”
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F1 ramps up sustainability strategy

with 2026 fuel commitment
F
ORMULA 1 has confirmed that a 100 per ABOVE Nigel target and aiming to show the next generation of
cent sustainable fuel will be used from 2026 as Mansell’s title- fans how innovation and teamwork can tackle the
it steps up its push to hit its Net-Zero Carbon winning FW14B ran challenges of our time’ F1 said in its statement.
with a fossil-free
by 2030 target. fuel for Vettel’s
Following the successful introduction this season demonstration Glimpse of the future?
of E10 fuel, comprising 10 per cent ethanol, The use of sustainable fuels was highlighted at
Formula 1 is working with partner Aramco and all the British Grand Prix, where Sebastian Vettel
the major fuel manufacturers to develop a 100 per demonstrated a Williams FW14B as a tribute to mark
cent sustainable synthetic fuel to power the next- the 30th anniversary of Nigel Mansell becoming F1
generation hybrid engines introduced for 2026. World Champion. The iconic car was fuelled with P1
It will be a drop-in fuel, so-called because it can be Racing Fuels’ P1 Eco100 RS, a carbon-neutral fuel.
used in the same form in road cars in normal internal “I asked myself the question: Can you have fun
combustion engines. The likelihood is that the synthetic with a Formula 1 car and at the same time pollute
fuel will be trialled first in the junior series, F2 and F3. the environment as little as possible?” explained
In a statement F1 said: “Whilst racing fuel Vettel. “Given that we didn’t want to change
represents less than 1% of our emissions, sustainable anything about the engine, could we find a fuel that
fuel is the area where F1 can have the greatest effect would replace traditional fossil fuel?
on the global transportation sector.” “With this future technology, we are able to keep an
Three years ago, F1 set ambitious targets from old-school platform alive like a traditional racing car
“factory to flag” as part of a sustainability push and without leaving any ecological traces to drive.”
to be Net-Zero Carbon by 2030. Since then, it “P1 Eco100 RS is our 100% fossil-free fuel, that can
has reduced its carbon footprint through remote be used without any modifications or alterations to
broadcast operations, which has enabled the the car,” said P1 Racing Fuels CEO Martin Popilka.
company to reduce freight, while redesigned freight “Carbon-neutral fuels not only make it possible to
containers mean more efficient aircraft can be used keep the vast heritage of motorsports alive but more
to transport the equipment. importantly serve as a means to decarbonise road
Its offices are now using 100 per cent renewable car fleets by cutting CO2 emissions by up to 90%
energy, with the company earning the highest while reusing current infrastructure.
sustainability management accreditation (3*) “We’re both very humble and proud, not only to be
awarded by the FIA. selected and trusted by Sebastian Vettel, but also that
In the future, there are plans to build race calendars our racing fuel is being used to fuel the legendary
to improve freight and travel logistics so the sport is and technical marvel the Williams FW14B.”
moving more efficiently around the world. Carbon The move stirred a debate on social media, where
reduction measures for fans travelling to F1 events the irony was not lost on some observers that one
are also being investigated. of the FW14B’s trump cards was active suspension: a
‘With eight years to go, we are racing towards our technology that would cure porpoising!
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Why AI is F1’s
“new frontier”
FORMULA 1’s “new frontier for innovation” was
underlined last month when Alfa Romeo F1 Team
ORLEN revealed that it is harnessing the power of
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in an attempt to find an
edge on track.
The Hinwil-based team has struck a partnership
with SenseTime, a leading global AI software
company. As part of the deal, the team and
SenseTime will explore innovative applications of AI in
the world of motorsport. SenseTime branding is to be
featured prominently on the sidepods of the C42 cars
of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
“Artificial Intelligence is the new frontier of new 9X8 Hypercar benefits from a relationship ABOVE The use of
innovation and it is something that will influence with Capgemini. The multi-national company’s AI is increasingly
widespread in
every field of application – motorsport included,” data and AI applications expertise will optimise the
motorsport’s data-rich
said Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal of Alfa Romeo performance of the revolutionary hybrid Hypercar, environment
F1 Team ORLEN. both in the simulator and on the racetrack.
“Our partnership with SenseTime will allow the Xu Li, Co-founder, Executive Chairman
team to work with a global leader in this growing of the Board and CEO of SenseTime,
sector, making sure we explore every opportunity to commented: “SenseTime is leading the way in
gain an advantage in our competition and continuing leveraging AI technology to empower a wide range
to push the boundaries of technologies together.” of industries. Our partnership with Alfa Romeo F1
Racing offers a plethora of opportunities for Team ORLEN will unleash the potential of AI to
artificial intelligence to provide an advantage. From transform the motorsports industry by taking its
parsing through millions of strategy permutations performance to new heights. We look forward to
to sifting through the extensive data generated combining our latest SenseAuto technology with
by the car, AI can help analyse the team’s own F1’s brand to revolutionize motorsport experience.”
performance – and its competitors’ – to help drivers “Utilising AI technology to enrich people’s lives is a step
and engineers make the best decisions and optimise forward toward our vision of ‘AI for a better tomorrow’,”
the outcome of each race. explained George Huang, CEO of International Business
In addition to setup and strategy, AI is playing Group, SenseTime. “Our partnership is a great addition
a role in build and simulation in an increasing to our portfolio of AI solutions for our clients in EMEA,
number of motorsport disciplines. In the World including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United
Endurance Championship, for example, Peugeot’s Arab Emirates.”
FIA’s move to control flex floors is delayed

THE FIA’s attempts to control porpoising way to restrict the flexibility of the cars’ had been set at $140m. The figure will be
and the flexibility of F1 cars’ floors were floors, at the race in France. compounded for subsequent years.
thwarted – for a time at least – when the The FIA said the delay was ‘in order to A statement also revealed that the
teams resisted the move at a meeting of the allow the teams to make necessary updates 2026 engine regulations are “close to
F1 Commission ahead of the Austrian GP. to the plank and skid assemblies, which will finalisation”. Once announced, VW
That opposition, led by Red Bull and ensure a fair application of the metric used Group brands Porsche and Audi are
Ferrari, means the introduction of a to measure oscillation across all cars’. expected to confirm their entries into
technical directive to control bouncing and One move that has been approved, is F1 from 2026. Porsche is reported to be
other related technical matters on the cars an increase in F1’s budget cap to reflect joining forces with Red Bull as an engine
has been delayed until the Belgian Grand the global inflation crisis. Teams will be supplier, while Audi is expected to enter
Prix. The FIA had wanted to introduce a permitted to spend 3.1% more than its own team, by buying an existing
new metric to measure bouncing, and a previously – this year’s cost cap figure outfit, tipped to be Sauber.
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How motorsport can

“influence the hearts and
minds of consumers”
D
AVID Richards CBE, Chair of Motorsport motorsport has seized the opportunity when it comes RIGHT Paddy Lowe,
UK, believes motorsport’s ability to influence to innovating new technologies that transcend into Stefano Domenicali,
Sir Lindsay Hoyle,
consumer purchasing gives it a key role the wider automotive industry, delivering benefits to
David Richards CBE,
to play in encouraging the public towards more consumers globally. Karun Chandhok,
sustainable technologies. “Motorsport engineers are pioneering both new and James Allison, James
He addressed the subject as Motorsport UK and the All- existing forms of propulsion to meet the challenges of Sunderland MP and
Party Parliamentary Group for Motorsport presented ‘Our climate change by creating an eclectic range of solutions. Greg Smith MP
Eclectic Future’ at British Motorsport Day in the Palace “Fossil fuels will continue to power existing vehicles
of Westminster. The event was designed to showcase around the world for quite some time. As the BELOW RIGHT For
the vision of a world powered by a range of use- long-term reliance on hydrocarbons begins to shift, once the MPs weren’t
appropriate systems and fuels. hybrid technology, sustainable fuels, battery electric the star attraction
“If the world is to avoid the serious effects of climate technology and hydrogen technology can provide a
change, then we must consider what the future solution to a variety of transportation needs.
of mobility looks like for the automotive industry,” “The future of mobility relies on these methods
Richards said. of propulsion being promoted equally to showcase
“Motorsport has the power to influence the hearts that our future is not solely one form, it is all of them BELOW The display in the
and minds of consumers. Time and time again working together to provide a sustainable future for the Palace of Westminster
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mobility and the motorsport community.”

Fossil-fuels will continue to power existing
vehicles around the world for quite some
time, and therefore solutions are needed
to shift to alternative net zero fuels, as well
as new technologies that promise a cleaner
and more sustainable future.
At the start of British Grand Prix week,
Motorsport UK held a vehicle display
in Speaker’s Court within the Palace of
Westminster, and a reception in Speaker’s
House with key motorsport officials and
parliamentarians in conjunction with Mr
Speaker, The Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP.
The vehicle display demonstrated the
innovations of motorsport engineers who at Southern California Edison (SCE), an engineers who are all motivated to continue
are pioneering new forms of propulsion to automotive industry expert on future innovating and pushing boundaries when it
meet the challenges of climate change by propulsion systems and the role sustainable comes to creating sustainable solutions.
creating an eclectic range of solutions. fuels can play in powering the large number Domenicali noted the significant
Hybrid technology and battery electric of existing international combustion engine progress Formula 1 has already made in
technology are already a presence on UK vehicles that are already on the road. He utilising sustainable fuels, including the
roads, while others such as sustainable was joined by Paddy Lowe who, following announcement that a synthetic sustainable
fuels and hydrogen are yet to be made technical roles within Williams, McLaren fuel is to be introduced in 2026 as part of its
more widely viable for consumers. and Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, programme to be net-zero carbon by 2030.
However, all four technologies feature founded and is now CEO of Zero Petroleum. The Formula 1 boss then emphasised
prominently in the world of motorsport Sapsford presented the scientific data that the series has created the world’s
and are being developed at pace. behind ‘Our Eclectic Future’, explaining most efficient hybrid power units –
The continued innovation of these that life-cycle analysis shows that battery technology which can only benefit
technologies can ultimately benefit the electric vehicles are part of the solution. consumers in the wider automotive sector
wider automotive sector, as motorsport They are ideal for inner city urban as the best elements are extracted from
technology transfers to road cars. environments that require zero emissions Formula 1 and into road cars.
The vehicles on display showcased the at point of use, but they are not in fact Allison reinforced Domencali’s
technology in action at various levels of zero emissions either in terms of lifetime point, noting that the Mercedes High
motorsport. They included: hybrid F1 impact, or daily use unless the electricity Performance Powertrain featured in
cars from Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG; a sourced is itself 100% renewable. the team’s Formula 1 car is the first to
hybrid British Touring Car from Motorbase Lowe explained that synthetic fuels reach 50% thermal efficiency – meaning
Performance; fully electric vehicles including are going to become ever more widely it extracts more power from gasoline
Mahindra Racing’s Formula E car, Extreme available with cost and scale becoming than ever before. Allison confirmed this
E’s 2022 SUV, and Bambino karts developed concerns of the past. technology will transfer to the company’s
by Total Karting Zero; a 1963 Jaguar E-Type Karun Chandhok, Sky Sports F1 pundit road car with the Mercedes-AMG Project
and Caterham Seven Roadsport that can and Motorsport UK broadcaster, hosted a One featuring a version of this engine.
run on sustainable fuels; and the Prodrive Q&A session that included Richards, Lowe, The Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, The
Hunter that competed on this year’s Dakar Stefano Domenicali, Formula 1 CEO, and Speaker of the House of Commons,
Rally powered by sustainable fuels. James Allison, Mercedes AMG-PETRONAS said: “It was interesting to hear how
Alongside learning about the vehicles, F1 Team Chief Technical Officer. motorsport engineers are introducing new
parliamentarians had an opportunity to Richards underlined the fact that few technology to help the wider automotive
meet Steve Sapsford, Managing Director industries contain so many highly-skilled world tackle climate change.”
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Peugeot reveals lure behind WEC comeback

PEUGEOT delivered a ringing endorsement of the
innovative Le Mans Hypercar regulations ahead of
its 9X8’s maiden competitive appearance at last
month’s 6 Hours of Monza.
When LMH became the new premier class in
world-championship endurance racing and at Le
Mans, North America’s WeatherTech IMSA race series
aligned its own regulations with those introduced by
the FIA and the ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest) by
creating an LMDh category (Le Mans Daytona hybrid)
with a view to ensuring even bigger grids.
In addition to running chassis supplied by one of four
approved makers, competitors in LMDh also share
hybrid components. Indeed, one of LMDh’s chief
differentiating features is the fact that manufacturers
bring their own internal-combustion engine (ICE)
expertise and body designs to the table but take their
chassis and electrification systems from outside suppliers.
IMSA’s plan has been vindicated, with five 9X8’s drive system which combines an internal- ABOVE Electrification
manufacturers having committed to programmes. combustion engine that drives its rear wheels and an was the lure behind
Peugeot’s WEC comeback
However, Peugeot has underlined that what electric motor for the fronts. The challenge is to make
attracted it back to top-flight endurance racing sure the two function together flawlessly, despite the
with an LMH car was, more than anything else, the extreme mechanical and thermal stresses involved,
electrification aspect and the overall control it gave while at the same time delivering uncompromising
over the design of the complete drivetrain, and not efficiency, response and reliability.
just the internal-combustion engine. “As with any hybrid vehicle, the 9X8 is complex.
The Dare Forward plan championed by the Stellantis Around two-thirds of its power is provided by the
group effectively targets the whole company becoming ICE, and the other third is generated by the hybrid
entirely decarbonised by 2038 and a halving of system,” explains Finot. “The system we use is a 100-
its carbon footprint by 2030. The electrification of per cent Peugeot solution, while the powerful, high-
its production vehicles is clearly poised to play a density, 900-volt battery is the fruit of a combined
fundamental role in achieving these aims. Mastering the research programme involving TotalEnergies, Saft,
associated technologies is of course crucial and it is this ACC and Peugeot.”
progress in the fields of electrified powertrains and the Meanwhile, the 2.6-litre, 520 kW (710 hp), biturbo
related control software that is, claims Stellantis, guiding V6 that drives the rear wheels, and the 200 kW/270
its evolution from a carmaker into a tech company. hp electric motor at the front are the work of Peugeot
Sport’s research department in Satory, near Paris,
100 per cent Peugeot under the responsibility of Technical Director Olivier
“On the one hand, the LMH class enables us to race Jansonnie and Powertrain manager François Coudrain.
a car that spectators can immediately recognise as
a Peugeot,” says Stellantis Motorsport and Peugeot Hybridisation
Sport Director Jean-Marc Finot. “The successful Although the 9X8 didn’t make its maiden competitive
collaboration between our motorsport engineering appearance until last month’s race at Monza, it has
team and the styling department has produced an already made valuable contributions to the brand’s
elegant, racy and uniquely-stylish car. More than focus on hybridisation. For example, the Peugeot 508
that, though, LMH gave us the ability to design and PSE – which was developed by the same engineering
develop a car that is 100 per cent Peugeot. True, we team in parallel to the 9X8 – is equipped with a 265
profit from the expertise of some key partners but, kW/360 hp hybrid system and smart management
importantly, we had complete control over the car’s system derived directly from the Hypercar programme.
design and complex, four-wheel drive, electric-hybrid Technologies stemming from the 9X8 are already in the
system. We had no hesitation whatsoever in opting process of being carried over to other Peugeot models
for the LMH class which will enable us to extend and too, notably in the essential field of electrification.
demonstrate our knowledge in a competitive arena Ironically, it had been the 9X8’s lack of a
against other major automobile-industry players.” conventional rear wing that attracted the most
Hybridisation is a primary feature of the Peugeot column inches ahead of its competitive bow.
www.racetechmag.com
NEOM’s ENOWA to boost Extreme E

