Sidepodcast

Vast Amounts of Duct Tape

Regular commenter turned commentator Jon Waldock told us about his preparation for the 2CV 24 Hour race at Snetterton, and after a successful stint on the airwaves, he's back to tell us how the weekend went down.

The 2009 Professional Motorsport World Expo 24 hour 2CV Enduro (which rolls off the tongue), would  more appropriately be called the 18.5 hour Enduro. It may not have been hidden away in a forest covered area of France, but this year’s race gave all who attended an amazing 24 hours.

I arrived at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk on Friday and once I’d found my feet I spent 5 hours pounding up and down the pit lane collecting information on the teams and their various drivers. As I did my work, I noticed that in garage 22 was car #60, the Crossways Academy car, with a few guys around it working feverishly and thought that it must be a car that another team were using for spares. However the closer we got to qualifying that evening it slowly dawned on me that these guys were serious, they were building a race car in a day and as we got to and then passed qualifying that evening it was clear that the car wasn’t going to make the race. I spoke to the guys that evening and they had been told that they could qualify in the warm up session the following morning.

Awaking at 5.30am on Saturday morning I opened my tent to find thick fog and as I went for a walk down by the Russell Chicane it dawned on me that if Sunday morning was going to be anywhere near as foggy then we may have some problems. However the fog cleared and the day's racing schedule got underway and as I wouldn’t be meeting my fellow commentators till later in the day I had some time to burn. I enjoyed a nice cooked breakfast in the restaurant (which was a lot nicer than the baked beans and rice concoction I’d had for dinner the previous evening) and then sat by the Revett Straight watching the cars go by.

Just before the 2CV warm up session at 9:50am I met up with Alan Hyde and Mat James who were the pair of commentators who were going to be on the other shift during the race, I then shadowed Mat for the warm up session to just get a feel for the pit lane commentary. Warm up sorted and it was back to watching the racing with regular clock watching, having over 12 hours to fill from when I woke up to when I was on was probably the hardest bit, especially since I didn’t know anyone.

However the race soon started and once I’d met up with Lewis my co-commentator I was thrown in at the deep end. Boy, was it deep! Having never done any sort of public speaking, to go from talking to myself all day to talking to the few thousand people that were at the circuit, was quite a jump and it’s not the kind of situation you want to discover that you freeze up when public speaking. Luckily for me, I loved every minute of it, even the last hour of my first stint when I’d realised I hadn’t taken the advice to ‘pace yourself’ but even once I’d finished I still wanted to carry on. My love for the race was down to the fact that in most races you don’t get stories developing because they just aren’t long enough, but even after the first hour stories emerged of teams who could change an engine in 5 minutes and other teams who were on their second or third engine even before the race had began.

The trouble began, as I had suspected, just after I’d got on shift at 3am. When I’d woken up I could see the fog was bad, but racing continued as visibility was still okay. However, within 10 minutes of my shift starting, the fog had got so much worse the safety car was thrown and the race red flagged until the fog lifted. The fog did start to lift around 6 and we all had our fingers crossed that we could get racing again but it wasn’t to be. The racing was delayed until 8.55am, almost five and a half hours after it had stopped. The 4 hour stint that I did during these hours consisted of much debating, music playing and general rambling. Luckily the lack of racing meant I was able to get some well needed sleep once my stint had finished at 7am. My third and final four hour stint took place from 11am on Sunday and it added to the great spectacle the weekend had been. With only a matter of hours left, the cars were just being willed on to get to the finish with vast amounts of duct tape and cable ties.

Somehow, after qualifying behind the safety car during Saturday's lunch break, #60 was still lapping although no-one knew how. Once my shift finished at 3pm, I made my way back to the campsite and upon realising that I wouldn’t sleep, I packed my tent away and returned to the pit lane for the end of the race. During that last 60 minutes emotions were running high, teams were still making their way up and down the standings and just praying that the cars didn’t break down on track (there is no recovery service during the last hour).

As we got within 15 minutes we were counting down the laps, everyone clapping as the broken sounding #60 went past each time. Then with 2 minutes to go we realised there would be one more lap, for some teams it was the longest lap of the weekend and as each and every car passed us on the pit wall for the last time it didn’t matter where the teams had finished, but every car had and that was what mattered. As the cars entered into the pit lane we lined up clapping them as they went past. It really was the most emotionally and physically draining 72 hours of my life, but also some of the best. As a closing comment to show the spirit of the club and how everyone is welcomed in, this picture does tell a thousand words.

