Inside Bhai Tech – Driving Simulator & Software

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Our trip inside the Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Science Centre, the cutting-edge centre located in Mestrino, near Padua, which was inaugurated by the Williams Team’s driver Pastor Maldonado, starts now. This year the centre celebrates its first anniversary. Thanks to its innovative design, the centre took part in a contest in Koln to be awarded the prize as 2012 best facility. Bhai Tech got through to the final, competing with the Austin-based Circuit of Americas for the win.

It’s a 2800 square metres structure on three floors which was conceived with the aim of providing teams and drivers with some facilities to support the development of Formula and GT cars and  off-track training before taking part in a racing weekend, thanks to the presence of an advanced driving simulator and modelling software, which are the core of Bhai Tech’s offering.

Through the 6-DOF full-motion driving simulator, which is fully immersive with a 8 210° 8 m diameter curved screen, five off-board projectors and two rear view visuals to ensure the view of the car’s rear part, reflecting images on the rear-view mirrors , a driver can train and study all the features of the main preparatory formulas’ most important circuits. Complementing it with the Bhai Tech vehicle modelling software, squads can arrange a racing weekend in house and compare real data with virtual ones. Besides making fluid dynamics studies and analysing tyre’s behaviour, it is also possible to analyse setup in real time and check its different behaviours “In many categories time is very tight, so the possibility to make tests is very little. This is the reason why it’s so important to have a good setup and be well prepared since Friday’s practice”, says Roberto Costa, the technical director. “All that can be developed in our headquarter, where the best setup can be studied in details. Thanks to our software, all racing weekend’s data concerning setup, tyres, downforce, can be stored and compared. So, track conditions can be fully recreated without going to the track. That contributes to bring the costs down and reduces times. At that point, we can start the development work.”

It’s an all-rounder system which goes from track to simulation and goes back to track. With test limitations in F.1, the driving simulator is an extremely important device for a single-seater development and GP preparation. All the F.1 top teams have invested so much in this respects, but simulation is a very important resource also for the preparatory series, as through that a team can develop the car in details and a driver can study the circuits he will race at and his car’s behaviour “In F.1 hundreds of technicians work at the simulator to develop the car at best. This is so expensive, in addition, telemetry and all needed data to develop a car, which is designed by them, make everything even more expansive.

Thanks to our software, we’re able to enable a team to develop its car focusing on tyre modelling, which is a very important aspect, which usually requires so much time. We can provide different setup options according to customer needs”, ends Mr. Costa, the engineer.

At the Nurburgring, where the International GT Open Championship’s third round was run, the racing division took its first double win in the GTS class, thanks to Bhai Tech Racing’s four drivers Giorgio Pantano/Rafel Suzuki and Chris Van Der Drift/Luiz Razia at the wheel of the two McLarens MP4 – 12C. They ended the first half as the Championship leaders.

German GP – Preview

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The German GP, to be held at the Nurburgring in the coming weekend, will be run in the season’s crucial moment, only a few days after the British GP at Silverstone. It will be so difficult for the teams to make upgrades. In Germany the Pirelli will bring new compounds which will have unknown results. No doubt it wouldn’t have been possible to use the same tyre used at Silverstone, because of their technical issues and I’m sure the Italian supplier will supply teams with the already-tested tyre which were used in the past season (Soft and Medium), even though cars development has been remarkable in the last few months, especially from the point of view of the downforce.

The Ferrari will have to reverse a difficult situation both in qualifying and during the race, as, besides Alonso’s talent and good performance in the last GP, the performance gap between the Italian team and Red Bull- Mercedes was still remarkable, as shown by Webber’s recovery. The Red Bull still remains the reference car and the car to defeat. Red Bull and Mercedes will fight for the pole and I think the Ferrari can achieve good results, as well.

Great attention will be focused on two outsiders such as the Toro Rosso and the Force India, who showed to be able to take some important points off the top teams. The Lotus will have to take a step backwards after the introduction of a new damping, which has given the team the same competitiveness it had at the start of the season. As far as the weather is concerned, in Germany temperatures are usually low.