with green hydrogen power
EXTREME E has announced a multi-year relationship ABOVE Innovative which I am sure will become a reference point in
with ENOWA, NEOM’s energy, water and hydrogen green hydrogen- the future, and our series will also benefit from this
based technologies
subsidiary, to introduce green hydrogen power to its greater focus on technology and innovation.”
will be showcased
global sustainable racing series. in Extreme E and the Commenting on the relationship, Peter Terium,
NEOM, a sustainable region in northwest Saudi forthcoming Extreme CEO of ENOWA, added: “Business decisions in NEOM
Arabia being built from the ground up, has also H series have sustainability at their core, which is why we are
become the title partner of the McLaren Formula delighted to partner with Extreme E. Our partnership
E and Extreme E racing teams under the banner of is aimed towards both creating visibility to the most
‘NEOM McLaren Electric Racing’. urgent problems the planet is facing but at the same
ENOWA is the engine room for sustainable energy, time demonstrating solutions that deliver meaningful
water and hydrogen at NEOM. Green hydrogen is impact. Together we can accelerate innovations in
widely seen as the most promising green energy clean technologies powered by green hydrogen,
carrier for the future to fight climate change. This contributing to hydrogen mobility markets and the
technology supports the transportation of renewable future of global decarbonisation.”
energy over long distances and the decarbonisation of NEOM is the first to produce green hydrogen at
major industries and infrastructure. scale, paving the way for the hydrogen economy
By partnering, Extreme E and ENOWA aim to globally. Due to the abundance of solar, wind and
implement innovative green hydrogen-based water resources in NEOM, ENOWA and its partners
technologies to not only power the championship will provide large quantities of green hydrogen
towards a 100% “leave no trace” ambition but that many industries can use. ENOWA benefits
also to showcase the opportunities around this from NEOM’s greenfield site, which has no legacy
technology. ENOWA will play an active part on the infrastructure, to advance energy, water, and
scientific advisory board of Extreme E and together hydrogen innovation while providing sustainable fuels
ENOWA and Extreme E will develop educational like green hydrogen to international users.
programs intended to excite young generations At the Season 2 opener of Extreme E in NEOM in
about climate positive solutions. February 2022, the series revealed its plans to launch
Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme E, an off-road hydrogen championship in 2024. Named
said: “The work undertaken by ENOWA is extremely Extreme H, the championship will sit alongside Extreme
ambitious and an exciting prospect. NEOM, much like E, its existing electric racing series, and will be a world-
ourselves, pushes the boundaries of environmental first for motorsport – further reiterating the commitment
sustainability and we are delighted to be partnering to showcasing the possibilities of new, sustainable
with ENOWA to go even further in our objective to technologies in the race to fight climate issues.
raise awareness of the climate crisis. Development for the Extreme H vehicle is already
“ENOWA plans to lead the development of world- underway, with the aim being the launch of a
class, sustainable energy, water and hydrogen systems prototype in early 2023.
www.racetechmag.com
FIA introduces first-ever

BELOW Opel, which
is entering its second
season with the
Corsa-e, had lobbied
electric rally category for a new category
A NEW class for fully electric vehicles has been

added to the FIA’s rally pyramid, allowing road-
going EV cars to be converted for rally use in FIA-
sanctioned competitions.
Renault and Opel are among the manufacturers
which have been pushing for the introduction
of an all-electric category at the bottom of
the existing rally pyramid, which had spanned
five levels: from the basic Rally5 models to the
hybrid Rally1 cars that make up the World Rally
Championship’s top category.
Now the FIA World Motor Sport Council has ratified
a set of technical and homologation regulations for
road car-based electric rally cars, branded Rally5e,
which will be split into two subdivisions depending
on whether a car’s battery power is above or below
60 kWh. The new division is seen as the equivalent of
the Rally5 category for ICE cars. Stellantis
KWSP sets up ‘skunk works for OEMs’ facility

KWSP, a renowned high-performance The move coincides with KWSP’s 10- The DMC is a state-of-the-art commercial
engineering consultancy, has relocated year anniversary, celebrating a decade additive manufacturing facility that will also
to Silverstone Park, establishing a ‘skunk of consultancy work with blue-chip continue to produce parts for use in KWSP
works for OEMs’ facility. companies including F1 teams, automotive projects. Co-locating the two businesses
The company was previously based at OEMs, the aerospace and defence sector will enable greater collaboration,
Bicester Heritage. and professional sports. Projects have leveraging each other’s capabilities.
Its all-new 28,000 square-ft facility ranged from complete niche vehicle “After 10 years of specialist, high-
combines a modern and expandable office programmes to mule vehicles, show cars performance engineering and a myriad
space with a significant and adaptable and Olympic sports. of fantastic projects, we are now
workshop space and assembly area. KWSP’s sister company, the Digital working on some of our most exciting
The hope is that it will prove a draw for Manufacturing Centre (DMC), is also programmes yet,” said Salter. “All will
customers looking to outsource or ‘Skunk located at Silverstone Park and has be revealed later this year, but this new
Works’ end-to-end design, development, experienced significant growth since move marks the beginning of a bold new
production and testing of niche vehicle opening in 2021. chapter for the business.”
programmes and motorsport projects.
LEFT The move
“Relocating to new headquarters at
opens a new
Silverstone Park will deliver a step-change chapter for KWSP
in capability for our customers,” said
Kieron Salter, CEO of KWSP. “The new
office will house our rapidly growing
engineering team, while the hybrid
workshop assembly area will give us
greater capacity than ever before to
deliver high-performance road, track and
motorsport projects – not to mention
the substantial development and testing
advantage of being located next to
Silverstone Circuits.”
www.racetechmag.com
Riches to retire as BTCC tech chief

KWIK Fit British Touring Car Championship series success. Riches has been mulling retirement for some
organiser, TOCA, has announced that Technical time, but was persuaded to stay on in order to smooth
Director Peter Riches will be retiring from the this season’s transition to hybrid technology and a more
position at the end of the 2022 campaign. sustainable fuel.
Riches’ illustrious BTCC career spans an impressive Throughout 2023 Riches will be retained as a consultant
four decades. At at the end of the year he will have in order to assist the TOCA technical team. His retirement
worked in more than 320 race events, 820 races will see Sam Riches – his son – step into the role, having also
and 30 seasons. His expertise has been paramount worked within the BTCC for more than 20 seasons himself,
in technical developments within Britain’s premier importantly providing a seamless transition moving forwards.
motorsport series over the years, while his Peter Riches said: “This is something we’ve been
involvement within the motorsport industry goes preparing for, and I feel ready to retire, the world is so
back to the 1970s. different now to where we started. I had a set of scales
Riches, who originally joined TOCA as a scrutineer in the pit lane and a boost control system and that was
in 1993 from Lotus, where he had worked since the it basically, and now we’ve got a 40-foot trailer full of kit,
‘70s, is one of the most recognisable and familiar the world has moved on!
characters in the BTCC. He has also been a key “[As a consultant] next year, I’ll be in more of a guiding
figure in the success of touring cars on the world role, maintaining the things we’ve done in the past and
stage, through his role on the FIA Touring Car ensuring the wheel doesn’t get reinvented and become
Technical Working Group and as a Super Touring square in order to have a smooth transition. What we
technical delegate. don’t want to do is change the direction we’ve been going
He helped devise the BTC Touring in, so my knowledge will still be there if required.”
regulations that replaced Super Asked by RACE TECH what qualities
Touring in the BTCC in 2001 had made Riches such a success,
and has been instrumental in BTCC Chief Executive Alan Gow said:
making the current NGTC “Peter is, in equal parts: incredibly
regulations such a huge knowledgeable, helpful, irascible,
loyal, insightful, imperturbable and
focused… which are all the qualities
needed to deal with our teams, both on a
technical and a political level.
“He’s got a fairly short fuse, doesn’t
suffer fools and doesn’t take kindly to any
team trying to ‘put one over him’.
“Never once, in the 30 years I’ve
employed him, have I ever had the need to
question his motivation or expertise. LEFT Riches has
been instrumental
“The BTCC owes Peter a substantial debt in making the
for his great work and devotion to the current NGTC rules
championship.” such a success
www.racetechmag.com
Michelin reaches over 50%

sustainable materials in tyres
A MICHELIN racing tyre containing 53% technologies and their carry-over to production electric-
sustainable materials equipped the Porsche vehicle tyres, while the energy transition provides it
718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance at last month’s with a valuable opportunity for growth.
Goodwood Festival of Speed. Matthieu Bonardel, Director, Michelin Motorsport,
The tyre was first showcased on GreenGT’s hydrogen said: “Our close work with Porsche on the new, fully
fuel cell prototype at Le Mans, but Michelin sees electric 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance race car is
Porsche’s all-electric programme as a first-class concrete evidence of the progress Michelin has made
opportunity to further accelerate the move towards in the fields of sustainable materials and electromobility.
sustainable mobility. The company is looking to Just as it does in the FIA Formula E World Championship
increase its share of the high-performance electric- BELOW Michelin and motorcycling’s FIM MotoE World Cup, our
vehicle tyre market thanks to bespoke solutions. has upped the involvement in the new all-electric championship
proportion of
At last August’s Le Mans 24 Hours, Michelin alongside Porsche will enable us to accelerate the
sustainable
revealed the new tyre containing 46% sustainable materials in its development of sustainable innovations that are
materials it had developed for GreenGT’s prototype. racing tyres ultimately accessible to all.”
Now, it has taken the proportion of biosourced and
recycled raw materials to 53%, with no detriment to
performance and safety.
The sustainable raw materials that go into these tyres
range from natural rubber and carbon black recycled
from end-of-life tyres, to orange and lemon peel, pine-
tree resin, sunflower oil and scrap steel. In keeping with
its Michelin In Motion policy, Michelin plans to make all
its tyres exclusively from sustainable materials by 2050.
Porsche’s all-electric motorsport programme will
provide Michelin with a chance to evaluate its
sustainable solutions in the extreme conditions
associated with top-flight racing. The French firm
is determined to accelerate the development of its
Firestone returns to Indy Lights Griiip enters sim market

FIRESTONE will become the sole tyre supplier for Indy Lights in 2023. GRIIIP, the Israeli motorsport technology company, has
The move will mark a return for Firestone to IndyCar’s made its entry into esports and simulator racing, after
developmental series as the Bridgestone brands Firestone and announcing the acquisition of United Racing Data (URD) –
Dayton supplied tyres for Indy Lights from 1991 to 2013. a telemetry web service for simulator racing.
“Firestone continues to be a phenomenal partner,” said As part of the acquisition, Amir Meshulam, URD’s founder,
IndyCar President Jay Frye. “Their attention to detail, safety and Joined Griiip as its new Chief Of Technology.
performance is unmatched. Supplying their world-class product “I am very excited to Join forces with Griiip and
to the NTT IndyCar Series and Indy Lights reflects Firestone’s merge my passion for racing and technology to help
commitment to IndyCar’s present and future.” Griiip in its mission to make racing data accessible
IndyCar assumed total control of Indy Lights operations in for the entire motorsport ecosystem, both real and
the autumn of 2021. The 2022 season began a more inclusive virtual,” said Meshulam.
atmosphere with the NTT IndyCar Series, with integration in The platform would allow Griiip to introduce
marketing, digital assets and race officiating. new features into simulator racing leagues, before
“We want to thank Cooper Tires, who has been a partner with implementing them in its growing network of “real”
Indy Lights since 2014,” said Indy Lights Director Levi Jones. “Their racing leagues, including DTM and Porsche Carrera
assistance while IndyCar assumed operational control was crucial Cup North America. It also brings closer the unification
to our success.” of performance data analysis among the two types of
The deal was announced at the grand opening of Firestone’s racing, both from professional development and fan-
Advanced Tire Production Center (ATPC) in Akron, Ohio. engagement aspects.
www.racetechmag.com
Goodwood record-breaker announces

strategic tech partnership with Molicel
GOODWOOD sensation McMurtry Automotive and “The Molicel cells have delivered a competitive
Molicel have signed a strategic technical partnership advantage in achieving these aims and they have
designed to demonstrate and improve current and powered the novel performance that the world has
future generations of Molicel power-optimised just witnessed at Goodwood. I’m also looking forward
battery cells. to integrating the next generation of Molicel cells into
The two companies will introduce new cell our future products.”
technologies using the McMurtry Spéirling as a The battery pack is engineered and built by the
high-speed test bed. The high power running at over McMurtry team in the UK using a P26A cylindrical lithium
200 mph when in grand prix circuit configuration, ion Molicel product to achieve a 60 kWh capacity.
combined with rapid charge and discharge cycles, is The key requirements for the cells are high power,
seen as a natural fit to accelerate cell technology and low impedance and fast charge/discharge. One
application knowledge. benefit of a low impedance cell is a comparatively
The two companies’ technologies are complementary. small temperature increase during high current
Molicel delivers niche, advanced, energy dense, high drain, therefore thermal design at pack system level
charge and discharge rate cells in applications such as can be simplified, making the resulting battery pack
sports cars, motorcycles, VTOL, aerospace and heavy- smaller and lighter.
duty tools. McMurtry Automotive is industry-leading in Molicel representatives from Taiwan and Canada were
overall battery design and cell integration techniques at Goodwood to meet interested parties throughout
with proprietary technology in thermal management, the weekend and support the team.
busbar design, structural integrity, safety and overall Molicel’s future developments include an even higher
pack geometry, including pending IP protection. power cell capable of delivering 5C fast charge (6 mins
The combination of the two is seen as a natural fit for = charge up 50% capacity). These could feature in
achieving high performance in an electric vehicle. future McMurtry and customer applications.
Molicel’s cells have been powering the McMurtry
Spéirling which first debuted at Goodwood Festival
of Speed 2021 and has just set the all-time record
there in 2022.
Thomas Yates, McMurtry Automotive Director, said:
“The battery pack is a defining element of our unique
car concept. The cell capability within that has a first
order effect on the mass and packaging volume of
the entire car, plus the obvious power output to the LEFT The McMurtry
Spéirling will be a
drive motors. Therefore, in the heart of our car, we are
high-speed test bed
leaving no stone unturned to deliver a power dense, for the introduction of
compact and lightweight battery. new cell technologies
Super GT Championship introduces 100% renewable fuel