Thank you to Martin Harrold and Alan Hyde for giving me the opportunity, Chris Yates (who impressively drove his car up to second whilst the hand brake was still on) and the rest of the club as a whole for welcoming me. I have the date pencilled into my diary to come back next year.

_{Photograph by Martin Pettitt.}

F1 Safety - Circuits

• Length: 4:32 
• Size: 4.2 MB 
• File: safety3.mp3 
• Transcript: safety3.pdf 
• Torrent: safety3.torrent 

Welcome to F1 Safety – the latest mini series from Sidepodcast, focusing on the elements that make Formula 1 as safe as it can be. We’ve already looked at clothing and the car, now it’s time to concentrate on circuits.

Although FOM, and therefore Bernie, is currently in charge of deciding which circuits should get on the calendar for each year, the FIA have plenty of say about what goes on where. Safety Delegate Charlie Whiting is sent to each circuit before a race to inspect the safety facilities and make sure it is up to scratch. So, what kind of things does a circuit need to provide in terms of safety?

Firstly, the track has a designated direction. Most of the races on the calendar travel clockwise, but a select few run anti-clockwise. This will affect which side the pit lane is in relation to the track, and how the entrance and exit is designed. Cars must only go around the track in the stated direction, even the safety and medical cars have to adhere to this, no matter how far around they have to go. There can be access roads linking sections of track to make life a little easier though.

If a driver can stick to the asphalt, all is well. Otherwise, there are various features to the area surrounding the track that are there to help. The kerbs were originally designed to make going off track safer, with the raised bumps intended to slow a car down. However, these days, drivers try and use the kerbs to make the track just that little bit wider. It might be uncomfortable, but hitting the right line could save a tenth or two each lap.

If there is no space around the tarmac, for example in Monaco or Valencia, then crash barriers are in place. There is often high fencing as well, to protect the crowd from any wayward car parts. The barriers vary from concrete to tyres, depending on if they’re just lining a straight, or in a potential crash zone. Where there is room, run off areas will be introduced to allow space for a car to slow down.

Now, run off area has become quite a contentious issue in the last few years. There are two options – gravel or tarmac. Gravel is ideal for slowing a driver down, hopefully bringing the car to a stop before it hits the barriers. However, if a car rolls on the gravel, then the roll hoop can dig in and get buried. This would put weight onto the drivers’ helmet which is obviously not a good situation. That’s where tarmac comes in. The downside to this is that a car won’t be slowed down in the same way as on gravel, and if it is a brake failure or similar cause for the accident, the car will smash into the barriers without losing speed.

At various points around the track, marshals are posted. They are there to wave flags to advise drivers of the track status and any potentially dangerous things to be aware of. They also secure accident sites, operate fire extinguishers, recover cars and clear away any debris. They are not allowed to get involved with medical procedures. This year, the marshals safety has been called into question with the introduction of KERS, with the solution seemingly to be an extra pair of rubber gloves! It looks as though this problem will go away next year, as KERS is likely to be ditched.

One of the most dangerous parts of an F1 track is the pitlane. This is the only place where cars and people, aside from drivers and marshals, interact, and speeds are reduced instantly. There’s a white line on the entrance and exit of the pitlane, and this means a driver must reduce his speed to 60km/h during Free Practice, and 100 km/h during qualifying and the race. In Monaco, this is even slower due to limited space in the pitlane.

Whilst we’re in the pitlane, there’s a couple of things to note from a stop during a race. The fuel rigs have specially designed valves that try and limit the exposure and release of fuel and vapours to the extreme temperatures in the air. It is oh so easy for those fumes to catch fire and a car can be engulfed in flames in an instant. There is always a fire extinguisher near by, though. The lollipop man helps guide a car to his pit box, but is also there to release the car when the coast is clear. Those rear view mirrors we discussed yesterday are not good enough for a driver to note when it’s safe to move off.

There are also lights at the end of the pitlane to indicate when it is safe for the cars to move out on to the track. This can signal when a session starts and ends, they will be red if the safety car train is passing, and they will be blue if a driver is exiting his pit stop and another car is approaching out on track.

Circuits also need to provide exceptional medical facilities but we’ll talk about those next time.

That’s all for this episode of F1 Safety. You can let me know what you think about the state of the current circuits via email: Christine@ sidepodcast.com, and join me tomorrow for the next episode.

Theme music: Headway, Safety.

Driver Penalties

This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.

