Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A blast from the past
September, 2010....one of those days when you have to pinch yourself and ask "I get paid to do this?"
Top Gear UK on location at VIR
VIR's start stand on the BBC. A nice bit of convergence for me.
Top Gear UK on location at VIR
VIR (and me) through that magical Top Gear lens...
VIR's start stand on the BBC. A nice bit of convergence for me.
It's all about the experience
One of the best features of the Drive channel on YouTube...."Trackside".
A great track, well shot...
A great track, well shot...
Atomic Power
(originally posted on Race Tech Magazine's blog - November 16, 2012)
For pure track day performance, the ideal blend is reduced
weight and an increased amount of sensory data available to the driver. One
would be hard pressed to find a package where Colin Chapman’s mantra of “simplify,
then add lightness” is put into action more so than in an Ariel Atom. Rather
than starting with a car where you must remove bits to achieve light weight and
balance, the Atom starts from the ground up adding only the bits that are
absolutely needed for performance and safety. It’s an intoxicating formula, to
be sure.
I recently had an opportunity to drive an Atom on track,
courtesy of TMI AutoTech located at Virginia International Raceway (Alton, VA,
USA). It is a pretty good bet that no one in the US knows more about Atoms as TMI
is the exclusive North American manufacturer of the car. In addition to
building these cars from the ground up (including fabrication of the chassis),
TMI also provides track day experiences and operates the VIR-based Spec Race
Atom racing series (watch the pages of Race Tech for an upcoming feature).
TMI’s Driving Experience begins with an introductory
classroom session to ensure that all participants are familiar with the basics
of driving on track and are aware of the marshal’s flags. After a brief
overview of the day’s events, the group is led outside to the paddock to
inspect their Atom. Upon meeting blue #05, my ride for the day, I was struck by
the fact that there is nothing on this car that is not absolutely necessary
(the only exception being the passenger seat, as I’d be solo today). From the
suspension and brake system to the entirely visible Honda 2.4 liter engine (the
same on found in the Civic Type R), it’s all there for your eyes to feast on.
After becoming familiar with the car, it’s finally time to
mount up and prepare to take the track. Step over the side tube frame and then
lower yourself into the driver seat. From your new vantage point, you realize
how much you can see. In addition to the instrument pod, steering wheel, fire
bottle and gear shift, the rest of your view is filled with front wheels and
suspension. Behind your head is a very reassuring roll hoop and the intake box
for the Honda engine. That’s it…just you and all the bits you need to go fast.
The first session out behind the pace car is meant to
familiarize drivers new to the Atom with the basics of the car’s dynamics. On
this day, we were on VIR’s South Course, a short 1.65 miles of twisty bits and
elevation change which will prove to offer both technical segments as well as
short straights for a quick blast of speed.
The second session out starts behind the pace, but on each subsequent
lap the next driver in line is given a point-by around the pace for open track.
After a lunch debrief of the morning’s experiences, participants have two more
sessions, this time without a pace car.
TMI offers extra value to its participants by placing
experienced instructors around the track as observers. Between sessions and
during lunch, these observers provide feedback on your braking zones and improvements
to the driving line. Throughout the day, you find yourself realizing another
tenth in your driving performance thanks to these sessions.
So, what is the Atom like as a track car? The experience is
like none other that I’ve driven. The scale of the car is more sports car than
open wheeler, but it delivers the precision and sensory experience of a formula
car. With a total weight of just over 1,300 pounds (612 kg), the 2.4L engine
propels it to 60mph in 2.9 seconds. Brakes
are solid and predictable, though you do learn the importance of having the car
properly balanced before going into a turn in order to prevent lockup. The
6-speed gearbox (also sourced from Honda) is smooth and precise with short
throws on the shifter and a readily accessible power band. You quickly learn
that the car has loads of torque which makes many downshifts on the tight
circuit unnecessary.
The Ariel Atom is a very fun car on track and, in the hands
of someone able to wring a few more tenths of performance from it than I was,
it is a very well-balanced and fast racer. With the wave of the checker flag
signaling the end of my day with #05, I was left with just one burning
question….when can I do this again?
Petit Le Mans 2012 – Innovation, drama and a Rebellion
(originally posted on Race Tech Magazine's blog - Oct 24, 2012)
Saturday morning saw a beautiful autumn day dawn in north Georgia. With the drop of the green flag, spectators were treated to what they hoped would shape up to be an epic battle between Pickett Racing and Rebellion in LMP1. This was not to be, however, as the Pickett car was spun off-course and impacted a barrier after contact with a GTC car in the uphill turn three. Incidentally, this was the same GTC car which caused the DeltaWing’s shunt on Wednesday. In order to solidify their American Le Mans Series P1 driver and team championships, Pickett Racing had to complete 70% of the 1,000-mile race. After being returned to the paddock from the turn three incident with suspension damage, the crew worked feverishly for over an hour to return the car to competition. While never able to bring the fight back to Rebellion for the win, Pickett finished third in class and clinched the ALMS P1 championships. Rebellion was the overall winner in convincing style, finishing three laps ahead of the second place prototype.