ETS Racing Fuels, a leading fuel materials. The feedstock is derived from low carbon future and is putting all its
development partner for the racing cellulosic material that is converted efforts into implementing sustainable
industry and a brand of HCS Group, into hydrocarbons and oxygenates. It fuels. For the Super GT series, we have
has been selected by the GT Association contributes significantly to the reduction decided to introduce a 100% renewable
(GTA) to supply its 100% sustainable of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions fuel as one of the key approaches to
fuel to Super GT racecars from the 2023 by reducing CO2 emissions through environmental sustainability.”
season onwards. the CO2 absorption of the growing “As a strong partner to the motorsport
Super GT is the first Asian series to plant and from avoiding the release of industry and a pioneer of fuel
introduce a fully renewable gasoline. CO2 held within more conventional development, we are committed to
The fuel, Renewablaze GTA R100, is fossil feedstocks. support the racing sector on its journey
produced from a number of different Masaaki Bandoh, Chairman of the to going greener,” said Dr Bruno
sources of sustainable biomass and GT Association, said: “The motorsport Philippon, Senior Vice President Business
consists of 100% plant-based raw industry is strongly committed to a Unit Mobility, ETS.
www.racetechmag.com
Motorsport UK launches StreetCar

GRASSROOTS competition is undergoing a major
rebrand in the UK to help uncover ‘motorsport’s
best kept secret’ for everyone.
Motorsport UK, the national governing body, has
launched ‘StreetCar’ to encourage more people
to get behind the wheel and enjoy the sport;
overturning the age-old perception that it is out of
reach for most people.
StreetCar will showcase the existing vibrant
grassroots motorsport scene, demonstrating that a
wide range of low-cost disciplines are available
that provide a wide variety of format and challenge.
“It is really, really important that we raise
awareness of grassroots motorsport because to
those of us who are involved, we know all about
it, but that is not the case for many people on
the outside,” stressed Laura Cooledge, Club
Development Officer at one of StreetCar’s first wanting to get involved in motorsport to get in touch ABOVE & BELOW
approved clubs, Anglia Motorsport Club (AMSC). and start their journey today.” The StreetCar MINI
will showcase
So far in the launch phase, eight Motorsport UK
the initiative
Segmented into Autotest, Trials & Cross Country clubs have received StreetCar status including throughout the UK
and Rally, the 12 StreetCar disciplines are: Anglia Motor Sport Club, Basingstoke Motor Club,
Devizes and District Motor Club, Farnborough Motor
• Autotest, AutoSOLO and Production Car Autotest Club, Isle of Wight Car Club, Loughborough Car
• Trials and untimed Cross Country events Club, Middlesex County Automobile Club, and The
• Rally including Touring Assemblies, Treasure Hunts, Sporting Car Club of Norfolk.
Navigational Scatter, Navigational Rally, Road and Motorsport UK will provide guidance and help to all
Historic Rally, 12 Car Rally and Targa Rally StreetCar clubs. They will all receive a StreetCar toolkit,
outlining how to welcome new participants, organise
All 12 disciplines can be participated in with a events and ensure best practice is applied in their
standard unmodified road car without special marketing and communications.
safety kit and to drive only a free Motorsport UK RS Motorsport UK will also provide clubs with
Clubman licence is required. customisable branded assets, promotion of their
Motorsport UK will work with its Regional events in Revolution and on Motorsport UK’s digital
Associations and motorsport clubs to promote clear channels as well as physical branding to bring their
pathways into the disciplines, demonstrate the ease in StreetCar events to life.
which newcomers to motorsport can get involved and By the end of 2022, it is planned for up to 50 clubs
how existing community members can try something to be active in StreetCar across the UK. A dedicated
new for the first time. StreetCar website and Facebook Group have been
Hugh Chambers, Chief Executive Officer at established and will act as the first touchpoint for
Motorsport UK, commented, “StreetCar is those wanting to get involved.
motorsport’s best-kept secret. The 12 disciplines
are affordable, can be enjoyed in any legal road-
going car, and there are events held across the UK
throughout the year.
“Our StreetCar campaign will help bring these
events and our community to life, showcasing their
vibrancy whilst providing a framework for our clubs
to attract new audiences, increase participation and
deliver new club members.
“From the buzz of an AutoSOLO, to the uphill
challenge in Trials and the exploration of a
Navigational Rally, there is something for everyone in
StreetCar. We strongly encourage anyone who’s been
www.racetechmag.com
NEOM partners with

McLaren on electric racing
A STRATEGIC partnership between NEOM and a city in NEOM set to be a blueprint for the future ABOVE McLaren
McLaren Racing is to bring the UK team’s Formula of advanced and clean industries and a hub for partnered with NEOM
to step up its electric
E and Extreme E teams under the same banner: innovation. McLaren will be located within OXAGON’s
racing assault
‘NEOM McLaren Electric Racing’. Research and Innovation Campus, which is being
Commenting on the partnership, Nadhmi Al-Nasr, designed by international architects, Grimshaw.
CEO of NEOM, said: “Our partnership with McLaren The campus will provide cutting edge facilities and
Racing complements NEOM’s commitment to driving collaboration spaces, accelerating ideas from labs to
sustainable solutions and tackling some of society’s market to develop industries and products of the future.
most pressing challenges. The partnership will allow McLaren will lend its digital and analytical expertise
us to share our collective resources and experience as a technical partner of OXAGON’s advanced and
to yield exciting results, not only for our own clean manufacturing ecosystem.
organizations, but also for the broader automotive A further significant element to the partnership will
and sports industries. NEOM is an economic engine be rolled out during 2023 when, in line with NEOM’s
for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and will be a hub for commitment to developing Saudi talent, McLaren
innovative businesses like McLaren Racing to conduct and NEOM will create a bespoke program to nurture
cross-industry research, incubate, collaborate and engineers and students; 20 Saudi graduates from
bring new technologies to the world.” NEOM’s Graduate Program will each take part in
McLaren will collaborate with NEOM across multiple a one-year placement with McLaren Racing at the
areas, becoming a founding partner of OXAGON, McLaren Technology Centre in the UK.
McLaren lands Nissan powertrain

NISSAN and McLaren Racing have announced a multi-year four seasons in Formula E, and heading into the Gen3 era, we
technical collaboration, which will commence at the beginning have full confidence that the collaboration will bring both parties
of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season. much success. This will be a true partnership that will drive both
The partnership will see the Japanese automaker supply its the team’s performance and the development of the Nissan
Nissan EV powertrain technology to the famous British team for Formula E powertrain technology.”
the entirety of the Formula E Gen3 era. Nissan will also continue Tommaso Volpe, general manager, Nissan Formula E, and
to compete in Formula E with its own factory team, having managing director, Nissan e.dams Formula E Team, commented:
recently acquired the e.dams squad. “Formula E’s exciting new Gen3 regulations will see the
“Our new partnership with McLaren Racing will be a powerful performance of the all-electric race cars reach incredible new
one, as the association will inspire collaboration and knowledge heights. At Nissan, we are in Formula E not only to race, but also
sharing,” said Ashwani Gupta, Nissan’s chief operating officer. to showcase to a diverse range of viewers just how impressive,
“The pioneering spirit and drive to innovate are characteristics powerful, and efficient our electric vehicles are. Our collaboration
Nissan and McLaren Racing share, making them an ideal partner with McLaren will provide us with even more opportunities to
for us in Formula E and as we continue to electrify our vehicles.” accelerate the development of our technology and showcase it to
Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, said: “As we are shaping the fans all over the world.”
team for its first season as McLaren in Formula E, we are naturally As part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its
seeking the best partnerships and opportunities on every front – operations and the life cycle of its products by 2050, Nissan
with the technical aspect being one of the key areas. Nissan have intends to electrify every all-new vehicle offering by the early
proven their knowledge, craft and commitment over the last 2030s in key markets.
worldmotorsportsymposium.com
World Motorsport Symposium

Pre-order
SUSTAINABLE tickets here
MOTORSPORT 2030 –
FROM RACE TO ROAD
Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd December 2022
• Sustainable fuels • Carbon neutral motorpsort events

• Latest electronic technology • Future materials: tyres, brakes, aero and composites
THE CHAIRMEN
ULRICH BARETZKY PAT SYMONDS

-VYTLY+PYLJ[VY(\KP4V[VYZWVY[ *OPLM;LJOUPJHS6ѝJLY
,UNPUL+L]LSVWTLU[ 4V[VYZWVY[+P]PZPVU
(\KP(. FORMULA 1®
Th WMS presents a rare

The
opportunity for like-minded
engineers to discuss areas
of the sport that they may
not be so familar with
thereby expanding each
other’s knowledge for mutual
benefit. It is also an excellent
networking opportunity.”
Pat Symonds*OPLM;LJOUPJHS6ѝJLY
4V[VYZWVY[+P]PZPVUc-VYT\SH
SAVE THE DATE

DECEMBER DECEMBER
1ST 2ND
limited conference places!
+VU»[TPZZ[OLVWWVY[\UP[`[VH[[LUK"JVU[HJ[sara.kimberley@kimberleymediagroup.com[VZLJ\YL`V\YWSHJL
The world is currently moving very fast. To shape the future of motorsport it is essential that
all people involved put their thoughts together and show that motorsport can be the enabler
for new sustainable technical inventions. The World Motorsport Symposium offers the
platform to be part of creating that future! It is great to see how the WMS has accelerated
over the last few years and it was stunning to see that the ACO, FIA and F1 Liberty Media
were using the platform to announce their new programmes and regulations!”
THOMAS KRAEMER+PYLJ[VY4V[VYZWVY[8\HSP[`4HUHNLTLU[7VYZJOL4V[VYZWVY[
Motorsport Engineering & Technology

www.racetechmag.com
28 COVER STORY McMurtry Spéirling
FROM OLD
AMBULANCE
TO NEW KING
OF THE HILL!
Chris Pickering talks to the UK squad propelled into the limelight by record-breaking
feats at Goodwood with a spectacular machine inspired by Brabham’s F1 fan car
T
HE McMurtry Spéirling is quite engines for Concorde before co-founding Of course, there are very sound reasons
unlike anything else in motorsport. metrology specialist Renishaw. In 2016, he for the increase in size that Formula 1 cars
Styled like a miniature Batmobile, it created McMurtry Automotive and began and the like have seen since the 1960s.
sits a full four feet shorter than a Formula assembling a small team of ex-F1 engineers. Top of the list is aerodynamics, with a
4 car and roars into view with a noise Their brief was to create a car that went large footprint being a necessity if you
like a jet fighter on full afterburners. It against the trend for bigger and heavier want to achieve high levels of downforce
also happens to be electric, although it’s vehicles – something that would use its using conventional techniques.
not the 1,000 hp twin-motor “If you look at the Volkswagen
powertrain making all that I.D. R, which the Spéirling
noise – it’s the two 60 kW fans has been compared to since
sucking it down onto the track. Goodwood, it’s a much,
Combined, they can produce much larger car, and it uses a
over 2,000 kg of downforce huge amount of conventional
in a car weighing less than a aerodynamics. To get sufficient
tonne. And they can do it right downforce in a small package,
from the starting line. we had to think outside the
It’s this miniature marvel box,” notes Yates.
that now holds the outright Again, it was motorsport
record at the Goodwood history that led the engineers
Festival of Speed hillclimb, to a most unusual solution.
beating the unofficial record Inspired by the Chaparral 2J
set by the might of Volkswagen Can-Am car and the Brabham
Motorsport and the Pikes Peak- BT46B that applied a similar
winning I.D. R. The Spéirling, principle in Formula 1, they
however, wasn’t designed solely to break compact stature to giant-killing effect. decided that the answer was to suck the car
records. It’s been built to lap circuits, and “We set out to deliver a car that would down onto the track using a fan system.
its creators hope they will one day see it be amazing in a small package,” recalls “Nobody has raced a fan car since 1979,
racing wheel-to-wheel. McMurtry Automotive’s managing director when the BT46B returned for a one-off
The team behind the project is led by Thomas Yates. “Our target was to build non-championship event at Donington
engineer and entrepreneur Sir David something that was similar in size to Park. And certainly my feeling was that
McMurtry. Having begun as an apprentice a 1960s Formula 1 car, but absolutely the reasons this technology got banned
in the aerospace industry, he worked on the ludicrous in terms of performance.” had more to do with politics than credible
www.racetechmag.com
COVER STORY 29
BELOW & LEFT The

noise, generated by a
twin-fan setup, was
almost as impressive as
the McMurtry Spéirling’s
record-breaking time
www.racetechmag.com
technical challenges,” comments Yates. “It was RIGHT Yes, that is the car would still retain a majority of its downforce.
actually voluntarily withdrawn from Formula 1, just 190 mph on the It sits in a small cavity behind the rear bulkhead,
dash! Without the
because it was clearly a huge competitive advantage occupying a tiny fraction of the space taken up by the
downsides of relying
to have this technology. So we set out to see what we on conventional fans used on the original Brabham and Chaparral cars.
could do to revive the concept.” downforce, the car
is well-suited to Detail development
Call an ambulance close racing The Spéirling was first unveiled at Goodwood in
The first experiments began with static test rigs, 2021, but it only performed a series of short demo
followed by trailer-mounted systems that were runs. Since then, however, a huge amount of
towed behind a separate vehicle. Next, the team development work has gone into further optimising
bought and converted an old ambulance – the only the all-important fan system. Much of this was carried
van that they could find with a large engine and out using CFD, Yates explains.
heavy-duty air suspension to cope with the two “It’s basically a fluid system that takes air from
tonnes of additional downforce that they planned underneath the car and transfers it out of the back,”
to develop. This somewhat unlikely test mule was he points out. “And anything that you put in that
taken to Thruxton, where it lapped at over 80 mph, fluid path that generates loss or pressure drop or
producing strong levels of downforce. anything like that gives you a significant penalty. So
With the proof of concept validated, work began on we did a lot of work on trying to improve that aspect
BELOW Brabham’s
the car itself, with the compact footprint and the fan BT46B fan car was of the system, but also the way that we do the seals
system as the two main pillars of its design. The biggest one of the inspirations underneath the car and through the system. We were
challenge was miniaturising the fan system, which for the project then able to go back to Goodwood this year with a car
LAT/Newspress
had taken up half of the ambulance in its original

incarnation. Dozens of different design iterations are
said to have gone into the packaging before the team
found a solution that they were happy with.
“To build a good electric car, it’s really fundamental
that you have control over the chassis design and
the battery design,” comments Yates. “The battery is
obviously the biggest, heaviest item within an electric
car. So having the freedom to make micro-level
changes to get your centre of gravity as close to the
RIGHT Max Chilton,
right place as you can and package all of the ancillary
who witnessed the
components – and, in our case, some of the not- previous official
so-ancillary components like fan systems – is hugely record being set
challenging. The team has delivered an absolute when he was just
masterclass in packaging.” eight years-old,
described the run
The finished car uses a twin fan system. That
as one of the most
configuration was largely chosen for its ability to memorable moments
deliver redundancy – if one fan were to fail mid-corner, of his career
www.racetechmag.com
COVER STORY 31
A masterclass
in packaging”
that genuinely has more than two tonnes