The stewards are constantly on the lookout for drivers making mistakes and committing serious offences as a race progresses. They will announce an investigation into an incident, and then reach a decision on whether the incident deserves a penalty or not. These are some of the more common penalties that are handed out during a race weekend.

During the Race

Drive Through Penalty – A driver has three laps from the time of notification to return to the pit lane and drive straight through and out the other side. He can’t stop for fuel, tyres, or any mechanical interference. It is simply a trip through the pit lane. The penalty in this is that the pit lane has a speed limit which means the rival cars will be going full speed down the home straight, whilst the driver has to negotiate the pit lane. This is often given for causing an avoidable accident or blocking another driver.

Stop Go Penalty – This is similar to the drive through but a driver must stop at his pit box, and be held in place for a certain length of time – usually 10 seconds.

Black Flag – A driver is immediately retired from the race, and must return to the pit lane to take no further part in proceedings. We have seen this in very serious conditions, for instance, when a driver ignores the red light at the end of the pit lane.

Post-Race

Fine – Quite often, if a misdemeanour hasn’t actually affected anyone else and is simply a matter of discipline, the stewards will issue a fine. This often occurs if a driver has been speeding in the pit lane, or not adhering to the white lines.

25-Second Penalty – After a race has finished, or if a drive through is issued in the last five laps, the stewards can add 25 seconds to a drivers finishing time. Depending on the field spread during a race, this can drop a driver down the finishing order quite a long way.

Grid Drops – These can be imposed for serious offences, but also when a driver has to change a long life component in his car. Switching out the engine for a fresh one when it has only completed one race of a two-race cycle will result in a grid drop. The standard drops are 10 places, or 5 places. This means that at the next race weekend, wherever the driver qualifies he will have the specified number of places added to his start position. So, to qualify 2nd with a 5 place grid drop would see him start 7th. This can be a particularly harsh penalty, and involves one race weekend’s incidents in the following race’s action.

Dangers of the Pit Lane

This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.

When it comes to racing, there's no doubt that motorsport is dangerous. It's printed on the tickets you buy to go to a Grand Prix, and there are signs scattered around the circuit as you meander.

However, the most dangerous place to be during a Grand Prix, aside from standing in the middle of the track, must be the pit lane.

Cars
There's a speed limit in the pit lane which was introduced to try and improve safety conditions. There are a lot of people in the pit lane, team bosses, engineers, mechanics, sometimes even guests of the teams. The drivers must hit the pit lane speed limiter as they enter the pits and keep it on until they cross the white line at the pit exit. There are penalties for failing to do so.

This is obviously a great help to safety, but it doesn't solve every problem. We often see team members dashing from the garage to the pit wall, and this means looking before they take that leap. It can't be done during a busy time in the pit lane. We've also seen mechanics having to clear out of the way of cars, especially if they are battling side by side to get out of the pits in front.

Fuel
One of the major dangers during a pit stop is the refuelling. Temperatures in the pit lane and specifically round the car can get very high, and it's not unusual to see a flash fire. They will normally burn out, or be blown out as the car speeds away, but it can sometimes need the use of a fire extinguisher. Fires and extinguishers are not ideal situations in a race, as they both do damage, but at least the foamy mess will make things safer.

Technology
The lollipop men are gradually being replaced by traffic lights. Ferrari have introduced a fully digital system, whilst some of the lollipops are bringing in lighting elements as well. If this technology goes wrong, it can be disastrous. As we saw in Valencia, mechanics can be injured, or collisions occur.

The amount of new technology can also be a worry, as was demonstrated by BMW at a test earlier in the year. Their newly introduced KERS gave one mechanic a serious electric shock. He was okay, and the team investigated the incident thoroughly, but it's just an added danger in an already worrying environment.

Ferrari's Pit Lane Problems

This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.

For the last few years, Ferrari have been the team to beat when it comes to precision in the pit lane. The twenty or so mechanics were like a well-oiled machine as their drivers came in for a scheduled stop, changing tyres, adding fuel and sending them on their way again.

This season, things seem to have become a little less organised, and at the European Grand Prix, it all went horribly wrong.

The team don't have a lollipop man as their competitors do. Instead, they run a complex system of traffic lights. As the different sections of the pit stop are complete, a button is pressed to allow the lights to update. Once all buttons are pressed, the orange light shows for the driver to get ready, and once it goes green, he can be on his way.

