FORMULA 1: ASPECTOS TECNICOS Opciones

[Psycho]

El tabaco perjudica seriamente la salud.

Y el estado perjudica mi VIDA!

[Francesc]

Rahal: “The less traction control is used the better”

Jaguar Racing’s CEO speaks about the team’s first test of new software devices

13:20, Yesterday


Rahal: "We need seven tenths to match Jordan"
This week Jaguar Racing has been busy testing in Barcelona ahead of next week’s Brazilian GP. On the agenda has been the development of traction control software, which will be reintroduced to F1 when the Spanish GP runs at the Circuit de Catalunya in April.

Traction control was banned at the end of the 1993 season, well before either Jaguar Racing or its Stewart Grand Prix predecessor entered the sport. So the three-day test was the first chance for the team to see how their system works in practice.

Development driver Pedro de la Rosa tried the new software on the first day of the test, but said that it made little difference to his lap times, although it did reduce the amount of rear tyre wear. Jaguar Racing’s CEO Bobby Rahal, was unsurprised by the Spaniard’s findings.

“Traction control works by cutting power, so the less time it’s used the better,” he said. “Also it’s only really effective below 100kph, so at Barcelona it’s less important than at other racetracks.

“What you have to remember is that this is the first time we’ve run such software and our system is relatively basic. Teams like McLaren and Williams have a lot of experience of running with traction control [from 1992/93] so they may see extra benefits, in the short term at least.”

Traction control was one of a number of ‘driver aids’ that were outlawed for the 1994 season, as they were felt to reduce the amount of driver input needed to control the cars. Rahal, like the majority of racing purists, is against the concept of allowing drivers to just floor the throttle on the exit of corners without having to worry about spinning the wheels.

“As I’ve said many times before, I’m against anything that lessens the drivers’ input, but equally if there’s a rule that the governing body cannot enforce it’s better to have everybody on an equal footing than allowing a few teams to have an advantage,” he said.

In the first two races of the season Jaguar Racing has established itself behind Williams as the second fastest Michelin team. Rahal is content with the team’s performance so far, but hopes it can find the extra pace needed to begin to challenge for points.

“I think our performances in the last two races have been respectable. The car has shown the pace to be eighth, ninth or 10th on the grid, but we keep under performing in qualifying. We need an extra seven tenths to be challenging the Jordan, which is obviously where we want to be.

“Williams has shown that the Michelin tyres are competitive, but it has also shown how good a chassis it’s produced and how strong the BMW engine is. I guess you could that they are a benchmark.”

© Jaguar Racing/http://www.jaguar-racing.com

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Me gustaría que prestárais atención al fragmento de la notícia que está en cursiva. Si no me equivoco Pedro y Bobby Rahal vienen a decir que el control de tracción sólo es efectivo a velocidades por debajo de los 100km/h y que desgasta los neumáticos traseros más de la cuenta. ¿Es así o me equivoco? Y, de ser así, ¿será entonces el control de tracción un avance tan importante en las prestaciones de los coches como se rumorea, o simplemente se trata de un mecanismo para mejorar básicamente las salidas?

Espero respuestas.