Opinion: Why variety is the spice of modern racing Car News

Some racing cars are gaining cult popularity which belies their success on the track. One of the best examples is the Volvo 850 Estate which competed in the British Touring Car Championship in 1994. It never even scored a podium, but I would bet the Swedish driver is better known than the Alfa title winner. Romeo 155 TS by Gabriele Tarquini.

The reason is obvious: it was different, standing out in a bunch of relatively svelte saloons. And although this is an extreme example, others also stood out for their design. The Benetton B192 is now remembered as the car Michael Schumacher used for his first Formula 1 victory, but during the 1992 season it was also notable for having a high nose at a time when most of the grid had drop downs.

As with road cars, diversity is always welcome – and yet it has become increasingly rare. The reasons are clear: increasingly restrictive regulations deprive designers of freedom, and advanced design tools guide concepts more along similar narrow roads. There are also an increasing number of series using specific chassis (like Formula E), while the convergence of road car design affects production-based series.

It’s a real shame, because it robs some of the allure of motorsport. Fortunately, some series are trying to make room for variety, and a good example is the new Peugeot 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) which is due to compete in the World Endurance Championship next year.

It made a big splash, as it forgoes a large rear spoiler in favor of a smaller, lower rear spoiler. This has led to a lot of talk about whether the concept will work, which is great: it sparks debate before it even spins a wheel in public. But the 9X8 also stands out with its truly distinctive appearance, with design cues from Peugeot road cars.

See it alongside its rival Toyota GR010 Hybrid and you won’t go wrong, which is good news. To use motorsport as a marketing tool, companies want their racing cars to stand out.

The creators of the LMH and the Le Mans Daytona Hybrid (LMDh) rules – which Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Porsche and many others are working on – came up with a package that dictates an overall level of downforce for a car but gives considerable freedom. in the way it’s achieved. The rules also cover areas of non-aerodynamic bodywork, freeing up companies to adopt styling that echoes their road cars.

Thus, cars do not need to look alike and can adopt innovative solutions, but they have to be competitive with each other. It’s a win-win, surely?

There has been a lot of talk about the new F1 rules for 2022, but I’m afraid they will be very prescriptive again, so the cars will always look the same. This is not the case in WEC.

I wonder which hypercar will be remembered so fondly as this Volvo in a few decades?

How it works: the Le Mans races

The 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans delayed by the pandemic will take place this weekend. As usual, there will be four races in the race, due to the class structure. Cars in the higher category, called Hypercar or LMH (using red digital signs), can be fitted with hybrid technology but are not required and are the fastest in the race. LMP2 (blue panels) is the secondary class of closed-cockpit prototypes, with Gibson standardized 4.2-liter V8 engines, a choice of four chassis, and rider rosters that must include at least one silver or bronze rated rider.

GTE Pro (green number panels) and GTE Am (orange number panels) feature the same runners derived from the street model; the only difference is in the driver queues. In GTE Pro, the choice of drivers is free; in GTE Am, one bronze classified driver and another silver or bronze driver must be included.

Motorsport greats: Donington Park

Donington Park never hosted the British Grand Prix, but it succeeded Brooklands as Britain’s most important racing circuit and played an important role in establishing the United Kingdom as a major player in motorsport in Europe.

Between 1935 and 1938, the Donington GP was Britain’s biggest race. In 1937 and 1938 it attracted the power of the Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz teams, with the greats Bernd Rosemeyer and Tazio Nuvolari winning the respective races. It was requisitioned by the Department of Defense during World War II but reopened in 1977, thanks to the energetic new owner and enthusiast Tom Wheatcroft. He finally realized his dream of bringing Formula 1 to the East Midlands in 1993, when Ayrton Senna staged a wet-weather masterclass to win the European GP.

READ MORE

Opinion: All eyes of the motorsport world are on Belgium

Porsche will return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023

Peugeot 2022 drivers at Le Mans include former F1 driver Magnussen