For their first pit-stop misdemeanour, Ferrari released Massa into the path of an oncoming car. Sutil for Force India was making his way to the end of the pit lane, and suddenly found himself battling for position with Massa. The traffic light system does have an override for a specific mechanic, who should be watching for any oncoming cars in the pitlane. Obviously this didn't happen at the time, although we have seen it in action earlier in the year.

The stewards announced the incident was unsafe and the team would be investigated, meaning their win wasn't assured until the result was announced post-race. They escaped with a fine and a reprimand.

Their next calamity came when Raikkonen arrived for his pit stop. He was battling Kovalainen out on track, and the pair arrived in the pit lane at the same time, meaning a head to head battle for position. Raikkonen was obviously keen to get out in front, and pulled away when the lights were orange, and not green. The refuelling rig was still attached, and the refueller was knocked to the ground.

The inevitable delay lost Raikkonen the position to Kovalainen and another place as well. Ultimately it didn't matter, because his engine gave up before the end of the race anyway. But the mechanic was stretchered off to the medical centre, and later it was announced he had a fracture in his left foot. Raikkonen has admitted the mistake was his and apologised, but in a weekend of pit lane catastrophes, it has led some to wonder whether the traffic light system is really the best way to go.

Refuelling and Pit Lane Fires

This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix we saw a few unexpected fires up and down the pit lane. The fuel rig used during pit stops for each team is a standard FIA approved rig, meaning they are all the same.

There are several theories for the small fires we saw, including the heat in the pit lane or a uniform malfunction of the rigs, but as yet we have had nothing confirmed.

The only official word on the phenomenon is from Williams and Toro Rosso who both say that it wasn't a fuel rig failure, but they don't clarify exactly what the problem was. Toro Rosso have confirmed that they have solved the problem and it won't happen again, so I imagine we should assume the rest of the teams have done the same.

This isn't the end of the story, though, as the problem has caused some serious worries about pit lane fires. The mixture of heat, fuel, and hurrying to be as quick as possible can cause errors which lead to fires, and these can sometimes be very dangerous and terrible. Luckily we only saw small fires that were easily controlled by the extinguishers, but David Coulthard in particular has spoken out.

Coulthard was a test driver in the days when refuelling during the race was banned, and so although he hasn't raced under such conditions, he believes the competition would be better off for it. Obviously the safety aspect would be improved dramatically, but he also says that refuelling has made the races boring and predictable.

Coulthard retires at the end of this year, but says he would like to see the racing return to the non-refuelling regulations. He says the extra weight in the car means drivers have to work harder to preserve their tyres for a whole race distance, and the 70 or so laps are more about craft than flat out speed.

It would be interesting to have the emphasis more on tyres, as we have already seen this year that some drivers fare better with their Bridgestones than others, and adding another element to their drivers craft can only be a good thing. Whether this idea will catch on or not remains to be seen, but with the banning of traction control, and a return to slick tyres, it wouldn't be the first time the regulations have returned to previous ideas.

Silverstone Testing

This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.

The teams descended upon the leafy countryside of the UK this week for a three day test at Silverstone. This being the nearest testing ground to where I live, I decided to go along for one of the days and experience my very own test day.

It was brilliant. I actually was a guest of a member of the Silverstone Racing Club, which basically means there’s a special grandstand available to members, there’s more space to wander around, and you can get into the paddock in the afternoon.

Watching the cars was wonderful, Copse corner is super fast and possibly my new favourite turn on the calendar. But we were very lucky and managed to get into the pit lane, and stand in the friends and family area for one of the teams.

Wow. Being that close to the cars was incredible. We watched as they came in, and even though there’s a speed limit in the pit lane, it’s still terrifyingly fast. We watched as they left, and they gunned the throttle a few times, later learning that this was to get heat into the back tyres. Something that struck me was how they, particularly Rosberg in the Williams, would come in to the pitlane and just cut the engine completely before they’d even come to a stop. From the roaring growl of the engine to dead silence in a split second.

Of the test itself, Renault seemed to be having problems. They caused many red flags over the three days, and when I was there, we actually saw the recovery of Piquet and his stricken car after one of those flag incidents. First, Piquet arrived in a van, looking slightly annoyed at the whole thing. Then the recovery truck arrived about ten minutes later. One thing to note is that the recovery truck people are amazingly efficient. They pulled to a stop outside the Renault garage, and within about five minutes, the car was off, uncovered and being looked at, whilst the truck had pulled back to its monitoring position.

