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Friday, July 13, 2018
TRUMPETS TRACK WALK
The day was hot, sun blazing down on
the pitlane as the teams got to the serious work of setting up the
cars while the drivers, when they could be spotted, alternately joked
about and engaged in serious looking discussion with a panoply of
media types, mostly with expensive looking video rigs. There was also
the inevitable (and entertaining) driver car swap practice, last
vestige of the old batteries and cars that were going to be headed
the way of the dinosaurs for season 5.
Peter, from Dragon Racing, was kind
enough to share that in the event everything went well, usually two
or three times was the magic number for both driver and crew but, in
the event things went less well, they'd press on until everyone was
happy. He also ventured a detailed explanation of how to properly set
tyre pressures, which involved using an internet connected device to
accurately measure barometric pressure, while making measurements of
the tyre pressure and tyre temperature, along with a fixed spot on
the floor (usually in the sun) and ambient temperature in the garage.
As each measurement gets made, the barometric pressure gets
registered simultaneously and it all gets sent back to the Home
Office, where an engineer will put all the puzzle pieces together to
make exact recommendations for qualifying and the race.
Another detail that demanded closer
attention was the fact that the brake discs on Formula E cars, look
fairly puny in comparison to Formula 1 cars, with less visible
cooling and no hollow axles. This is primarily due to the use of
regeneration as a component of the braking systems, along with the
lower speeds overall.
Even though Formula E is primarily a
spec series, in terms of chassis, and one that uses minimum
aerodynamics, team principal Mark Preston confirmed that there was
indeed some adjustment available on the front wings, for the team to
use in help balancing the car at different circuits. Given a minimum
weight of 880 kg for the car and 320 kg for the RESS (rechargeable
energy store system) anything to help get weight over the the front
tyres will be worth it.
Of equal interest is the remarkably
diverse surface of the track itself. Ignoring things like drain
covers for the moment, there were three distinctly different surfaces
that the drivers, and teams, will have to contend with. Fairly new
asphalt, laid last year, older asphalt with more aggregate visible
and then a stretch of cracked, very aged asphalt, each offering
varying levels of grip for the 18" Michelins. The surface is
also fairly bumpy and uneven and as an added bonus, features an
uphill launching pad into T14 which not only leads onto the finishing
straight, but also sports a short length of concrete across the width
of the roadway. To add a bit of variety, there is also the odd patch
of asphalt over and around various electrics and drain covers
embedded in the roadway.
But the biggest change from last year
is very clearly the transformation of the hairpin just after the
start (which is not the finish line) into a 4 turn complex. Although
work wasn't entirely finished on the complex, the pictures clearly
give a good indication of the new challenge facing the drivers this
year. The intent of the changes was to stop a first turn (really Turn
6) massacre which was generally thought to be encouraged by the
nature of last year's hairpin.
Although Virgin think that the change
might make their chase of the championship a bit harder, with Jean
Eric Vergne of Techeetah needing to outscore Sam Bird by just 7
points to clinch the championship in Saturday's race, all in all it
is representative of the race series that they would seek to bring
racing to the fore, rather than random chance
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