of downforce, which was very exciting to
be able to say. We’d always been aiming
for that figure, but we wanted to be super
conservative with the numbers until we’d
done it on the actual car.”
The control of the fans is relatively
straightforward. For the Goodwood runs,
a target fan speed was set and maintained
all the way up the hill. However, using
electric fans does open up some intriguing
possibilities. On the straights, the fans
can be deactivated, not only eliminating
60 kW or so of power drain, but also
significantly reducing the rolling resistance
of the lightly-loaded tyres.
“If you’re travelling at somewhere in the

region of 150 to 200 mph, a huge amount
of the energy produced by a car with
conventional aerodynamics is going into
driving wings through the air to generate
downforce. The fan system is an order of
magnitude more efficient,” explains Yates.
Efficiency is key to all electric cars, and
Yates emphasises that the Spéirling is
designed to lap circuits for whole sessions,
not just set flying laps. There’s also a
road-going version in development, which
could be another area – indirectly, at least
– where this technology plays a part.
“In our experience, when you look at
WLTP range numbers for an electric car,
roughly 70 per cent of the energy that’s
consumed is down to aerodynamic drag,”
comments Yates. “So, if you can de-couple
drag and downforce to a large extent, then
you have this wonderful freedom to deliver
a car that’s very fast on the track but also
capable of travelling very far on the road.”
In the case of the Spéirling, the team’s
target is a 300-mile WLTP range for
the road-going variant. Perhaps more
importantly for a single-seat track day
weapon, it should translate to a reasonable
duration on track. McMurtry has yet
to give an indication of how long the
battery will last under racing conditions,
but it’s likely to be long enough to give
the average amateur driver a pretty
thorough workout, with cornering loads
of more than 3G and nought to 186 mph
in under nine seconds.
www.racetechmag.com
Signed and sealed a challenge in Formula 1 currently. And anything you might find on a racetrack.
The Spéirling’s footprint is so compact that having a bit of conventional aerodynamics That includes rain – in fact, the team
there’s little room left for conventional on the car, such as the small rear wing that were amazed to discover that the car was
underbody aerodynamics, but Yates we’ve now added to the Spéirling, gives almost as quick around Silverstone in the
says there’s nothing to stop traditional you a nice level of stability even if you’re wet as it was in the dry.
concepts being applied alongside the fans. going over the kerb.” But what about roads? Yates is careful
“We think the ideal way to deliver The patented sealing system uses to point out that the road-going version
this system would be in combination moving skirts. It has been tested on a of the Spéirling will very much remain a
with a light touch of conventional wide range of circuits in the UK, ranging track-focused machine, and the fan system
aerodynamics,” he comments. “If you’re from billiard table-smooth grand prix is not designed for road use. He likens it
trying to run a seal system underneath tracks to club racing venues (and, of to a Track mode for the ESC system or the
the car, you start to get a reduction in course, the Duke of Richmond’s driveway suspension on a conventional hypercar.
downforce if it’s going right across a at Goodwood House). Surface quality “It’ll be a track system that’s included
serrated kerb. That’s a good thing, in does have a measurable impact on the in a road-legal car,” he notes. “But it’s
some respects, as it would help to enforce effectiveness of the system, but we’re already going to be ludicrously fast, even
track limits – something that’s a bit of told it’s fundamentally compatible with without that.”
www.racetechmag.com
COVER STORY 33
It should be safe too. The chassis is a full RIGHT Conventional

carbon monocoque, built to the 2018 aerodynamics, such
as the small rear wing
LMP1 safety standards, with composite
now added to the car,
crash structures. Taiwanese manufacturer help provide stability
Molicel provides the cells for the battery, over kerbs
which are integrated into a semi-structural
pack that sits in a U-shape, either side LEFT Vital data will
of the driver’s legs. Its total capacity is be harnessed in the
broadly similar to a Gen2 Formula E car’s new role as a
battery at 60 kWh, but it produces nearly test bed for battery
cell technology
three times the power.
“Normally, there’s a pretty severe trade-
off between power density and energy
density in a battery, but the cell design
that we’re using seems to be one of the
few that can deliver both,” notes Yates.
“We’ve got a proprietary approach to
combining those cylindrical cells into
battery packs that allows us to produce
quite unusual shapes. It’s about the way BELOW Propelled
that we approach the cooling and the by a 1,000 hp twin-
motor powertrain,
structural design, plus how we arrange
the car eclipsed the
the modules to get the right parallel and feats of an F1 car
series streams for the output and the and VW’s I.D. R
capacity that we want.”
There’s said to be a significant amount of
proprietary technology in the motor design
Our target was to build something that was
similar in size to a 1960s Formula 1 car, but
absolutely ludicrous in terms of performance”
www.racetechmag.com
on Sunday, but he had a long-planned personal

commitment for the qualifying runs on Saturday, so
former British Hillclimb Champion and friend of the
company Alex Summers was drafted in.
He set a blistering time of 40.056 seconds – just
0.157 seconds adrift of the unofficial record set by the
Volkswagen I.D. R during a practice session in 2019.
That’s also more than a second inside the official long-
term record set by Nick Heidfeld in a V10-powered
McLaren MP4/13 Formula 1 car back in 1999. Chilton
returned on Sunday with an inch-perfect run that
too, although the exact details are still under wraps. ABOVE The Goodwood
What we can tell you is that each rear wheel has its triumph opened many
doors. Here Sir David
own motor and inverter driving through a single-
McMurtry meets with
speed transmission. Unlike a lot of high-performance Marcos Saito, Director
EVs, there’s no drive to the front wheels, but traction is of Sales - N.America
presumably less of an issue when you have the weight and Europe, at E-One
of a fully-grown rhinoceros pressing down on each set Moli Energy
of tyres (and it may also allow the car to run a more
rearward bias for its regenerative braking).
Record breaker
The McMurtry team used their factory development
car to set the record at Goodwood. It was effectively
standard, apart from a set of shortened gearbox
ratios that capped the top speed to 150 mph, but
brought the nought to 60 mph time down to less
than 1.5 seconds – around a second faster than a
modern Formula 1 car.
“The first year that Volkswagen made an attempt
on the Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb they
were running a 45 kWh battery; the second year they
came back with an 8 kWh battery, so they took a lot of
weight out between the two years. We broke the record
on our standard 60 kWh battery,” comments Yates.
Simulations had shown that it was theoretically
possible for the car to break the record, but it
RIGHT The McMurtry
would rely on the drivers stringing together a
Spéirling eclipsed an
near-perfect run. Factory development driver Max official record that
Chilton would be available for the timed shootout had stood since 1999
www.racetechmag.com
COVER STORY 35
saw him cross the line in 39.08 seconds. “We’d really like to see the car circuit
The former F1 star, who witnessed the racing,” comments Yates. “Given the The weight of
previous official record being set when he pressures on the motorsport industry as a fully-grown
was just eight years-old, described it as a whole to achieve energy efficiency, it
one of the most memorable moments of seems to be a bit of a golden opportunity
rhinoceros
his racing career. to deliver a vehicle that uses a lot less pressing down on
So what next? McMurtry plans to energy for the same performance or each set of tyres”
continue its record-breaking exploits, as one that goes a lot faster for the same
well as developing the road-legal version amount of energy.”
and getting it out to customers. But racing Some have voiced concerns about dramatically increase speeds through slow
could be on the cards too. the system – notably its potential to corners – but Yates doesn’t see this as a
problem, and he believes the concept
could actually offer safety benefits.
“It’s the only car I’m aware of that can
still develop maximum downforce if it’s
heading backwards towards a wall,” he
comments. “Plus, it’s not susceptible
to losing downforce if you’re following
another car very closely. In fact, the nice
thing about the fan system is that you get
all the usual slipstreaming effects, without
the downsides of following a car that relies
heavily on conventional aerodynamics, so
it really lends itself well to close racing.”
Overwhelmed
The team at McMurtry have been
overwhelmed by the response to the
car since its exploits at Goodwood – the
relatively little-known British company
reportedly received over a thousand
additional emails in the first week after
hitting the headlines. And Yates believes
there’s a real desire to see this innovative
technology return to motorsport.
“It’s something very novel, and it’s
particularly relevant to electric vehicles,”
he says. “Not only are there performance
benefits, but it makes a really nice noise.
When we’ve taken it to test days it’s on a
similar level to the internal combustion-
engined cars, and there are actually
options that we’re aware of to make it
even louder. So it does certainly answer
a few of the challenges that are facing
motorsport at the moment, including
the lack of drama with the sound of
traditional EVs.”
And perhaps that’s why the Spéirling
has turned so many heads? Yes, it’s an
underdog that has quite literally punched
above its weight in the hillclimb at
Goodwood, but it’s also inescapably
different in a world where – alternative
powertrains aside – most racecars appear
increasingly generic to casual observers.
The rule-makers in other forms of
motorsport would do well to take note.
www.racetechmag.com
36 PORSCHE Thomas Laudenbach
Motorsport
should be part
of the solution,
rather than part
of the problem
www.racetechmag.com
PORSCHE 37
Thomas Laudenbach, Porsche’s head of motorsport, talks

LSLJ[YPÄJH[PVULUK\YHUJLYHJPUNHUKLM\LSZ^P[OChris Pickering
T
HOMAS Laudenbach might just have the it begins its own race towards Net Zero. Laudenbach
best job in racing. As the new head of Porsche is very much aware of these issues, but he’s
Motorsport, he oversees an incredibly diverse determined that motorsport should be part of the
portfolio that includes the world’s largest customer solution rather than part of the problem.
racing programme, a works Formula E team and the “From an OEM perspective, motorsport is all
new 963 sports car project that’s targeting outright about relevance. I see maintaining that relevance
victory at Le Mans. And that’s before we mention to Porsche as my biggest task,” he comments.
Porsche’s much-anticipated return to Formula 1. “Obviously, we don’t take a module from the
You might expect a man with that many racecar and bolt it straight into a road car. But
commitments to seem a bit overwhelmed, but we do frequently take the approach, the software
Laudenbach clearly relishes the challenge. He’s upbeat, solutions, the cooling concepts, the manufacturing
straight-talking and brimming with enthusiasm. methods and all sorts of things that we learn on the
“It really is an honour to be able to do this job,” motorsport side and apply them to the road car.”
he says. “As human beings we’re always solving Laudenbach comes from an internal combustion
problems. And, yes, what we do here is also a engine background. He raced motorcycles as a
business and it’s done very professionally, but when I student, began his career as an engine test engineer
sit back and think about it, it’s great that we still have and rose to prominence as Porsche Motorsport’s
such a strong and clear commitment to the sport head of powertrain during the RS Spyder years. But
that we all love, despite all the challenges that since then he’s worked on electrification at both Audi
the world is facing at the moment. No matter and Porsche, and he sees this as a key technology for
whether it’s Formula E, LMDh or GT racing, g the coming g years.
y
I still love this kind of competition and I “We all know the strategic plans of the automotive
automo otive
can’t imagine doingdoin
do i g anything else.” industry for the next years,” he says. “Electrification
“Electrification
It’s a refreshingly
refresh ng y positive message.
hingl
in is coming – for sure, it looks different depending g on
As we speak,
speakk, there
there are wildfires
th what vehicles you’re talking about and where you yo
ou
LEFT & BELOW As
raging across
acrososss northern Europe, the are in the world, but EVs and hybrids are the big g
Porsche’s head of
UK is experiencing
exxpe riencing its hottest
eri topic. So, to me, it would be a mistake if motorsport
motorssport motorsport, Thomas
day inin human
hu
h uman history and failed to embrace that.” Laudenbach is
thee Tarmac
Tarm
Ta r ac outside
rm utside the Race
out Porsch
Porschehe has more invested in the future of the keeping a lot of
Tech
Te
Tech office is starting
star
st arti g to
ting to inte
in tern
rnal
internalal combustion
com
ombubust
stio
ion engine than most brands. The
Th
he plates spinning at
the same time – one
melt. The car industry
dustry is
indu is c mp
co mpan
company ny famously
famo
fam us
u ly boasts that more than 70 perr cent
being the introduction
facing unprecedented
unprecede dent
n ed of all the cars it has produced since 1948 are still in of the new 963 for
t ch
te chni
nica
ni c l challenges
ca
technical challengges as millio
ons
service, which means that there are literally millions endurance racing
www.racetechmag.com
of loyal owners looking to keep their pride and

joy on the roads. It’s also just announced a second
major plant for the production of low-carbon
e-fuels, which may yet safeguard the future of the
internal combustion engine. In fact, if these fuels
were to become available sufficiently cheaply in
large quantities, they could – somewhat ironically –
see everyday road cars returning to gasoline.
But the key point about electrification,
Laudenbach emphasises, is the timescale: “It’s
difficult to say what will happen in the long-term
future. What we do know is that electrification is
happening right now. So, hypothetically speaking,
even if we had enough sustainable fuel to power
every racing car on the planet, I don’t think we
should ignore what’s happening on the road car
side. Right now we’re supporting both solutions,
because it will be years before we know which way
this is going to go.”
Some believe that hydrogen is also a potential RIGHT Porsche
contender, but Laudenbach is sceptical when it invested $75
million to acquire a
comes to high-performance applications: “From
long-term stake in
what we know now, fuels cells aren’t really the best HIF Global LLC, a
solution for sports cars. Don’t get me wrong, we’re holding company of
looking at all the different options – that’s one of internationally active
the advantages of being part of a larger group with project developers
of e-fuel production
a lot of different R&D activities – but fuel cells are facilities. Projects
not something we currently consider to be an ideal include the Haru Oni
solution for a sports car or even a passenger car.” e-fuel pilot plant
www.racetechmag.com
PORSCHE 39
We don’t take a module from the racecar and bolt

it straight into a road car. But we do frequently take
the approach, the software solutions, the cooling
concepts, the manufacturing methods”
New powertrains racing programmes. Last year, the

For its LMDh programme, Porsche company unveiled the Porsche Mission
Motorsport has just engineered a new R – a 1,088 hp all-wheel drive electric GT
competition variant of the 4-litre twin- racer that’s said to preview the future of
turbo V8 found in various examples of its customer racing activities. While that
the Cayenne and Panamera road cars. was very much a working concept car,
It’s also about to release a new flat six- last month’s Goodwood Festival of Speed
powered 911 GT3 R that will become the saw the arrival of the Porsche Cayman
top tier of both its works and customer GT4 e-Performance, which is said to be a
GT racing programmes once the GTE significant step closer to production.
class is phased out. “The Cayman GT4 e-Performance is still
As for Formula 1, Laudenbach jokes a prototype, but it’s one that could really
that we’ll have to put that question to race properly. The next step on from that
his bosses instead, but there’s intense will hopefully be an electric racecar that
LEFT Porsche was speculation that Porsche could well return we can sell to customers, but that will
the first squad to as a powertrain supplier there too. So the take some time,” comments Laudenbach.
rollout the new engineers at Weissach will certainly be “Customer cars need to be affordable, so
Gen3 Formula E, the
most efficient – and busy on the combustion engine side. the most important thing is that you have
sustainable – electric Meanwhile, electric powertrains are a good base road car.”
racecar ever built edging closer to reality for their customer And it won’t be long before they have
one. Porsche has already confirmed that its
Boxster and Cayman road cars will be going
electric in 2025, so it seems highly likely that
a customer racecar and a new one-make
series will be launched around that time.
There are also technical challenges
to overcome before electric customer
racing becomes a reality at this sort of
level – principally around the batteries.
Laudenbach acknowledges that storage
capacity is still an issue, and that has a
knock-on effect on the powertrain design.
For instance, Porsche’s GT racecars have
always been rear-wheel drive, but an
electric model might require a front-
mounted MGU – not so much for its
traction benefits, but to maximise the
amount of energy harvested during
regenerative braking.
Of course, strictly speaking, Porsche
is already gearing up to support a
customer team in another form of
electric motorsport. From the start of
Season 9, the company will be supplying
powertrains to Avalanche Andretti in
Formula E, alongside its own works
team. This also marks the start of the
series’ Gen3 era, which promises new
technical challenges and a significant
step up in performance.
www.racetechmag.com
The new Formula E cars have 40 per cent more we recuperate and re-use is going to be huge, which I ABOVE Although not
power than the outgoing machines, yet the spec think is exactly the right step, because that’s the right officially launched
until the Goodwood
battery that they use is smaller and lighter. To keep message. You make a smaller battery, take less energy
Festival of Speed, the
that topped up, the cars will be able to recuperate on board at the start, and you still have a great race.” 963 has been testing
more than twice the energy that they do currently, for months. Though
using an additional MGU on the front axle (used Formula E’s next move subject to Balance of
as a generator only for the foreseeable future). For With a top speed of over 200 mph, the Gen3 Performance, it will
be the best sorted car
the teams, this means there will be far more energy machines promise to be the most dramatic Formula E
on the grid when the
flowing around the system, and Laudenbach believes cars yet. But do the new regulations go far enough to new category begins
the way this is managed will be one of the key maintain the technical challenge after eight years of
technological battlegrounds for the new season. all-electric racing?
“Harvesting energy under braking is not an easy “For sure, the challenge is still there. It’s still the
task. It’ll be very much down to who can handle it in only all-electric series at this sort of level,” he replies.
the best way so that the driver still feels confidence in “I think it’s very important that Formula E considers
the car,” he comments. “The amount of energy that the next steps, and for me, it’s heading in exactly the
LEFT One of
Porsche’s responses
to the electrification
of the industry was to
enter Formula E with
its 99X Electric
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right direction with these new regulations.”

Looking further ahead, Laudenbach says he would
like to see some degree of freedom around the
battery for Gen4, but he’s mindful that it would need
to be controlled: “If you just let everyone do their
own battery, there would be a cost explosion. And if
you applied a cost cap that was too low, you would
risk forcing people into solutions that aren’t really
suitable for racecars. So I think the solution would be
to offer freedom in certain, clearly defined areas.”
One possibility might be to allow the manufacturers
to assemble their own batteries based on standard cells.
A more extreme option would be to allow them to
design their own cells, but with the materials and the ABOVE Mission R (middle) hopes will power it to an unprecedented
chemistries restricted to those that offer genuine road represents Porsche’s vision of 20th outright victory at Le Mans, along
a fully-electric GT racing car
relevance at a sensible cost. Alternatively, opening up the with success in the IMSA WeatherTech
for customer motorsport in the
design of the cooling system or the battery management future. This is no idle concept, SportsCar Championship and the World
system (BMS) could be a more manageable first step. though: testing of the technology Endurance Championship.
Elsewhere on the car, it’s possible that the front components has already Throw in other blue chip events like
MGU could also be opened up to function as a motor, commenced, using the 718 Cayman Daytona and Sebring, and the LMDh
GT4 ePerformance as a donor car
although there are no specific plans to do this currently. car has the potential to capture a lot
of prestigious silverware for a relatively
LMDh hybrid modest budget. Its cost is said to be
Porsche’s other halo project, the new 963 LMDh car, BELOW Porsche’s new 963 evokes roughly in the same ballpark as the current
a previous era of turn-key customer
also has an electrified element to its design, with a GTE programme, which is only eligible for
sports prototypes. Here the first 956
spec hybrid system running alongside the company’s for a customer is seen in the racing class wins at such events. Not surprisingly,
own twin-turbo V8. It’s this car that the brand department at Weissach in 1983 Laudenbach says this was a significant
Essential BOOK for the library:
motorsport engineer’s
Making Sense of Squiggly Lines: £40 û

The Basic Analysis of Race Car Data Acquisition by Christopher Brown
Table of Contents CHAPTER 4 GEAR

4.1 – Finding the Optimal Shift Points
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Chapter 5 Throttle
1.1 – Data Acquisition System 5.1 – Throttle Blips
1.2 – Channels 5.2 – Average Throttle Position
1.3 – Logging 5.3 – Throttle Lifts
1.4 – Data Display Types Chapter 5.4 – Throttle Application Smoothness
CHAPTER 2 SPEED 5.5 – Throttle Application – Ideal Line
2.1 – Speed from tire revolutions CHAPTER 6 G-FORCE
2.2 – Speed from GPS 6.1 – G-Force Longitudinal – Acceleration
2.3 – Overlay 6.2 – G-Force Longitudinal – Braking
2.4 – Variance 6.3 – G-Force Lateral
2.5 – Data Alignment 6.4 – G-G Traction Circle
2.6 – Braking CHAPTER 7 STEERING
2.7 – Wheel Slip 7.1 – Line Analysis
2.8 – Cornering Speeds 7.2 – Car Handling Oversteer/Understeer
2.9 – Straight Line Speed Chapter CHAPTER 8 TRACK MAPPING
CHAPTER 3 RPM CHAPTER 9 SECTION TIMING
3.1 – Over Revs CHAPTER 10 VIDEO
3.2 – Down Shifts CHAPTER 11 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
3.3 – X-Y Plot of RPM vs. Speed 11.1 – Summary of Channels
3.4 – RPM Histogram 11.2 – Strategy for Improvement
;VVYKLY[OPZÄULIVVRHUKTHU`V[OLYZWSLHZLNV[V
^^^RPTILYSL`TLKPHNYV\WJVTZOVWVYWOVUL
ÔLYLV\YMYPLUKS`Z[HMM^PSS[HRL`V\YVYKLY
& Technology

www.racetechmag.com
factor in the decision to go with LMDh rather than

the LMH Hypercar class.
“This way, it’s possible to compete for outright
victories on a much smaller budget,” he points out.
“And the other big factor for us was that LMDh allows
you to compete in IMSA and the WEC with the same
specification. If this possibility and this framework
had been in place earlier, I can well imagine we’d
have seen some of the Hypercar manufacturers going
down the LMDh route. Plus, it still gives you enough
freedom to showcase your technical abilities – it’s BELOW At the heart of
restricted, yes, but it’s not a spec car by any means.” the LMDh powertrain
The logic of using an LMDh car in both lies a twin-turbo
4.6-litre V8 based on
championships, however, rests very much on the the high-performance
ability of the organising bodies to balance them with 918 Spyder hybrid
the LMH cars. Laudenbach pauses slightly here. sports car
LMDh still gives you freedom to

showcase your technical abilities
– it’s restricted, yes, but it’s not a
spec car by any means”
“Let me put it this way: if we didn’t think it was

possible to balance these concepts, we wouldn’t have
entered. So from a technical point of view, it is clearly
possible, with all the sensors on the car and all the
simulation techniques that are available these days.
But from a political point of view – and when it comes
to the details of how exactly it’s done – that’s much
more complex,” he says. “It’s certainly something that
I sometimes stop and think about, but we are happy
to work through that with the other manufacturers,
IMSA and the ACO.”
As with Formula E, he’s open to the idea of bringing
more technical freedom into the LMDh regulations
in the future. Perhaps, for instance, allowing
manufacturers to build their own hybrid systems to
www.racetechmag.com
PORSCHE 45
a carefully-defined set of specifications that were

designed to ensure road relevance and cost control.
First, though, he says the category needs time to
establish itself and find stability.
GT racing
It may be the big budget categories like LMDh and
Formula E that make the headlines, but customer
racing remains the bread and butter of Porsche
Motorsport. In particular, there’s the hugely
versatile 911 GT3 Cup, which will soon be eligible
for everything from regional single-make events
up to Le Mans, Daytona and the World Endurance
Championship under the ACO’s new rules.
Next year, the GTE Pro category, in which Porsche
currently competes with a works team, will be axed.
The GTE Am class, which requires each team to have
at least one bronze-rated driver, will remain for 2023,
but after that, both categories will be replaced by a
GT3-based format.
These ‘GT3 Premium’ proposals would see a
fully-reversible kit of parts applied to each car,
differentiating it from those in less prestigious GT3
events. Laudenbach, however, isn’t a fan of the idea.
“I’m really looking forward to GT3 coming to Le
Mans. That, in itself, is a great idea, but I’m not in
favour of the idea of developing special kits,” he
comments. “These are proper racecars that don’t
need any additional modifications, and they look
great already. We will have to adjust the gear ratios,
as we do already for Daytona, but there’s no need
ABOVE & BELOW for a whole kit of parts. Why should we do all that
Notwithstanding engineering work just to make them different?
its likely return to
“GT racing might be top-level customer racing,
F1, where its TAG
Turbo (below) for but it’s still customer racing, therefore it should be
McLaren will always affordable for the teams. And from the manufacturers’
be revered, GT racing side, where’s the business case? Each manufacturer
remains the core of will, at the most, have a handful of cars on the Le
Porsche’s motorsport
commitment Mans grid, so you would have to sacrifice some of
the resources spent on the base car’s development for
that. I can’t see how you’d cover the cost, let alone
make any money.”
At present, those resources are nicely matched to
the projects that Porsche has underway. Although
the two have overlapped, LMDh will effectively fill
the gap left by GTE Pro next year, balancing things
out. The company’s Formula 1 plans have yet to
be finalised (“as our CEO said, the most important
thing is that the rules are in place. And they aren’t, so
there’s no decision,” notes Laudenbach). But as things
stand currently there’s no intention to scale back any
of Porsche’s current motorsport activities if (or when)
it does make a return to grand prix racing.
And so, Thomas Laudenbach’s job doesn’t look set
to get any easier. But he seems more than up to the
task – greeting each new challenge with energy and
enthusiasm. After all, as he points out, he has one of
the best jobs in the world.
www.racetechmag.com
46 AERO TECH Next Gen NASCAR
Eric Jacuzzi, managing director
WINDS OF of aerodynamics and vehicle

performance at NASCAR, talks
Chris Pickering through the aero
CHANGE development of the Next Gen racecar
SWEEP T
HE arrival of NASCAR’s new Next Gen format
earlier this year was the series’ biggest
technical shake up in half a century. Perhaps
the most significant changes – and certainly the most
THROUGH
noticeable – relate to the car’s aerodynamics.
Gone are the old hand-beaten aluminium body
shells, which hugged the ground with a markedly
asymmetric shape. In their place, there are new
composite-bodied cars, each of which has its own
NASCAR
recognisably different silhouette, with a symmetrical
design and a genuine resemblance to its road-going
counterparts. Things are even more radical under
the skin, with flat floors, rear diffusers and new
www.racetechmag.com
AERO TECH 47
aerodynamic safety features. as well as improving the racecar’s performance

The flat floor, in particular, represents a major on road courses. In contrast, the Gen 6 cars raced
shift in NASCAR’s aerodynamic philosophy. The everywhere with the tail offset to the right by 2.5
previous Gen 6 cars theoretically had no underbody inches. As with the current regulations, the Gen 6
aerodynamic devices at all. Instead, they sat rules allowed for small dimensional tolerances, which
extremely low, with a front splitter and deep side the teams could use to trim the side force generated
skirts to seal the car to the track. As is often the case by the asymmetric bodies on the ovals. This didn’t
in NASCAR, however, a technological arms race necessarily have a major impact on lap times, but it
developed as the individual teams attempted to could be used to improve stability, giving the driver
optimise the detail design of the underside. more confidence in the car’s behaviour.
The top teams became very adept at harnessing
the ground effect and manipulating the geometry of
surfaces exposed to the air flow – aided by significant One of the fears we had
CFD capabilities and access to full-scale wind tunnels.
But rather than attempting to divert the air flow
already disproven was
BELOW Extensive away from the underside, the Next Gen cars work that a flat bottom car
use of Computational with it. They ride twice as high on low profile tyres is somehow inherently
Fluid Dynamics
played a key role in
and production-style 18-inch wheels (as opposed likely to lift off”
to the old 15-inch balloon tyres) es) to give a more
NASCAR’s new era,
‘stock’ appearance.
with more than 3,000
CFD runs shaping the The symmetrical bodies also helpelp to reinforce the
Next Gen car ng models,
visual link back to the road-going
These fundamental
changes were established
right at the beginning
of the Next Gen concept’s
development, explains Eric Jacuzzi,
managing director of aerodynamics
and vehicle performance at NASCAR: “Based
on our initial discussions with the manufacturers,
we knew that the cars were going to be higher off
the ground and we knew that they were going to
be symmetrical. In late 2018 our own engineering
team started working on a generic model of a car,
based on a Gen 6 body, which had been shortened
and made symmetrical. Then we started putting very
early concepts of the floor on it.”
Safety was a major factor in these early
investigations, he recalls. Running at high speeds
on oval tracks creates a significant risk of the car
launching into the air during an accident, so
particular attention was paid to lift-off safety.
“One of the fears that we had already disproven
was that a flat bottom car is somehow inherently
likely to lift off,” comments Jacuzzi. “Typically, we
would take a car to the Chrysler tunnel in Auburn
Hills, because that can go through 360 degrees,
and we’d usually yaw between zero and 180. From
that work, we had a good understanding of how
the CFD should correlate to that tunnel. So when
we started investigating the floor, we were able to
www.racetechmag.com
adding downforce to both ends of the car.

It was really important, at that early “During testing, we then found that the
stage, to make sure we didn’t commit to car was always on the oversteer side, so
we would end up running it with the nose
something that was going to be a disaster” off the ground and the back down. In
essence, that took us back to the 30 per
compare the numbers to those of the old would be free to the manufacturers, cent balance that we started with, so for
car and it became clear that it shouldn’t providing the finished car sat within a the final version, we undid some of those
be any worse. It was really important, at narrow window of lift and drag figures. changes, taking downforce out of the front
that early stage, to make sure we didn’t and adding it to the rear,” notes Jacuzzi.
commit to something that was going to Aero balance Along with the front-to-rear balance,
be a disaster. If anything, the results were At the same time, NASCAR began track the other big dilemma was the design of
better than the old car.” testing and simulator work with a test the floor. This was to be the first time that
Having proven that the basic concept vehicle fitted with a generic body and NASCAR had run with a diffuser, so the
was sound, NASCAR could go back to the first iteration of the new floor. This initial template was quite conservative,
the OEMs and start working on the began with a traditional aero balance of followed by a more aggressive design for
greenhouse shape. This essentially involved around 30 per cent front versus 70 per the second iteration.
all three manufacturers submitting cent rear downforce. “We had some advice from people with
their preferred windscreen and roofline After the first round of physical testing, open-wheel and sports car experience. The
geometry, so the organisers could find a it was felt that the design could probably biggest thing – and this is something that
compromise between them. From there, go back to a more traditional stock car you can see in the current F1 season – was
common elements such as the decklid and aero balance of 40 or 50 per cent front not to go down a road where the car is very
the wheel arches could also be defined. downforce. A new splitter was designed, highly-strung aerodynamically. That can
Other parts of the geometry, however, along with a more efficient rear diffuser, result in a car that’s very erratic and difficult
James Gilbert/Getty Images/NASCAR
www.racetechmag.com
AERO TECH 49
RIGHT The flat floor represents

a major shift in NASCAR’s
aero philosophy. Underbody
skin coefficient and pressure
coefficient are displayed here
in CFD. You can see (top) how
the vortices drive attachment up
the diffuser ramp. Painstaking
work ensured that, despite initial
fears, the Next Gen is better than
its predecessor from a lift-off
standpoint. The diffuser flaps,
triggered when the right-hand
roof flap activates, provide an
extra layer of safety
BELOW As with F1’s new era,

NASCAR’s Next Gen cars were
conceived with the benefit of
meticulous aero research. In
both cases, the intention was
to promote good racing while
avoiding an arms race
www.racetechmag.com
to diagnose when you have an issue,” recalls Jacuzzi. fitted with the system and run backwards at the RIGHT The finished
“So we did the best we could to keep it Aerodyn wind tunnel in North Carolina. Initially, the designs were tested
in the wind tunnel to
conservative and make sure that our CFD wasn’t idea was to have a spring-loaded system that would
ensure they sat within
doing anything crazy. And we learned how our CFD be deployed solely by the air flow underneath the car. NASCAR’s mandated
would compare to the tunnel and how a steady state Later on, former NASCAR engineer Don Krueger came lift and drag aero
run would compare to a transient run.” up with the idea of linking it mechanically to the flap windows. Here Ford’s
NASCAR worked with TotalSim US, which helped on the roof (an anti-launching feature that the series car is seen in the
Aerodyn tunnel
to generate a baseline CFD model from the generic has used since the mid-’90s). When the right-hand
CAD data. Jacuzzi and his colleagues then iterated roof flap activates, a cable pulls open the diffuser flaps.
on that design in-house. Every major iteration Validation tests followed at the Chrysler tunnel and
was run on a 14-point development map in CFD, at the ACE facility in Canada, Jacuzzi recalls: “It was
including sweeps for heave, pitch and ride height, a two-day test, and it was really interesting. We took
which were then mirrored in the tunnel. In total, a Gen 6 car along with the Next Gen and compared
around 3,000 runs were carried out in CFD. the two. In most cases it was better, and it gave us
There were still concerns from some outside of the a chance to try various different solutions when it
organisation that a flat floor could lead to safety issues wasn’t. We ended up with a car that was actually
at high yaw angles, so the engineers set out to find better than its predecessor from a lift-off standpoint.”
any potential weak points. In CFD, the Next Gen Another, perhaps surprising, target was to increase
design performed better all the way from 0 to 180 the drag of the new cars. While low drag is clearly
degrees. To build on that, they tried placing a flap on beneficial in most forms of racing, NASCAR found it BELOW The new
the diffuser to accelerate the flow and prevent high was struggling to control the speed of the cars. By cars feature less
pressure air blowing in from the back. the end of the Gen 6 era, closely bunched fields of 40 downforce than their
predecessors, in
Multi-body dynamics and transient CFD were cars were hitting 208 mph at Talladega. a deliberate move
coupled to produce a simulation of the flap deploying “The only recourse we had was to add spoilers to designed to improve
by itself. This showed a potential gain, so a car was the car, which is very effective for a single car, but the racing
www.racetechmag.com
AERO TECH 51
NASCAR
it’s ineffective once you get in traffic, so the risk of the car taking off.
you end up with big accelerations, which Every major Similarly, a brown box shows where the
makes the pack really unwieldy,” comments manufacturers can position the radiator
Jacuzzi. “And the opposite is true if you
iteration was run outlet. This feature is significant in itself,
have a really small spoiler, where the field on a 14-point as it marks a departure from the Gen 6
is kind of low energy, so they can’t really development design, where the flow passed through
move around very well and they can kind map in CFD, the radiator and exited into the engine
of be manipulated by the car in front.”
NASCAR’s response was to engineer
including bay as it would on a typical road car. The
downside to doing this was that running
more drag into the new front fascia
sweeps for the radiator completely open would
designs (common to the whole field). heave, pitch and lose around 250 lb of downforce, so the
Careful consideration also went into the ride height” engines had to be specially developed to
surfaces around this feature in an effort cope with elevated temperatures. As a
to ensure that the teams couldn’t do result of this, a Gen 6 NASCAR would run
anything to reduce its impact. minimum surfaces, where the bodywork at roughly 270 deg F, while a prototype
must allow room for chassis constraints might be less than 200 deg F. The same
Geometry differences or safety features underneath are in blue; principle led to teams taping up the grilles.
Once its in-house development was maximum surfaces, which the extremities NASCAR now directs the air up and out
complete, NASCAR created a CAD model of the car must lie within, are shown in red. through the bonnet in order to sever this
that defined the geometry of the generic There are also additional boxes to undesirable link between temperature and
vehicle. This is outlined in the technical define the location of specific elements. downforce. A small perforated ‘throttle
regulations with a series of colour coded For instance, a grey box on the bonnet plate’ is still allowed behind the spec radiator
drawings: common areas of the car, denotes position of the hood flaps, and oil cooler package, but its aerodynamic
where the geometry is shared by all which open during a spin to vent effect has been slashed. Now – depending
three manufacturers, are shown in green; pressure from the engine bay and reduce on the design – the car actually gains a small
RIGHT NASCAR worked

with TotalSim US to
create its own generic
body shape. This was
used to define the
aerodynamic boundaries
within which the
cars from all three
manufacturers must lie
www.racetechmag.com
NASCAR
ABOVE NASCAR continues to take big

strides forward with its safety measures,
here evaluating anti-launch safety systems
in the FCA aeroacoustic tunnel. When the
right-hand roof flap activates, a cable pulls
open the flaps in the rear diffuser
wind tunnel to ensure they sit within these

NASCAR now directs the air up and boundaries, but the homologation process
out through the bonnet in order to begins long before that. It starts with the
manufacturers sharing photos or renderings
sever the undesirable link between of the proposed racecar, along with the
temperature and downforce” production model that it’s based on. This
is largely to check that there’s sufficient
resemblance between the two, which can
amount of downforce when the radiator geometry, wheel travel and steering angle. be tricky if it coincides with the very early
is run fully open (albeit at the cost of a Manufacturers need to be mindful of this to stages of the road car’s development.
small amount of drag). It also opens up the prevent the tyre ever fouling the bodywork. “We’ve had cases where the road car
option of running more production-based didn’t actually exist at that point. The
engines in the future, which simply aren’t Homologation process Camry was probably the best example of
compatible with these temperatures. NASCAR created its own generic body that, where we had to travel to Toyota’s
The area around the bonnet allows a shape, based on the common elements design studio in Ann Arbour, Michigan to
considerable amount of design freedom, and the dimensional constraints laid down look at clay models of the production car,”
both in the shape of the surface itself and in the rules. It was this shape that was explains Jacuzzi. “So there’s usually a little
the design of the radiator outlet. Ford has used to define the lift and drag window bit of hand waving there, with us saying
a set of protruding louvres, which direct within which the cars from all three ‘Okay, why is this feature like that?’ or ‘We
air over the top of the outlet, creating manufacturers must lie. want to see this line here’. So we really try
a low pressure area to help extract flow The nominal design for all body shapes to get them on the right track with regards
from the engine bay; Toyota takes a similar must sit within eight counts of drag (Cd) to our expectation for that car.”
approach, but uses a single large flick and 20 counts of downforce (CL). To put Later on in the process, the road and race
ahead of the vent; while Chevrolet has a that into perspective, peak downforce versions of the car are then reviewed side
series of slats that are set into the vent, might be 800 counts and peak drag 550 by side in full-scale.
relying on a naturally-generated area of low counts, so that represents a maximum “We’ve had those be very cordial and
pressure close to the nose. difference of approximately 2.5 per nice, where the head designer was there to
The regulations also define what’s cent and 1.5 per cent respectively. In show us the production car and why they
affectionately known as the ‘tyre potato’. reality, you’re unlikely to find two cars did certain things. And then we’ve had
This is the three-dimensional volume that at the extreme ends of the range, so the them where we weren’t pleased with what
marks the maximum extents of the tyre differences are likely to be smaller still. we saw and we had to demand a lot of
in all possible combinations of suspension The finished designs are tested in the changes to make it look more like the road
www.racetechmag.com
AERO TECH 53
car,” reveals Jacuzzi.

Once the design of each car has been finalised –
taking into account its aerodynamic performance
and its stylistic links to the production car – the
finished geometry is submitted as a CAD model. It’s
this approved model that’s used as a reference point
when the car’s bodywork is scanned for dimensional
tolerances at the track.
“In the past we’ve had people cooking parts and
changing the shape, but we’ve taken steps to try to
ensure that doesn’t happen. For instance, defining
the repair processes,” notes Jacuzzi. “Essentially,
the teams are allowed ±150 thousandths of an inch
on all non-glass surfaces, including the underside.
So, typically, what they’re doing is optimising the
build of the car for a specific track within those
tolerances. We allow ±200 thousandths of glass
because it’s very thermally sensitive. If you build has measures in place to deter the larger teams from ABOVE The new
the glass at +160 thousandths and then it sits in the ordering vast numbers of parts and selecting the most car appears to
have achieved
midday sun for 10 minutes, it risks failing. That’s advantageous production tolerances.
NASCAR’s objective
what we saw at Talladega where everyone was Overall, the new cars feature less downforce than their of levelling the field.
covering the car with umbrellas. There’s a similar predecessors, in a deliberate move designed to improve Certainly Daniel
thing on the underbody, where they will try to get the racing. It seems to be working too, with 13 different Suarez believes
the diffuser as low as they can.” winners in the first 19 rounds of the season. This, of so: the 30-year-old
became the first
Most of the larger teams have their own optical course, is just the start for the Next Gen era in NASCAR.
Mexican-born driver
scanning equipment, plus NASCAR allows its own With renewed rumours of a fourth manufacturer joining to win a NASCAR Cup
facilities to be used to check the cars prior to each race. the series, hybrid engines slated for 2024 and a Box 56 Series race, finally
Although teams continue to play with the entry planned for Le Mans next year, it seems that there triumphing in his
195th career start
mounting of the bodywork to take advantage of will be plenty more changes to come.
these dimensional tolerances, the switch to carbon
composites has made it harder for them to modify
the geometry of the panels themselves. Plus, NASCAR
LEFT NASCAR
deliberately engineered
more drag into the new
front fascia designs
common to all the
manufacturers. The skin
friction coefficient here
shows where flow is
attached – and where
teams would attempt to
chase an advantage
www.racetechmag.com
54 FORMULA STUDENT Debrief
EVs and autonomy

accelerate as Formula
Student celebrates
25th year A
FTER a virtual event in 2020 and
paddock
an a stripped-
back hybrid contest in 2021, th
the Silverstone
dd k was once again bustling
b l with teams
last month as The Institution of Mechanical Engineers’
full-scale Formula Student event returned.
Sara Kimberley quizzes Formula Student
chief design judge Dan Jones after an event Which teams impressed you – and why?
“All Formula Student teams have faced various
that mirrored the trends witnessed in the wider challenges over the past two and a half years as we’ve
automotive and motorsport spheres navigated through the global pandemic.
“Without speaking to all teams it’s impossible to
say how badly each has been affected; it’s entirely
possible that a team who only just made it to
BELOW With COVID restrictions Silverstone and to scrutineering on Sunday morning
lifted, this year’s competition
saw UK teams joined by could be categorised as the most impressive feat.
international opponents and “This year’s winners, UG Racing from the University
thousands of spectators of Glasgow, deserve a mention for their solid
progression in both the static and dynamic events
from last year, demonstrating how important it is
www.racetechmag.com
FORMULA STUDENT 55
to score well in all events, rather than Most improved team, in your opinion? “There were several notable ‘firsts’,
sacrifice any to focus on another. “It’s difficult to single out any one team. such as Southampton transitioning from
“It was incredibly close between second Many of the well-established teams made a spaceframe ICE to monocoque EV in a
and third this year, with the University of the transition from ICE to EV this year single year and Salford making it through
the West of England beating the University and struggled to either bring a running scrutineering for the first time ever to
of Malta to second place by a single point: car to the event, or to get through all name just two of these.
each and every point really does matter.” stages of scrutineering. “Coventry and Edinburgh deserve a
mention for the impressive progress in the
ABOVE Glasgow’s
FS-AI dynamic events this year, with both
internal combustion
car overcame strong successfully completing the acceleration,
competition and the July skid-pad, sprint and track drive events.”
heat to secure victory
What were the emerging trends that
LEFT The Glasgow captured your attention?
squad was overjoyed “Just as we’re seeing in mainstream
to lift the trophy and automotive and professional motorsport,
validate its hard
the expansion of EVs continues at pace,
work and steady
improvements in with an almost 50:50 split between ICE
recent years and EV entries at FS this year.
www.racetechmag.com
Heading down the EV route

“IT feels good to be back,” admits Andrew Deakin, the
chair of the organising committee.
“Last year was reasonably busy, but there were only UK
teams. Now we’ve got the international contingent back,
which is always good to see,” he says. The international
[LHTZIYPUN¸KPќLYLU[PKLHZKPќLYLU[^H`ZVMKVPUN
things,” he adds.
Dr Deakin helped bring the competition to the UK after
starting a Leeds University team in 1995, which competed
PU[OL<:(SV[OHZJOHUNLKIL[^LLU[OLÄYZ[P[LYH[PVUPU
1998 and the 25th annual event.
“The level of sophistication has changed, going from
“This year also saw our greatest number ABOVE & TOP
a lot of carburettors in the very early years to everyone
of entries to our autonomous vehicle The EV ranks
continue to grow, B\ZPUNDM\LSPUQLJ[PVUHUK[OH[ZVY[VMZ[\ќ¹OLUV[LZ¸;OLYL
category, along with the impressive
with a number were some monocoques in the early years, but now there
progress in successful completion of the of universities
dynamic events.” are a lot of monocoque cars. Teams have tried active
abandoning ICE
competition suspension, CVTs and all those sorts of things as well, so
The knowledge gap between the ‘have’ SV[ZVMKPќLYLU[[LJOUVSVNPLZOH]LILLU[YPLKHUKZVTL
and ‘have not’ teams has expanded of them are quite complex to do in a year for a student
greatly in recent years. To your mind, project. Some of them succeed very well, some fail. It’s part
have the entries in the bottom half of of the competition.”
the field closed the gap, stayed static, or The changes go far beyond the evolution of the internal
dropped further behind? combustion (IC) cars. This year’s event saw more than half
“The wide-ranging impacts of the global of the teams use electric powertrains.
pandemic and the shift from ICE to
“We’re hoping to go more and more towards the EV
EV for many teams have distorted the
(electric vehicle) side of things, because that’s what
‘traditional’ picture somewhat.
industry wants; it wants engineers with that kind of
“FS2022 was our first return to a
conventional fully live event with first experience,” says Deakin.
year vehicles since 2019, and it was ¸0[»ZHKPќLYLU[[LJOUVSVN`[VNL[\ZLK[V@V\JHU»[Q\Z[
evident across the board that teams have go to a scrapyard and pull an engine out of a broken
struggled with the loss of experienced motorcycle these days – you’ve got to design your own
hands. The teams that capture all the battery system and talk to a number of electric motor
learning from this year and generate companies to select an electric motor, and then work out
sensible plans to make improvements for OV^[VÄ[[OH[HSSPU[V[OLJHY^P[OHSS[OLJVU[YVSZ`Z[LTZ
next year will likely be those that make the and everything else.”
most progress at FS2023.”
Giorgio Piola
NEW
FORMULA 1
2016-2018 Technical Analysis
(with 2019 preview)
EAN: 978-88-7911-684-8 / Text: English - Pages: 208 -

