This is testing footage for a proposed new series called Stadium Super Trucks. Bangshift.com calls it a cross between desert racing trophy trucks and sprint cars. It looks like it would be some exciting racing.
This year’s Formula 1 season has been immensely exciting to watch. The FIA introduced several new technologies that have made the racing more fan friendly. The cars still feature the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) that technically turns the cars into hybrids. Electrical energy is recovered from the wheels while the car is braking and then stored in a battery pack. The driver is then able to discharge the batteries for a certain amount of time for each lap to boost the engine’s output by 80hp. The cars this year are also running a Drag Reduction System (DRS) that allows the driver to open and stall the rear wing on the longest straight if they’re within 1 second of the car ahead of them in the detection zone. This allows the cars to be more aerodynamic and hit higher top speeds in the straightaways. The KERS combined with the DRS system has the drivers setting records for the number of passes per race.
Another interesting dimension to this year’s season is tire strategy. The FIA specifically asked Pirelli to make a tire that would not last as long so that each car would have to pit 2 to 3 times per race. This has added several dimensions to the team strategies in qualifying and during the race. Nextgen-Auto.com released this series of videos detailing the construction and tire compounds that Pirelli is providing for the Formula 1 teams this year.
Part 1:
The introduction to the series talks about the design goals set for Pirelli by the FIA. We get see some of Pirelli’s factory and R&D facilities. There’s some pretty cool footage of the different steps of the manufacturing process.
The video footage to accompany the pictures I posted earlier has hit YouTube courtesy of the Car@Nifty channel. There’s a few interesting things I picked up on while watching the video. First, the engine definitely sounds turbocharged. Second, the car is able to leave the pit garage in pure EV mode. Third, the mechanics torque both of the front wheels simultaneously by hand. The car isn’t front wheel drive like the street version of the CR-Z, but Honda has confirmed that the car is indeed a racing hybrid. I’m guessing there could be an electric motor on the front axle for regenerative braking purposes. I don’t think JGTC cars are allowed to be all wheel drive, so the electric motor would only work in one direction. If the car does have an electric motor on the front axle, its drive train will actually be very similar to the new NSX.
Nissan put together this video highlighting the experience of all of the teams that ran Nissan GT-R’s at the 24 hours of Nurburgring. Interviews include the head of the GT-R project, professional race drivers and a couple of drivers who made it to the professional level from the Gran Turismo Academy. They also talk a lot about how the things they learned during the brutal conditions of racing go into building a better road car for their customers.
This is in-car footage of Ayrton Senna as he qualified for the the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix in 1986. The car he’s driving has a turbocharged engine making 1400 horsepower and is rolling on qualifying tires that provided crazy grip for a few laps before they had to be replaced.