The diminutive dimensions of the car are really put into focus when witnessed in its natural habitat…carving through a pack of competitors. Comments in the paddock and along the spectator fencing ranged from calling it a technological work of art to speculation that beauty must really be in the eye of the beholder. Regardless of your position on the debate, it was hard to argue that the DeltaWing was something special to witness on track. And with a P5 finish overall (only six laps behind the winner), the car proved that it could deliver both performance and reliability. There is definitely a new batch of fans anxiously awaiting the car’s return to competition in 2013 as a fully classified entry.
All things considered, the 2012 edition of Petit Le Mans was a fitting (and successful) end to a year where many in the North American sports car racing community have been debating the future of the sport. Beautiful weather, an enthusiastic crowd of spectators, and epic battles both behind the wheel and in the paddock made for an upbeat finale to the American Le Mans Series season. Throughout the weekend, conversations around Road Atlanta frequently turned to the upcoming marriage between ALMS and Grand Am. Speculation of class structures, balancing performance, and which tracks should remain on the schedule will certainly dominate the off-season debates throughout the long quiet winter.
Traveling to Road Atlanta (Braselton, GA) on Thursday prior
to the 15th running of Petit Le Mans, many wondered what sort of a
show to expect. Of course, the Nissan-powered DeltaWing was going to make its
North American racing debut. But, with no Audi-Peugeot rivalry on the 2.54-mile
circuit, the question remained…just how good was the competition going to be?
The answer was readily apparent at Thursday’s night
practice. The Lola of recently crowned WEC LMP1 champion Rebellion Racing was
fastest on the grid, the top nine GT cars were within 1.17 seconds of each
other, and the unclassified DeltaWing was ninth fastest. Qualifying on Friday
revealed the same dramatic results…Rebellion grabbed the pole position with
only 0.339 separating them from the Pickett Racing P1 car while 1.16 seconds
covered the top ten GT entries. On its best qualifying lap, the DeltaWing would
have been placed in P10 on the starting grid. As it was running as an
unclassified entry, however, the sleek black machine would start at the very
back of the pack for Saturday’s green flag.
Having to fight its way on the start through the GTC, GT, PC
and P2 fields to do battle for overall results wasn’t the only uphill battle
that the DeltaWing had to face. During practice on Wednesday, it tangled with a
GTC car at the crest of turn 11 resulting in a scary upside-down slide off the
circuit into the grass. Through the Herculean efforts of the Highcroft Racing
team, the car was rebuilt in time for Thursday’s night practice. (See Race
Tech’s facebook page for a link to the time lapse video of the repairs.)
Saturday morning saw a beautiful autumn day dawn in north Georgia. With the drop of the green flag, spectators were treated to what they hoped would shape up to be an epic battle between Pickett Racing and Rebellion in LMP1. This was not to be, however, as the Pickett car was spun off-course and impacted a barrier after contact with a GTC car in the uphill turn three. Incidentally, this was the same GTC car which caused the DeltaWing’s shunt on Wednesday. In order to solidify their American Le Mans Series P1 driver and team championships, Pickett Racing had to complete 70% of the 1,000-mile race. After being returned to the paddock from the turn three incident with suspension damage, the crew worked feverishly for over an hour to return the car to competition. While never able to bring the fight back to Rebellion for the win, Pickett finished third in class and clinched the ALMS P1 championships. Rebellion was the overall winner in convincing style, finishing three laps ahead of the second place prototype.
Despite all of the amazing competition taking place around
Road Atlanta on Saturday, it would be a safe bet that spectators and
professional photographers alike took a higher percentage of photos of the
DeltaWing than any other car on the circuit. During the pre-race grid, the
scrum of spectators crowding the car to get a photo or speak to the crew
rivaled the best of the GT entries with their scantily clad grid girls.
The diminutive dimensions of the car are really put into focus when witnessed in its natural habitat…carving through a pack of competitors. Comments in the paddock and along the spectator fencing ranged from calling it a technological work of art to speculation that beauty must really be in the eye of the beholder. Regardless of your position on the debate, it was hard to argue that the DeltaWing was something special to witness on track. And with a P5 finish overall (only six laps behind the winner), the car proved that it could deliver both performance and reliability. There is definitely a new batch of fans anxiously awaiting the car’s return to competition in 2013 as a fully classified entry.
All things considered, the 2012 edition of Petit Le Mans was a fitting (and successful) end to a year where many in the North American sports car racing community have been debating the future of the sport. Beautiful weather, an enthusiastic crowd of spectators, and epic battles both behind the wheel and in the paddock made for an upbeat finale to the American Le Mans Series season. Throughout the weekend, conversations around Road Atlanta frequently turned to the upcoming marriage between ALMS and Grand Am. Speculation of class structures, balancing performance, and which tracks should remain on the schedule will certainly dominate the off-season debates throughout the long quiet winter.
Let the countdown to the Rolex 24 at Daytona begin!
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