Pictures: over 600 technical drawings in colour - Hardbound - £ 49.00
T
HE last edition of an automotive literary classic: the technical
analysis of Formula 1 penned by Giorgio Piola. After 25
years of publication, the historic draughtsman brings the
curtain down on this experience with a volume that examines the
last three seasons, from 2016 to 2018, as always reviewing the
principal technical innovations in the spheres of chassis and engine
design. This three-year analysis is appropriately completed with a
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year career that began back in 1969.
To order visit our website at:

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www.racetechmag.com
What do you think has been the result of LEFT Vital experience
the COVID hiatus? gained is the true
reward, but a trophy
“There are two main factors which have
truly validates all that
impacted teams: the loss of continuity in hard work
experienced team members and increased
lead times and costs for components.”
Any sign that the ‘mortal sins’ - rod

ends in bending, lack of understanding
of load paths and compliance etc – are
back in force?
“I wouldn’t say this was any better
or worse than usual this year. Non-
conformances to the rules, however,
definitely were more prevalent, which I BELOW The
University of the
believe to be a consequence of the loss of
West of England was
continuity of experienced team members.” runner-up in the
main event
Any evidence of the current financial
squeeze taking its toll? “I had several teams ask me for feedback on Female engineers are a hot topic at the
“Not this year. We had several new their cars: all were open to my suggestions moment: did you notice any shift in
partners and sponsors of the event this on how they could improve both their the balance?
year, demonstrating the recognition in general approach to Formula Student and “As part of the IMechE’s broader
industry of the importance of Formula specific design points on their cars. Diversity and Inclusion policy, FS2022
Student in developing our engineers of “Every year I’m impressed by the marked the first time we’ve actively
the future. comradery between teams. They may collected data during registration to
“It’s more likely to impact teams over the be fierce competitors, but they are track trends such as this.
next year, as the seemingly ever-increasing always willing to do what they can “This sets our baseline for comparison
costs squeeze their budgets.” to help another team out, admirably in future years, so we won’t have
demonstrating the positive spirit of objective data until next year, but from
The youngsters are often given a hard Formula Student and in stark contrast to walking around the paddock and talking
time for their attitude – how did you feel how young people are often portrayed to the teams, a strong step in the right
they responded to constructive criticism? in the press.” direction was evident.
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Covers fasteners, plumbing, race car handling problems. Formatted
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work, braking system, clutch, and problems and possible causes.
suspension, wheels and tires, Spiralbound, 3 1/2”x 7 3/4,” 32 pgs.’
engine, gearbox, electrics, fuel
cells, paint and paperwork.
;VVYKLY[OLZLÄULIVVRZHUKTHU`V[OLYZWSLHZLNV[V
& Technology

www.racetechmag.com
“We were delighted to welcome Girls on Track to the FS

The year FS-AI ‘thrived’ paddock this year. Initiatives like this are essential to increase
the number of females choosing to study engineering and
THE 2022 competition attracted record participate in Formula Student in the future.”
numbers of FS-AI participants, with
more than a dozen teams from the UK What caught your eye in the ‘alternative’ ranks?
and oversees taking part in presentation “In addition to the increased number of EV entries this year, we
events of their work and on-track activities had the hybrid entry from Modena. Unfortunately, they were
designed to test their team’s autonomous not able to pass scrutineering due to technical issues with their
battery pack, but I’m sure they will continue to develop the
driving systems across a number of real-
powertrain and I look forward to seeing how it performs on
world driving simulations.
track relative to the ICE and EV entries in future years.”
Some brought their own car and software,
while others added their own software to a What did you make of progress in the AI class?
base model developed by the IMechE. “In general terms I was very pleased with the continued
“This is the year FS-AI truly thrived,” growth in entries to our autonomous category.
says Holly Watson-Nall, FS-AI chief judge. “Oxford Brookes were very strong in the static events, and
BELOW The
“With six teams making great attempts both Coventry and Edinburgh made impressive progress in
autonomous event
at the dynamic events and two teams is rapidly growing the dynamic events, successfully completing all the events
completing the dreaded Trackdrive in popularity for the first time.”
event, 2022 has demonstrated the clear
progress all the teams have made in their
autonomous driving systems.
“The rookies impressed with Imperial
Driverless, Formula Trinity and UPMRacing
excelling in Statics, showing that good
understanding of simple systems and
reasoned decision making can beat
complex solutions in engineering, and
getting time on the ADS-DV cars. Oxford
Brookes Racing Autonomous led the way
in Design and Simulation Development
by giving excellent presentations and
showing their detailed understanding of
what they built.”
www.racetechmag.com
FORMULA STUDENT 61
BELOW Every point

really does count: the
University of Malta won
the Endurance event but
missed out on second
position overall by a
single point
Given the potential German move to allow ‘conventional’ ICE entries for
self-driving cars only, can you reassure the foreseeable future. We are actively The positive
us that Formula Student will – and investigating options for fully sustainable spirit of Formula
should – continue to cater for ICE fuels for this to remain palatable from an
‘conventional’ tech? environmental perspective.
Student is in stark
“FSG’s move to driverless is well “The powertrain is just one element of contrast to how
intentioned, but we believe this the broad range of skills and experience young people are
unnecessarily introduces a barrier to that students pick-up from competing often portrayed in
entry to both new and smaller teams. in Formula Student, maintaining the
“Formula Student will continue to option for low cost and relatively
the press”
BELOW Salford celebrated making it simple vehicles ensures we offer this

through scrutineering for the first time ever opportunity to the greatest possible
number of young engineers.”
Looking ahead to 2023, what are

your expectations?
“With teams now having members
who’ve been through the competition
cycle, I expect we’ll see more finished
cars making it to the competition, more
cars through scrutineering and more
cars on track, in similar numbers to
2019, our last event pre-COVID.
“I also expect to see continued growth
in the number of EV and FS-AI entries,
and hopefully another year of the wall-
to-wall sunshine we were blessed with
this year!”
www.racetechmag.com
62 PIKES PEAK Hoonipigasus
I
F previous form gives any indication wild Ford F-150 pickup; and the Ford 12 months before the car’s debut, at the
of future potential, it has become Escort RS WRC Cossie V2, a modern take 2021 edition of the famous Colorado
increasingly expected over recent years on the rally icon. event. The California-based firm BBi
that projects from Ken Block’s Hoonigan The Escort aside, most of those vehicles Autosport had just claimed victory in the
concern will not only be extreme, but haven’t been used in competition, Porsche Trophy Class, first place in the
even more so than their predecessors. outside of the Gymkhana-style events Open Class and third in the Time Attack
From originally adapting rally and for which Block is famed. He has category with a trio of different Porsches.
rallycross machines to shoot its viral instead adopted proven machinery for “The race was over, I was interviewing
videos, Hoonigan has evolved into his competition efforts. But this latest [BBi Autosport founder] Betim Berisha
producing clean-sheet design, blue-sky creation, the Hoonipigasus, was built and I said, ‘Okay, you’ve podiumed
thinking machines. Look no further than from scratch, specifically to take on the in three classes, what’s next?’” recalls
the Hoonicorn, a hugely modified 1965 world’s most famous hillclimb. Hoonigan co-founder Brian Scotto.
Ford Mustang; the Hoonitruck, a similarly The foundations of the effort were laid Berisha’s response was immediate: “I
THE END
OF AN ERA?
Could Ken Block’s ‘Hoonipigasus’ be the last big-budget ICE project ever built for the Pikes Peak
Hillclimb? Hal Ridge examines a car with a vintage silhouette, packed with the latest technology
www.racetechmag.com
PIKES PEAK 63
ABOVE The car’s want to build the SVRSR with Scarbo,” he replied.
distinctive livery is a Joe Scarbo, an engineer-designer, had already sowed
tribute to the famous
the seeds for what would become the Hoonipigasus,
1971 Porsche
917/20 ‘Pink Pig’ an idea for taking a vintage silhouette and giving it
the performance and technology of a modern car, the
SVRSR. But, as with everything under the Hoonigan
banner, “We pushed that to a whole other level: the
concept for the Hoonipigasus is to be the ultimate
Pikes Peak 911 special ever built,” says Scotto.
The concept for the

Hoonipigasus is to be
the ultimate Pikes Peak
911 special ever built”
Original plans were discussed without Block’s
involvement, but when the kind of budgets
required to execute the effort became apparent,
the commercial value needed to be increased.
Simultaneously, Block was in the process of signing a
deal with the VAG group and Audi. With a childhood
love of Pikes Peak, the stars aligned for the former DC
shows tycoon turned viral gymkhana video sensation,
rally and rallycross driver to be involved.
The project was given the green light in the closing
stages of 2021. That made the already ambitious
LEFT The car features programme an even bigger task in order to deliver
GPS height-adjusted
the car for Pikes Peak in June 2022.
suspension, based on
the previous year’s Following extensive computer-aided design work in-
telemetry house at Scarbo Performance in Southern California,
www.racetechmag.com
the real-life build began at Scarbo’s base with creating

the chassis’ spine. The main hoop for the roll cage
was the first major vertical asset to be added.
Over 300 feet of chromoly tubing made up the
chassis, put together in an incredible 14 days before
being shipped to BBi.
Berisha has a rich history of building competition
Porsches, having worked for the German marque
before going it alone with BBi. But even for him, the
Hoonipigasus has been a unique undertaking.
“The evolution of it going from an extremely rusty
bodyshell of a 1973 badass vintage-capable race
car that you could drive on the street, to a full-on
competitive Pikes Peak contender, everything had
to happen in parallel,” he explains. “Like building a
chassis, redesigning the chassis, moving an engine
while the bodywork was already being made. So
[for example] we cut the moulds for the front of the
car, because that wasn’t going to change. That’s
how this went.”
Right first time

Designed in the US, the carbon fibre bodywork was
produced in Sweden, from drawings, and shipped to
California while the chassis was still being evolved.
Fortunately, such was the accuracy of both the
initial design and the production, that the bodywork
fitted first time. The Hoonipigasus’ only non-
composite panel remains the roof.
In an initially unintended nod to Porsche racing
history, the pink livery that adorns the carbon
bodywork – created by renowned artist Trouble
LEFT Creating an
aerodynamic package
to perform across
the entire 156-corner
route is key
www.racetechmag.com
PIKES PEAK 65
LEFT Beneath the At the rear side of the roof, the air flows
skin of one of the across the scoop at the rear-screen area
last big ICE projects
that feeds the intercooler, and over the
ever destined for
Pikes Peak large dual-element rear wing. Incidentally,
like a World Rally or World Rallycross
machine, the rear wing endplates are
profiled to help maintain aerodynamic
efficiency even at extreme yaw angles.
Buttresses on the extremities of the
front splitter force air into cooling ducts
at the sides of the front bumper, and
over the front arches, where the air is
also met with the outflow from the vent
above the front wheel.
Bargeboards behind the front wheel
area straighten the air down the side of
the car, over the rear arch and to the rear
wing, also passing the inlets for the two
turbocharges via the rear window on each
side. Lower ducts on the side feed cool air
to the exhaust manifolds.
Lips on the side skirts have, following
much research at various ride heights,
“almost eliminated all porpoising,” notes
Berisha, adopting the trendy language to
describe the aerodynamic issues facing the
2022 specification Formula 1 cars.
Underneath, from the driver’s footwell
area, the diffuser tunnels lead to the
rear of the car. There the rear bumper is
non-existent in a bid to optimise the rear
diffuser’s exit, following extensive analysis
not only of the airflow outside the car, but
Andrew – pays homage to the famous weight of a grown adult, produces about through it too.
1971 Porsche 917/20 ‘Pink Pig’. 4,000 lbs (113 kilograms) of downforce Created in harmony with the bodywork,
The bodywork production was a critical at 160 mph. With an average speed of 80 the 911’s suspension, developed in-house
element to the final form of the 911, to 85 miles per hour on the course, BBi at Scarbo Performance, is fully active.
with substantial effort given to the increased the radiator size compared to While the Pikes Peak course is today only
aerodynamic efficiency of the car. Block what would be required at sea level. Air asphalt, rather than its mixed-surface
had driven up Pikes Peak before in a Rally is forced through the front-mounted unit construction of yesteryear, the surface is
America event, first at the wheel of a by the intake above the splitter, and then far from that of a silky-smooth race circuit.
Group N Subaru Impreza, and later with out over the bonnet, also helping the That means a compliant chassis with just
the 1,400 hp, twin-turbo, methanol- airflow over the car. the right amount of body roll is required.
fuelled Mustang Hoonicorn for the The car’s designers had much discussion
Hoonigan ‘Climbkana: Pikes Peak’ film over roof cutter rails, the offset of Keeping the contact patch active
in 2017. But his Hoonigan team knew maintaining 911 authenticity over “Scarbo did a lot of work with roll centres
that it was this kind of specific detail on a improving the aero flow. Ultimately, the and he actually has a really long control
“proper” Pikes Peak machine that made nod to the car’s origins won out. arm package on this car, so you have very
the Porsche project so appealing, giving little toe change and a little bit of camber
it the best chance of challenging for the gain under compression, but we have
open category or even overall success. Ride height about six inches of wheel travel which is
With air density on the 12.42-mile is constantly more than any car we’ve ever done for
Colorado course being between 30 and
40% less than that at sea level, creating
monitored by Pikes Peak,” says Berisha. “The idea for
that is when you’re hitting the big bumps,
an aerodynamic package to perform lasers front and the tyres can go down to the ground and
across the entire 156-corner route is rear within the you’re not catching air so you’re keeping
key. At sea level, the Hoonipigasus’ GPS-led system” that contact patch active.”
front splitter, strong enough to hold the Those 18” wide tyres have been created
www.racetechmag.com
specifically by Toyo Tires, in a choice of a soft and

a medium compound, with unique sidewalls to
deal with the challenges of the famous hillclimb.
The tyres shroud bespoke 13” Rotiform wheels,
weighing 8.6 kilograms each.
BBi is secretive about the unique ceramic disc and
pad construction of its brake setup, with one of the
major challenges in hillclimbing for brakes to work
from cold initially but also when red hot at the end of
the run. The discs and pads are, however, activated
by PFC-designed six-piston callipers.
Hydraulic ram
The car uses bespoke billet aluminium uprights, with
shim packs for changing camber quickly. At the other
side of the rocker arms, inboard dampers have been
developed by KW. The firm’s new solid shaft design is
four-way adjustable, with adjustment options for both
low- and high-speed compression and rebound. That system is part of 4.5 miles of wiring loom ABOVE The
Sitting between the dampers, a hydraulic ram is inside the car, including a pair of MoTeC ECUs, a Hoonipigasus’ only
non-composite panel
operated via a pump and control valve, controlled Bosch PDM and a Vbox data logging system. Berisha
remains the roof
by a MoTeC M142 system to maintain ride height opines that the car features what must be one of
as the relatively soft chassis changes across the the longest CAN bus systems ever created by wiring
course, especially at higher speeds with increased experts KSV Looms in Florida.
aerodynamic loads. The ride height is constantly A 21-gallon Premier-made ethanol fuel tank, where BELOW Moving the
monitored by lasers front and rear within the GPS- the passenger seat would conventionally be located, engine from the rear
to a mid-position
led system. The whole course can be mapped with is also inside the cockpit, while the driver sits aboard a
necessitated running the
target ride heights to achieve ultimate performance, RaceTech seat, on the other side. propshaft through the
based on telemetry from previous runs. But arguably, it’s also inside the cockpit, above the middle of the cockpit
Maximum Boost: £35 û

