On Track to the Latest Technology

Low clouds are dumping a steady rain and the only evidence of warmth is the heat waves rolling off one of the 800-horsepower Honda racing engines being revved to a shrill pitch.

The noise this April morning grabs the attention of a dozen hard-core auto racing fans who have gathered in the 7:30 a.m. gloom to catch preparations the day before the Long Beach Grand Prix.

With the covers off the $750,000 Marlboro Team Penske race cars, the dedicated can see some of the inner workings. The sophistication is staggering.

And while going fast is the principal goal, the safety and performance technologies developed and tested on the racetrack are important to almost all motorists.

This is CART, the nation’s premier sanctioning body for ultra-high tech, open-wheel race cars. From March to November it serves high-speed Sunday brunch to fans hungry for 200 mph competition.

CART cars, like most other purpose-built racing machines, bristle with technology.

Some of it, like traction control, electronic fuel-injection, electronic throttle controls, vehicle stability systems, automatic transmissions, rain-sensing windshield wipers and tire-pressure monitors, can be found on street cars today.

In more sophisticated passenger cars--as in CART racers--every aspect of suspension geometry, wheel speed and braking force is monitored, with on-board computers making thousands of adjustments few drivers ever notice.

Most of the technology is transparent in passenger cars.

But on the pit lane, dozens of measurements are constantly recorded and monitored.

The telemetry can measure up to 64 pieces of chassis data, says Chris Gantner, the engineer in charge of Team Penske electronics.

Only 30 of those items are tracked during the race, though--along with 30 pieces of data from the engine.

All safety items, including tire pressures, coolant and oil temperatures and pressures, brake temperatures and turbo boost and fuel mixture are tracked at all times in a race. Computer screens in the scoring booth also show anti-roll bar settings, ambient temperature under the nose of the car, steering rack travel and fuel mileage and consumption.

It is critical information for race strategists, and for engineers--those intent on winning the day’s contest and those intent on bringing back data for use in passenger car development.

Sensors in the motor transmit data to technicians from engine maker Honda. Data are observed and analyzed on several computers in a pit-row booth. During practice and qualifying, adjustments are made depending on what the telemetry shows and what the driver feels on the track.

Data recorded during laps can be played back after a session in sync with the car’s precise location on the course when it was recorded. The precision allows engineers and drivers to look at minutia such as the distance each shock absorber traveled, corner by corner. Honda engineers, like those from competing race-engine builders Toyota and Cosworth-Ford, study the inner workings of the motor in detail closely guarded for competitive reasons.

“[The level of telemetry is] constantly updating,” Gantner says. “The focus in the past few years has been on giving the driver what he needs to see in the car.” Demands for such information have increased over the last decade as new young drivers have come to the forefront.

These, after all, are competitors raised on video games.

For instance, gone is the tachometer used by the driver to determine gear-shift points from the engine’s speed. It has been replaced by computer-actuated shift lights. Drivers now have numerous switches on the steering wheel to contend with, including fuel mixture, turbo-charger boost and a pit-speed limiter. A digital readout with a scrolling menu has replaced traditional gauges.

Marlboro Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves finds the wealth of technology a mixed blessing.

Sometimes depending on it is a problem, says the 26-year-old Brazilian, recalling an occasion when he raced in the Indy Lights series and the readout on his steering wheel went blank. “I say, ‘OK, what do I do now?’ ”

The simple act of adjusting the car’s fuel mixture “takes away concentration,” he says.

But the telemetry also “takes the guess work out, saves time and [its] accuracy is much greater.”

Still, the human element is paramount, Castroneves says. “We try in our series to be as close as possible to man versus machine instead of machine versus man.”

Rain soaks the track as practice starts, and Castroneves leaves the pit in a car fitted with wet-weather tires, the track-bred parent of the rain treads passenger car tire makers advertise all winter long.

Apart from the telemetry booth in the Penske pit, there is a large equipment cabinet that holds the fueling rig, weather instruments, a pair of television monitors and general storage space. One monitor shows a video feed of cars on the track, the other lists drivers by a variety of lap times and speeds. Keeping watch on the monitors are a few of the pit crew and Castroneves’ older sister, Kati, who has been her brother’s keeper since his early days racing in Brazil.

