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Motorsports: Wet track promises spills in Hamilton
5:00AM
Wednesday April 16, 2008
By Eric Thompson
Photo / Paul Estcourt
Waikato farmers are rejoicing as rain falls on their parched soil.
But on the streets of Hamilton, V8 drivers will be looking to the
heavens and cursing the deluge just days before the Supercar series
hits town.The first practice session for the Hamilton400 starts
on Friday. The thought of manhandling 1.3 tonnes of brute force revving
up to 600 horsepower around a brand new street circuit in the wet is
enough to make a grown V8 driver cry."It's going to be lethal in terms of the grip level," said Tasman Motorsport driver Jason Richards."You've
got to assume all the tarmac put down, plus the oil, dirt, dust, grime
and other stuff you don't get on a race track, coupled with manhole
covers in the wet, is going to make it incredibly slippery."A V8
Supercar will break into wheel spin when changing between fifth and
sixth gear. Once the wheels start spinning the car will start to slide
and move around. If the throttle is lifted too quickly compression lock
occurs which is akin to pulling the hand brake on.
When grip is heavily reduced in the wet, tyres can lose grip in a
flash. At speed, some drivers can be caught unawares, and before they
know it the back of the car is trying to overtake the front."Nobody's
driven on the circuit in the wet so we're all in the same boat," said
Richards. "We don't know where the problem areas are. The painted lines
on the track, and in particular the centre lines, are going to be a big
problem, as will aquaplaning, so we have to be really careful."Public
roads, like the ones being used in Hamilton, have a crown in the
middle. If drivers get on the wrong side of the crown while putting the
power down, it's going to compound the problem of grip in the wet,
letting all hell loose in the car."Trying to handle that is
going to be hard. Once you drop off the wrong side the grip drops off
dramatically. Because we're so grip-limited by the amount of
horsepower, and size of the tyres we're allowed, it's hard to get a
decent amount of traction."The wet weather tyres we've got are a
hard compound so in heavy rain they never really get warmed up enough
to generate good grip but they do last a while on a drying track."On
a purpose built race track the race-line is often covered in rubber
that helps in the dry but is slippery in the wet. When going offline
where there is no rubber, it is possible to find more grip.
So arguably the racing lines at Hamilton may offer some grip in the
wet, but if there's any oil around it's going to make things very
interesting.The big wet in Hamilton will add to a thrilling weekend for both spectators and drivers.Russell
Ingall may yet have the last laugh after his suggestion that the third
round of the championship would be a crash-fest was ignored.
5:00AM
Wednesday April 16, 2008
By Eric Thompson
Photo / Paul Estcourt
Waikato farmers are rejoicing as rain falls on their parched soil.
But on the streets of Hamilton, V8 drivers will be looking to the
heavens and cursing the deluge just days before the Supercar series
hits town.The first practice session for the Hamilton400 starts
on Friday. The thought of manhandling 1.3 tonnes of brute force revving
up to 600 horsepower around a brand new street circuit in the wet is
enough to make a grown V8 driver cry."It's going to be lethal in terms of the grip level," said Tasman Motorsport driver Jason Richards."You've
got to assume all the tarmac put down, plus the oil, dirt, dust, grime
and other stuff you don't get on a race track, coupled with manhole
covers in the wet, is going to make it incredibly slippery."A V8
Supercar will break into wheel spin when changing between fifth and
sixth gear. Once the wheels start spinning the car will start to slide
and move around. If the throttle is lifted too quickly compression lock
occurs which is akin to pulling the hand brake on.
When grip is heavily reduced in the wet, tyres can lose grip in a
flash. At speed, some drivers can be caught unawares, and before they
know it the back of the car is trying to overtake the front."Nobody's
driven on the circuit in the wet so we're all in the same boat," said
Richards. "We don't know where the problem areas are. The painted lines
on the track, and in particular the centre lines, are going to be a big
problem, as will aquaplaning, so we have to be really careful."Public
roads, like the ones being used in Hamilton, have a crown in the
middle. If drivers get on the wrong side of the crown while putting the
power down, it's going to compound the problem of grip in the wet,
letting all hell loose in the car."Trying to handle that is
going to be hard. Once you drop off the wrong side the grip drops off
dramatically. Because we're so grip-limited by the amount of
horsepower, and size of the tyres we're allowed, it's hard to get a
decent amount of traction."The wet weather tyres we've got are a
hard compound so in heavy rain they never really get warmed up enough
to generate good grip but they do last a while on a drying track."On
a purpose built race track the race-line is often covered in rubber
that helps in the dry but is slippery in the wet. When going offline
where there is no rubber, it is possible to find more grip.
So arguably the racing lines at Hamilton may offer some grip in the
wet, but if there's any oil around it's going to make things very
interesting.The big wet in Hamilton will add to a thrilling weekend for both spectators and drivers.Russell
Ingall may yet have the last laugh after his suggestion that the third
round of the championship would be a crash-fest was ignored.
:queen: