Bob Barnard Track Engineering

A few days ago I wrote about the demise of the LMP2 from the Tudor Sports Car Series. Well it did not take long. We now have the news from IMSA that they are looking to replace DPs and LMP2 prototypes with a "spec" class which is in essence a carbon tub replacement for the tube frame DP. Designed to accommodate a variety of engines, as the DP is, and able to accept different body styles a la DP. This is the article from Racer Magazine.

http://racermag.kinja.com/talks-continue-on-2017-spec-prototype-chassis-1566231732?rev=1398199229

IMSA wants a car that can compete in a variety of series, including Le Mans. LMP2 anybody? Don't say I didn't warn you.

On a different note, literally, there is an interesting article on F1 engine noise in the April 3 issue of Autosport. I know it is old, but I have to wait to receive it. Apparently it comes by ship. It shows that yes, the new cars are quieter by about 11 dB, which is significant, but they are still louder than NASCARs! The real difference is in the frequency, which due to the lower revs and the turbo is lower pitched. The human ear relates to more higher frequencies, that is why the readings are not actual but scaled to mimic human response, the dbA scale. I always had a theory about that when I worked for Panoz. Anyone who heard that car would know it was LOUD, but being a big V8 it was all low down on the scale. The only way I could see it would pass the noise test was due to that absence of top end noise, and it seems I was right. 

The other point is of course those of us listening at home are not hearing the real sound, only what the TV decides to give us. Positioning of the microphones around the track, and the filtering have an effect. That is why Bernie changed his tune a bit when hearing them live. So, come on TV Director, give us the real deal and we can turn the sound up. 

IMSA has announced changes to the way it runs events following the debacle at Sebring. All seems a bit like changing deckchairs on the Titanic to me.

Changes coming to IMSA Race Control include the following:

- Enforcement of an IMSA rule requiring the display of the car’s number on its in-car cameras. So why was it not enforced before?

- Upgraded video review equipment to high definition (HD). Really, in this day and age.

- A new system for cross-checking cars and drivers involved in on-track incidents. Now there's and idea before you ping someone with a drive through which ruins their race.

- Addition of a third driver advisor to work alongside the IMSA Race Director and two driver advisors to assist with evaluating responsibility in incidents and other on-track situations. So three driver "advisors."That could well be four different opinions. How about just asking the marshals at that post?

IMSA also is adjusting its full-course caution procedures to maximize green-flag running time. Changes to the procedures, which will be confirmed by IMSA Rule Book bulletins, are as follows:

- At events where there is only one prototype class in a race, the pits will be opened for that class when the field is packed up and while GT cars are still performing the Pass-Around procedure. This change will expedite the full-course caution process by a full lap. So how many events only have one class, and we still wait for the safety car to "pack" the field up. At Le Mans and in F1 the pits do not close, so what's the deal here in the US? Yes some cars get caught, but that's the luck of the game, and closing the pits does not prevent this.

- The “Lap-Down Wave-By” procedure – which provides a strategic opportunity for cars a lap or more behind to gain a lap back by staying on course while leaders make pit stops – will be more limited in its application. There will be no Lap-Down Wave-By in races less than two hours and 30 minutes in length. For races between two-and-a-half hours through six hours, the Lap-Down Wave-By will be used only once in any 90-minute period after 60 minutes from the start of a race. No Lap-Down Wave-By will be used in the last 30 minutes of a race. I can see waiving cars by that have got between the pace car and the leader, but why all the others? Another NASCAR hangover? Lap down cars can still gain a lap back without closing the pits if they choose to stay out. All this is getting so complicated with different rules for different races what's the poor spectator going to know?

- Efforts also will be made to use “Debris Yellows” where a situation is likely to involve the simple removal of debris or the flat-tow of a stopped car to a safe location. A Debris Yellow includes the Pass-Around procedure, but the pits remain closed until the race is restarted. So who decides where the situation is simple, and we still have the wave around. In most countries these are covered by a waved yellow at the part of the course involved. Le Mans is changing its procedures with in car lights, which I presume we have anyway.

I don't see much here that is going to see more racing.

On a completely different subject I was watching the world business report on Al Jazeera last night and saw a piece about Australia losing more jobs. GM, Ford and Toyota have all given notice to stop manufacturing, and now Philip Morris is to stop making fags. No big loss to me, but to the workers it is. BP also announced it is closing a refinery. Australia will then have four, and another is expected to close because the refinery in Singapore can make six times the amount Australia's can! Last time I looked Singapore did not have any oil. In fact it has little of any natural resources, but somehow can continue to grow. Amazing. It is cheaper to ship their crude to Singapore and then bring it back as gas etc? Well I guess they ship their iron ore and coal overseas and then buy it back as cars etc. What happens when a situation arises that Singapore is no longer an ally, or Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, decides it does not like Oz anymore?

Could it be that between the environmental controls, carbon tax, 17% leave loadings, long service leave, and 38 hour work weeks Oz has priced itself out of being competitive? Over governed and over regulated.

I commented the other day about the time it took IMSA to respond to accidents and clear them. Nearly 6 hours in a 12 hour race does not keep the fans or drivers happy. So IMSA is looking into it. Hope it is not a mirror. Old joke.

Of bigger concern is the management of the accidents. Several marshals have now chimed in as to the new rules for them. IMSA used to have a dedicated response team that went to all the events, like IndyCar, but the new regime decided to use the NASCAR model and have a crew from each track. This is not necessarily a bad thing, F1 does the same apart from the Medical Car, but both NASCAR and F1 are a single class race,with almost spec cars in the sense that basic safety items are the same on each car. The fuel filler is in the rear quarter panel for example. Just check the Porches in sports cars. IMSA has four classes of cars with a variety of manufacturers and with very different designs. Getting to know where the cut off switch is in each one is not the work of a morning. 

Worse than this though is the decision to not let marshals respond until there has been a "conversation" with race control. Responding to an accident, especially a car on fire with someone in it is not a time for conversations. I well recall when Berger ran off at Imola and caught fire. I along with most viewers were screaming at the TV asking where was the fast response car? It seemed and eternity, but it turned out to be 22 seconds. I bet it felt like an eternity to Berger.

Race Directors need to make snap decisions, and so do the men on the spot, the marshals. Here in the US there is a reticence to marshals going over the wall, unlike most of the world. I do not know if this cultural, or an insurance issue, but going out under yellows ensures that someone is at a crash almost immediately. Who recalls at Sebring a few years ago the Jaguar almost fully engulfed but one brave soul had it out because he got there fast.

Marshal posts must have sight of each other, so a yellow at the preceding post should be automatic. We had a car in the tires at Turn 9 mid race, and again it seemed to me an age before someone turned up, and then it was a truck, and the driver was not getting out. Who knew how bad he was hurt?

In respect of the fire, why was a red flag not shown immediately as we had with the Turn 17 crash? We had marshals and fire trucks trying to combat a fire which would not go out while the cars paraded past. Crazy. Marty Kaufman and Gordon Gratiot where are you?