Helio Castroneves returns to the pit every few laps during practice for a fresh set of tires to scuff-in for qualifying and the race. These are leisurely stops compared to those on race day. Often, the engine is switched off and covers are put on the side pods to keep the radiators warm. The data that haven’t been radioed back to the pit crew are downloaded to a laptop. Suspension and engine tweaks are made, tire temperatures measured, the car restarted and the young Brazilian spins the rear tires as he launches into the pit lane.

This goes on during the entire 75-minute morning practice session. The rain comes and goes, but the track remains wet in spots.

Because Long Beach is a street course, the weather is a factor the teams must deal with: The race will run, rain or shine.

Qualifying begins on a nearly dry track, but shortly before the faster drivers are set to go out, a brief shower soaks the pavement again. But with the breeze up, the track starts drying out quickly. Many drivers jump at the chance to switch to treadless racing slicks in order to improve adhesion in the corners and cut lap times. Among them is Castroneves. He makes the best of going out late, when the track is drier, and runs the fastest lap, earning the favored pole position on the race’s starting grid.

After Saturday’s sessions, planning for Sunday’s race becomes the primary focus for the drivers and race engineers. The mechanics prepare the cars for race day with fresh engines and a thorough inspection of everything else.

“At that point,” says Gantner, “we’re No. 1, making sure everything is working properly for the race; and No. 2 we’re reviewing the data in discussion with the driver to explain what he felt happened and what did happen.” Then the team members “shift gears from qualifying strategy to racing strategy.” On qualifying runs, top speed is essential and the car is run with minimal fuel to keep weight down. On race day, fuel consumption becomes a principal worry. “We go from fastest lap to best tank of gas,” Gantner says.

All the data from this session of practice and qualifying are compared with data from prior years to set strategy on fueling for the race, he says.

Sunday morning dawns clear and rain free and for pole-sitter Castroneves, strategy is easy: Stay in front, conserve fuel and don’t make any mistakes. On the Long Beach race’s course on downtown streets, there are just two places to pass, and one is only marginal, so staying in front will be easy if nothing breaks.

Conserving fuel turns out to be a little tougher. Castroneves’ fuel meter died on the parade lap. “Helio couldn’t see the amount of fuel, but the pit was fully aware of what was going on all the time,” Gantner says.

It is during the race that the sophisticated on-board data systems earn their keep.

“Once the race progresses, I can set up alarms and switch to field strategy,” says Gantner. “Front tire temperatures and steering trace tell us how well the car is handling.” If tire temperatures rise above normal and the driver needs to steer harder into a particular corner, a stop to change tires might be warranted, he says.

“After a while, you get to where you memorize the track, how much steering is needed for each corner. So when you see more input than normal, you know something’s wrong.”

Nothing else goes wrong for Castroneves during the race, and he finishes in first place. “Not all the telemetry worked,” he said afterward, referring to the busted fuel meter. “But everything else did exactly what we wanted.”

And that’s exactly how team owner Roger Penske wants it.

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Times Business News Editor Robert Beamesderfer covers automotive technology for Highway 1. He can be reached at robert.beamesderfer@latimes.com.

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Life in the Pit Lane

A Champ car pit crew handles such muscle jobs as swapping tires and adding fuel as well as analyzing data radioed from the car during practice, qualifying and racing. Team engineers work with computers in the scoring stand to keep track of fuel supply, pressure and temperature of oil and coolant, brake and tire temperatures, downforce, steering rack travel, lap times, lap speeds, current gear and rpm and location of the car on the track. The data also help in technologies for passengers cars.

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Reading the Computer Screen

Race engineers can view dozens of measurements transmitted from the car, from lap times and maximum speeds and temperatures to track position. Above, a sample readout from a practice session at Sebring, Fla., in late 2000.

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Chassis Instrumentation

CART cars are riddled with sensors that measure everything from driver input to suspension positions to brake temperatures.

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1. Anti-roll bar position sensors (in cockpit)

2. Rear damper position sensors (under hatch)

3. Rear wheel speed sensor (both wheels)

4. Front wheel speed sensor (both wheels)

5. Tire pressure sensor (all wheels)

6. Front damper position sensor (under hatch)

7. Brake caliper temperature sensor (all wheels)