MEMORIES. The Nurburgring reminds me of great moments. We took part in the F.2 covered-wheel final race and we took an amazing 2nd place with Nannini, after a beautiful bagarre with the BMW-March. In that race Nannini crossed the line having only 3 tyres left, because of a clash which drove him off track.

In a difficult 1999 F.1 season, we managed to take a 6th place with Mark Gené. We would have achieved a double success, as, thanks to excellent strategies, flawless pit-stops and weather changes, Luca Badoer was making a fantastic comeback, so he deserved the podium. Unfortunately just few laps before the end, a gearbox issue caused an oil leak, forcing him to stop his car trackside. It was one of those races in which we went from hero to zero. It would have been a great result and maybe we would have changed the history of the Minardi Team.

In its 600th GP the Williams almost scored its first points, finishing 11th and 12th. To be honest, I hoped they finished in the top 10 to make that day even more special for them. I want to congratulate Frank on his efforts to develop his team. I wish him to become again one of the F.1 Championship main protagonists.

Bhai Tech gets ready for the second half of the Championship as a leader

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With the Spanish round at Jerez de la Frontera, Bhai Tech Racing has finished the first half of the season as the GTS class leader, having gained 46 points, so 4 points ahead of the first follower. The situation is positive also for the Team’s four racers, who are all rookies in a GT Championship; Giorgio Pantano and Rafael Suzuki are leading by 24 points and are third in the overall standing, 2 points ahead of the classmates Razia/Van Der Drift.

As a rookie in the International GT Championship, the Mestrino-based squad directed by Mr. Roberto Costa the engineer, whose headquarter is located in the advanced centre called “Advanced Vehicle Science Centre”, has demonstrated to keep improving every event, as proved by the first win taken at the Nurburgring in the third event. After the apprenticeship weekend at Le Castellet, points appeared in no time and, on the Portuguese track of Portimao, the McLaren MP4-12C #65 of the Italo-Brazilian pair Pantano/Suzuki finished in the top 10. But the masterpiece weekend came on the Nurburgring historic track, where both pairs scored an exciting double win in both races, hoarding points and making the team so happy. In Race-2 it was the pair Razia/Van Der Drift who crossed the line ahead of the teammates and in the Sunday’s final round Pantano and Suzuki took their own back by winning the race. “At the Paul Ricard everything was new for us and for the team. We’re working so hard to develop the car in every single detail and we’re reaching our goals step by step”, says Giorgio Pantano. His statement is echoed by his teammate “I think we learned a lot and we made good progress, considering we are a rookie (drivers, engineers, and all the team), I’m a bit surprised to see us leading team’s championship and both cars fighting for the championship title in GTS class at this point of the season. It’s gonna be a tough second half because all other teams are improving their pace and the championship is very competitive with a lot of cars in the same second”, ends the Brazilian Rafael Suzuki “ I think the team is doing a great job developing and studying all the details of the car. Bhai Tech is using all its resource, including the driving simulator and I’m sure we will be faster and faster until the end of the season.”

In the hot weather of Jerez de la Frontera, where the Championship’s turning point was held, the two McLarens #65 #66 almost finished on the podium, ending the first half as Championship’s leaders, going ahead to get good results “The turbo engine suffers high temperatures and sea level so much, so we had to drive a defensive race. Furthermore we got a 25’’ penalty per car. Despite that we were able to score important points for the Championship”, says Pantano.

Satisfaction also for Luiz Razia and Van Der Drift who almost finished on the podium with only 2 points behind their teammates “My only concern is the Mercedes team, they have a good car and they are competitive, on the other hand me & Chris, we have the challange on our own team with Rafael and Pantano, they are doing also a top job and they are just ahead of us on the championship. Hope we can keep up with them and keep on fighting in a fair way”, says the GP2 deputy champion Razia “I thinks it’s been very good to have already secured our first win, not only for Bhai Tech but for myself. Last year we already took pole position at Monza and we did that again at the Nurburgring but this time making that a victory!”, says Chris Van Der Drift.