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Turbocharging. This hands-on book gives you
the most detailed information available on
understanding designing, setting up, testing and
modifying your car with a turbocharging system.
Find out what really works and what doesn’t, what
turbo is right for your needs and what type of setup
will give you that extra horsepower. The author
shows you how to select and install the right turbo,
how to prep the engine, test the systems, integrate
a turbo with and electronic fuel injection system or
carburettor and even gives detailed troubleshooting
information for both OEM and aftermarket
turbocharging systems.
You will find valuable information on the following:
-Essentials of turbo system design-- including
sizing the turbo, inter-cooling, fuel system tweaks,
preparing the engine, intake and exhaust design
-Evaluating and installing an aftermarket turbo kit
-Improving your current turbocharged system
-Designing and installing your own custom system
Whether you’re interested in better performance
on the road or extra horsepower to be a winner. This
book will give you the knowledge to get the most
out of your engine and its turbocharging system.
& Technology

www.racetechmag.com
LEFT The Hoonipigasus

comes together in
the workshop
BELOW As with a
WRC car, the rear
wing endplates are
profiled to maintain
aero efficiency even at
extreme yaw angles
was a little bit of give and a little bit of unconventional and we had to raise the
Everything was take. The big take, which sucked, was front diff just to get the driveshaft angles
a bit of give and that the driveshaft had to run through the
centre of the top of the engine.”
correct. And when you do that, you have
to raise the rack up and now you have
take. The big take, The result of the shaft running across to move the radiator forward, so every
which sucked, the top of the horizontally opposed single thing is about as close and tight as
was that the engine, and needing to get back you can do it.”
driveshaft had to down the axle level to meet the front
differential, meant the propshaft runs Stressed members
run through the through the middle of the cockpit, next Like the gearbox, the front differential is
centre of the top to the driver at elbow level. supplied by Sadev, the same specification
of the engine” “We always talk about the driveshaft as the unit used in the rear of Block’s
tube being the ‘Chorizo Tunnel’, but that Hoonicorn, but the car has no centre
tunnel houses a driveshaft spinning at differential. Both engine and gearbox
car’s battery and Lifeline fire extinguisher 8,300 RPM,” notes Berisha. “It’s basically are without a subframe to support them,
system, where the Hoonipigasus’ most the driver arm rest. That’s very as integral stressed members of the
interesting feature resides. chassis. The whole car weighs in at
“We very loosely started with 1,000 kilograms.
a 1966 912 and as we took
the engine from the back to
the middle, that presented a
huge issue: how do you run
the driveshaft to the front of
the car?” says Berisha. While
a ‘normal’ Porsche 911 has the
transmission in front of the engine, with
the Hoonipigasus the Sadev sequential
gearbox sits behind the engine, operated
by a steering wheel-mounted paddle
shift system.
“There’s no room underneath the car;
our centre of gravity is so low that if you
look under there, there is no room to run
a driveshaft,” he points out. “If we moved
the engine up a little then you’re in really
bad shape: your axle angles go away and
everything. So [with] packing, everything
Physics for Gearheads: £50 û

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having a problem to solve.
As a gearhead, you have a secret advantage
when it comes to understanding physics: you
see it at work every time you solve a problem
with your car or watch a motorsports event.
The experience you already have tuning cars or
motorcycles is your virtual physics lab. Physics
for Gearheads will show you that if you can
learn about cars, you can learn about physics.
Whether your interest is in increasing your
engine’s horsepower, getting more miles
per gallon, or shaving tenths off your lap
time on track day, you can use physics to
gain insight into the problem and formulate
a solution. Physics for Gearheads not only
explains physics principles in language you
can understand, it demonstrates how to use
physics to your advantage.
Note on the units of measurement used in
Physics for Gearheads: This book outfits the
reader to work in SI or British Engineering units.
& Technology

www.racetechmag.com
The engine itself, a twin-turbocharged testing for the GT machines, the Mobil 1 package. That had a tremendous cooling
4.0-litre flat-six, produces 1,400 bhp. It partnership for lubrication is maintained effect: the exhaust gas temperatures are
started life as a 2016 GT3 R engine in into this programme. about 300 degrees cooler than we were
the factory Porsche racecar run in IMSA For boost, the rear quarter window running last year on E85, so we know
and GT3. ducts on each side feed a pair of Garrett it’s doing its job and keeping a real cool
“We decided to go that route because Motorsport turbochargers. “They’re quite combustion chamber.”
the engine is wild,” says Berisha. “It spins large, they’re the biggest actual Garrett
at 9,000 RPM, has massive ports and a Motorsport turbo that they’ve produced, Tight timeframe
very, very robust oiling system. This is a and they’re unbelievably light, so that’s Derek Dauncey, head of the Hoonigan
dry sump system. They call it an MA family why we went with them,” says Berisha. Racing Division, has worked with Block for
engine, and a cool part is that we got to “They are fed from the engine by 3D 17 years. He notes that the build schedule
retain one of the carbon fibre oil tanks printed Inconel headers and a Garrett for the Hoonipigasus was tight, especially
from the GT3 R programme, which holds wastegate. Using methanol, we have three at a time when supply chain issues are
about 12.6 litres of oil.” injectors per cylinder, two of which are hitting all areas of the automotive sector.
Continuing the work done with port-mounted, and one direct injection, “The timeframe for the car was
Porsche through much endurance which came original on the GT3 R extremely challenging. We’ve always
LEFT The build

programme was
tight, especially
given the global
supply chain delays
LEFT Packaging
is extremely tight
throughout the car
www.racetechmag.com
PIKES PEAK 71
we’ve learned in the last five-six months,

The future of Pikes apply that to the next year so we’ll come
Peak is electric, back stronger and better,” says Berisha.
That return in 2023 will give BBi,
whether you like Hoonigan and Block an opportunity to be
that or not” part of what Scotto believes could be the
end of an era.
“The future of Pikes Peak is electric,
been on the limit, we call it the second whether you like that or not,” he observes.
59 of a minute, but we’ve been right on “Electric engines just work better at
second 59.9,” says Dauncey. “To be fair altitude. They don’t have all the problems
to everybody involved in the project, to that you run into with an internal
build a full prototype car in four months combustion engine, when you’re dealing
is incredible.” with air density and all these different
Despite that effort, though, engine issues things, and that’s one of the reasons we
plagued the final testing of the car in the wanted to build the Hoonipigasus.
week before Pikes Peak. They included “We knew that the Hoonipigasus might
dropping an exhaust valve and a damaged be the last of an era. It might be the last
cylinder head and piston, on top of a big, huge budget [build], because no
broken bespoke turbo. Even though the factory [team] is building a car like this
team did everything in its power to resolve anymore. I just think those are going to
ABOVE The world’s first
the problems, Block was unable to take to go away and it’s one of the reasons why it
mid-engined, AWD, twin-
the hill competitively – this year at least. turbo vintage Porsche 911 was so cool that not only did we do that,
“The good news is, we have a year to but we built it in a vintage silhouette.
think about this thing, to develop it further, This may be the last ridiculously-built gas
build a spare engine, and look back at what engine [car] as we know it for Pikes Peak.”
BELOW Engine issues

in testing mean we
have yet to see the
car’s potential
www.racetechmag.com
72 LAST LAP with Sergio Rinland
Photos: Porsche AG
PORSCHE IS BACK!
Porsche’s unveiling of its 963 at philosophies: one (LMH) for true prototypes where
the manufacturers build the whole car; the other
Goodwood raised many issues for (LMDh), a sports car built around a homologated
debate, but Sergio Rinland believes chassis, hybrid system and gearbox and where
there is one thing we can all agree upon: the engines will be derived from some sort of
production vehicle.
we’re on the brink of a golden era Two completely different animals, but which will
have the fundamental performance differentiators –
P
ORSCHE unveiled their latest prototype weight, aerodynamic downforce and drag and power
offering, the 963 LMDh, at the Goodwood at the wheels – measured and limited to be the same
Festival of Speed (where else?). for all. Those three factors alone are the best BoP we
Unlike their last Le Mans winner, the 919, this can hope for, but on top of that, IMSA and the ACO
latest model will try to emulate what the German will monitor and adjust the secondary performance
manufacturer did with prototype racing’s top differentiators, particularly for the LMH competitors,
category in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s – win i.e. how and where to apply the electric power so
with customer cars. The last of those efforts was, they will not benefit (much) from a better power
significantly, the Porsche 962 in the 1980s. deployment and tyre management.
The Porsche 919 LMP1 Hybrid was a truly works It won’t be easy, but it is worth the effort. We
effort that ultimately proved to be too expensive even will have three manufacturers in LMH and five or
for one of the richest car manufacturers in the world. more in LMDh. It could be fantastic to see all those
But, for the first time in history, the FIA, ACO and ABOVE & BELOW diverse cars competing against each other, just like
IMSA are working together to legislate and sanction Porsche’s 963 harks in the old days.
back to a time when
a set of regulations – albeit with the phantom of privateers could buy In typical fashion, Porsche started testing earlier
Balance of Performance (BoP). The new rules will a turn-key 962 and than any of their competitors, even ironing out the
equalize cars built under two distinctly different compete for victory common parts’ reliability issues for the benefit of
www.racetechmag.com
74 LAST LAP with Sergio Rinland
those still absent. This time around, Porsche don’t

have the luxury of solving those problems themselves,
which lands in the lap of the chosen suppliers.
Not ideal, conceded Thomas Laudenbach, head of
Porsche Motorsport, and Urs Kuratle, LMDh Director
of Factory Racing, at Goodwood. But they will have
The regulations are

now very tight. Unlike
the three pages of my
beloved Can-Am!”
to live with it if they want to participate in such a ABOVE Porsche’s David Clark, there was at least one thing that we could
controlled series. 917/30 Spyder all agree upon: it was great to have Porsche back!
Porsche are confident that even with the killed Can-Am This time around, Porsche will not participate
controlled power and aero and any other BoP with an official entry. It has handed over those
thrown at them, they will succeed. According to responsibilities to Penske Racing, to try to repeat
Laudenbach, you don’t need the fastest car to win what they did in the ‘70s with the 917 Can-Am and
in long-distance races. It helps, but is not a sine qua the 2000s with the Spyder LMP2. Only this time
non condition and Porsche knows a thing or two around, there is no risk of killing a series as they did
about winning in sportscar racing. with Can-Am.
I actually disagreed with Thomas over the fact that BELOW Porsche’s The regulations are now very tight. Very! Unlike
more BoP limitations, beyond power and aero, will extensive testing the three pages of my beloved Can-Am. They are
be acceptable. I don’t believe it’s right to penalise of the LMDh counting on many private teams buying 963s to
the LMH cars if they can be faster with the same car has actually compete (and win!), just like they did with the 917,
helped remedy the
limitations of power and aero but a different way 956 and 962s. It’s a welcome return to a golden era
category’s technical
of putting that on the ground. But by the end of a teething problems of sportscar racing many of us have yearned for.
lengthy conversation with Thomas, Urs, Larry Holt and for rivals too If I were Toyota and Peugeot, I would be concerned…

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The fan car that smashed Goodwood record

Driving Technology Into Pole Position I N T E R N A T I O N A L

© Kimberley Media Group Ltd.

All rights reserved. Reproduction (in whole or in

Reborn Lola Cars to focus on new cutting edge technologies for

like most motorsport fans, have RIGHT Iconic cars

F1 ramps up sustainability strategy

Compete management, sponsorship and everything

ofc-L&C-vol1.indd 1 29/06/2022 17:08

Published by Kimberley Media Group, producers of RACE TECH and

World Motorsport Symposium Motorsport Engineering

worldmotorsportsymposium.com racetechmag.com historicracingtechnology.com

FIA’s move to control flex floors is delayed

How motorsport can

mobility and the motorsport community.”

Peugeot reveals lure behind WEC comeback

NEOM’s ENOWA to boost Extreme E

FIA introduces first-ever

electric rally category for a new category

A NEW class for fully electric vehicles has been

KWSP sets up ‘skunk works for OEMs’ facility

Riches to retire as BTCC tech chief

Michelin reaches over 50%

Firestone returns to Indy Lights Griiip enters sim market

Goodwood record-breaker announces

Super GT Championship introduces 100% renewable fuel

Motorsport UK launches StreetCar

NEOM partners with

McLaren lands Nissan powertrain

World Motorsport Symposium

• Sustainable fuels • Carbon neutral motorpsort events

ULRICH BARETZKY PAT SYMONDS

Th WMS presents a rare

SAVE THE DATE

Driving Technology Into Pole Position I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Motorsport Engineering & Technology

BELOW & LEFT The

had taken up half of the ambulance in its original

that genuinely has more than two tonnes

“If you’re travelling at somewhere in the

It should be safe too. The chassis is a full RIGHT Conventional

on Sunday, but he had a long-planned personal

Thomas Laudenbach, Porsche’s head of motorsport, talks

of loyal owners looking to keep their pride and

We don’t take a module from the racecar and bolt

New powertrains racing programmes. Last year, the

right direction with these new regulations.”

Making Sense of Squiggly Lines: £40  û

Table of Contents CHAPTER 4 GEAR

World Motorsport Symposium Motorsport Engineering

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factor in the decision to go with LMDh rather than

LMDh still gives you freedom to

“Let me put it this way: if we didn’t think it was

a carefully-deﬁned set of speciﬁcations that were

Eric Jacuzzi, managing director

WINDS OF of aerodynamics and vehicle

CHANGE development of the Next Gen racecar

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