Gordon Kirby

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Current page

125

Current page

126

Current page

127

Current page

128

Current page

129

Current page

130

Current page

131

Current page

132

Current page

133

Current page

134

Current page

135

Current page

136

Current page

137

Current page

138

Current page

139

Current page

140

Current page

141

Current page

142

Current page

143

Current page

144

Current page

145

Current page

146

Current page

147

Current page

148

Current page

149

Current page

150

Current page

151

Current page

152

Current page

153

Current page

154

Current page

155

Current page

156

Current page

157

Current page

158

Current page

159

Current page

160

Current page

161

Current page

162

Current page

163

Current page

164

Current page

165

Current page

166

Current page

167

Current page

168

Current page

169

Current page

170

Current page

171

Current page

172

Current page

173

Current page

174

Current page

175

Current page

176

Current page

177

Current page

178

Current page

179

Current page

180

The US scene
Delta-winged wonder

The sharpest observation about the Delta Wing Indycar concept described on page 24 in this issue was made by veteran Indycar engineer and Andretti Autosports technical director Peter Gibbons, who believes it’s essential that the IRL adopt the Delta Wing (above) for 2012. “If they don’t, then at some point fairly soon it’s over,” he says. “We’ve got to take a major step and think way ahead. We need some relevancy. There’s no relevancy in what we’re doing and even less with what NASCAR’s doing. When gas is eight dollars a gallon, which isn’t far off, and we’re still pounding around in these fat, horrible, heavy cars, we’re in trouble.”

The Delta Wing addresses many issues faced by the beleaguered Indy Racing League, including how to create a more spectacular, more raceable, more appealing and technologically more relevant car. The Delta Wing is an attempt to shake up Indycar racing by applying a wide range of new technologies and new thinking to revolutionise and re-energise an almost moribund form of the sport that has literally run out of gas, both technically and commercially.

“I view this as quite a large personal risk, and for Chip [Ganassi] and the other team owners involved,” says Delta Wing designer Ben Bowlby. “But I’m prepared to stick my neck out because I think this can be a real game-changer and provide Indycar with an option for the future – and perhaps help us have a brighter future. This is the time for this concept. It’s a significant step. Therefore we have got to give ourselves the opportunity to really drill down to make sure we’re doing something that’s going to work in a wide operating window, from Indianapolis at 235mph on the straight to the Long Beach hairpin.”

The wheels comprise 54 per cent of the drag of a current Indycar at Indianapolis and a desire to substantially reduce this number led to the creation of the Delta Wing’s ultra-narrow front track. Bridgestone/Firestone are enthusiastic supporters of the project. Bridgestone is working closely with Delta Wing to design and develop the car’s four-inch wide, 15-inch diameter front tyres.

“We’ve developed a single-seater that’s very different from what we have today,” says Bowlby. “The first question was, could that work? So we did some simulation experiments and, to our great surprise, the vehicle dynamics were incredible. Under braking we discovered we’d created a unique condition – in racing car terms – where more than 50 per cent of the braking comes from behind the centre of gravity.

“Normally, more than 50 per cent of the braking comes from in front of the centre of gravity, and that is an unstable condition where you have to be terribly careful not to lock the rear brakes. The reality is that the front tyres give us an incredibly responsive directional change. This is because there is very little inertia and very little mass, and the tyres are tuned to that mass so we have an optimised, highly responsive car.”

Bowlby says low-revving, small-capacity turbocharged engines are essential to the Delta Wing’s design parameters. “We’re really trying to find a platform for the auto industry to showcase their future powertrains. We want to introduce the concept of fuel flow rate control. What we want to do is limit the amount of fuel and make as much power from that fuel [as possible]. Then you won’t be revving as high, which has good cost implications, and work on reducing friction and other esoteric elements are all about what’s being done with road cars. So suddenly there’s relevance because the technologies you’re going to apply are technologies that need to be showcased for customer awareness in road cars. This will make us extremely relevant to the road car industry.”

Like Peter Gibbons, Ben Bowlby and many others, I believe Indycar racing desperately needs the Delta Wing. Here’s hoping the IRL allows it to fly.