I think the Renault broke down four times over the course of the three days, with each seeming to be an engine related problem. Also, David Coulthard had engine problems in the Renault powered Red Bull. There’s definitely something that needs looking at in that department.

Elsewhere, Massa, Kovalainen and Hamilton led each of the days, and on Day 2, Fisichella had a massive crash. His Force India got caught in a gust of wind and hit the barriers. Fisichella was taken to hospital to look at his wrists, but it was mostly precautionary checks and he was okay.

It was wonderful to get that much closer to the action. In some ways it’s like the GP, in that you can’t really tell what’s going on while you are there, but when you get back and read up on all that happened, it feels like it makes much more sense, because you were there and you can associate what you hear with what you saw.

I recommend a day’s testing visit to anyone and everyone.

F1 Digest - Canada GP

• Length: 11:33 
• Size: 10.7 MB 
• File: digest28.mp3 
• Transcript: digest28.pdf 
• Torrent: digest28.torrent 

After days of abuse, the track decided to hold out for an entire race distance, which meant we could concentrate on the serious business of racing. Find out what happened in the Canadian GP in today's F1 Digest.

The Race

With two of the heavyweights out early in the race, it's time for some of the mid-field runners to shine.

Conclusions

Most people don't really want to talk too much about the weekend. They're probably tired, frustrated, and happy to move on. 'Cept for BMW, of course.

F1 Guide (Part 3) - Pit Stops

• Length: 3:29 
• Size: 3.3 MB 
• File: guide3.mp3 
• Transcript: guide3.pdf 
• Torrent: guide3.torrent 

Welcome to the Sidepodcast Guide to Formula 1.

Pit stops are a funny thing – absolutely necessary to keep the cars running for the length of the race, but ultimately a bit of an inconvenience.

The pit lane runs alongside the start/finish straight, with the entrance just before and the exit just after the line. The teams set up their garages there, with mechanics waiting to assist their team and engineers monitoring all that is happening out on track. Given the amount of people milling around the pit straight, a speed limit is imposed to try and improve safety.

The pit crew is not insubstantial. Some teams have as many as 22 people ready and waiting for each pit stop, including three on each wheel, two on the fuel rig, two with jacks, some people clearing the sidepods and the lollipop guy. In a normal racing pit stop, the car will be flagged to come into the lane via radio. It used to be that signs were held out by the pit crew over the race track, but technology has made that all but redundant. You do find the odd occasion when the radios aren’t working and someone is risking their arms out on the pit wall.

Anyway, the car comes in to the pit lane and crosses a white line signalling an immediate reduction in speed. Drivers are often penalised for speeding in the pit lane. The lollipop man will be furthest away from the garage, indicating to his car where to pull in, and the driver will pull to a stop in the marked box. Immediately, the car is jacked up so that the wheels can be changed, and it will also be refuelled, and any adjustments made to tyre pressures and wing positions.

The average pit stop is probably about 6-8 seconds, and to get through the pit stop and out in front of your opponent, you probably need a 30 second advantage.

Teams can run any combination of pit stop strategies, fuelling their cars longer to run a one-stop strategy, or keeping the weight of the car down but having to stop two or even three times. There is no limit to the number of times a car has to pit, but the size of the fuel tank dictates that they must stop at least once during a race.

Sometimes, pit stops occur more often than the race engineer planned. When a car is in trouble and can manage to get back to the pit lane, mechanics can try their best to fix it and get it back out on track, albeit further down the running order. Often a car will limp into the pits and retire, if it makes it back to the garage at all.

If a driver breaks a rule, the stewards can impose a drive-through penalty which means the car has to visit the pit lane without stopping at his garage. Because of the speed limits within the pit lane, this can be disastrous.

The sport of F1 is notoriously lacking in overtaking – when it does happen it’s usually quite an event – and so a lot of the jostling for position takes place in the pits. It can be based around strategy, but for those cars at the front of the grid, a good lead is essential. Each lap that you stay out longer than your opponent, will gain you a few seconds advantage. That’s because you will still be running light, whilst the other driver will be full of fuel and heavier. So, of course, decisions need to be made about how heavy you will run to start with, which in turn impacts on your qualifying position as well.

It’s then that you start to see what a rich tapestry the sport really is, where seemingly off-hand decisions can result in a podium position or a retirement from the race. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the pit lane.

In our fourth instalment of the Sidepodcast Guide to Formula 1, we’ll be looking at how a Formula 1 car is different to that car out in your garage.

Theme music: Cedar Falls, Car Crash.