The second half of the season will start in two weeks on the English track of Silverstone. 4 events during which the Italian team will try to preserve the leadership thanks to its drivers experience “At Jerez we served all our handicaps, so we’ll be more peaceful at Silverstone. Our car will suit the track very well, so we can make a good job”, says the F.1 ex driver and GP2 winner Giorgio Pantano “It will be nice to race at Silverstone, quite challenging circuit, and will be kind of a “home race” for us because of McLaren. I believe the track suits for our car, but nobody wins a race before the checkered flag, so I hope we can get the best of the setup during the free practice sessions on Thursday and Friday. Also we don’t have the handicaps that we had in Jerez”, says Suzuki.

Luiz Razia will race at Silverstone, strengthened by the win scored in GP2 in the past season. “It’s clear I’m the only driver of the four that have done a race on the new circuit, as I did race last year in GP2 and not only race but I’ve got a win also in 2012, so I’m really confident I can do a very good job at the weekend, I just wish could be dry all weekend, and Bhai Tech will be very strong. I’m sure me and Chris are really keen to be racing in Silverstone as our home is just 25minutes away from the circuit, so no hotels this time.”

“I think Silverstone is a circuit which will suit our McLarens really well, there are some fast corners like maggots and beckets which I’m really looking forward too. We keep improving as a team every event so we will just get stronger and I’m sure at Silverstone we will have a great result!”, says Van Der Drift.

After two wins, two second places and other good positions, Bhai Tech led the McLaren to the GTS constructors Championship second place.

Hands off the Young Driver Tests

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It’s Gian Carlo Minardi’s reprimand toward the people who want to replace the three-day rookie test session scheduled for July 17th to 19th at Silverstone, with a tyre test session.

After the blow-outs which affected the result of the British GP, the F.1 main actors thought about replacing the three-day- rookie test session with a session dedicated to tyre development.

We don’t have to forget that the test days dedicated to the young drivers were born with the aim of testing and valuing the most promising young drivers, putting them to the test behind the wheel of a F.1 car on a top-tier category’s track. That is a very important stage for all the drivers who strive for the F.1 and fight every weekend to win a race or a Championship in the preparatory series “ The situation we’re living today in F.1 is a consequence of the few tests made and tyre approval only after few tyre test sessions under weather conditions which were so different from those we’re experiencing in this period of the year”, says Gian Carlo Minardi “That being said, I don’t agree with the request of replacing the rookie test with tyre tests. In this moment we cannot afford to lose the chance to see young drivers in action behind the wheel of a F.1 car only because some regulation’ mistakes have been made to bring the cost down”, warns the manager from Faenza who has built his career supporting young drivers’ professional development “How much does  the “tyre-gate” cost in terms of image and economic loss? Maybe more than some tests planned to support single-seater and tyre development”

As an answer to some teams’ request, Charlie Whiting has said that the proposal will be taken into consideration. The FIA and the Pirelli have arranged a meeting for Wednesday to find a solution before next race, to be held at the Nurburgring (in 7 days).

Sunday’s blow-outs are a very important signal for safety. A tyre’s blow-out at 300 km/h can cause bad consequences for a driver and Adrian Newey points the finger at those teams which didn’t want to change compounds “In this moment teams are blaming each other about their influence on Pirelli’s decision to continue to use the same compound. I think Pirelli, one of the biggest tyre manufacturers all over the world, had informed on time the FIA about what was happening and all the problems to be faced. At that point the FIA should have automatically approved new tyres to ensure safety. In this way, all the arguments about the matter would have been called to a halt and the unanimous approval to proceed would have not been necessary”, ends Minardi.

British GP – UP & DOWN

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With the end of the British GP, let’s take some votes on the GP’s main actors.

English Audience 10 – The English audience was fantastic throughout the weekend. I think that English people set the seasonal record attendance. They behaved in a very good way and always clapped their hands to the race leader.

Nico Rosberg 9 – After getting the first row on Saturday, the German driver managed to treasure each chance: from the yellow flags to the safety car. It took a bit of fortune to take the win. It always takes fortune in every race, so that will be the icing on the cake.

Sebastian Vettel 8.5 – He was one of the main protagonists until the gearbox failed. He took a great start.

Lewis Hamilton 8.5 – The Mercedes’ Englishman drove an excellent race after taking a stunning pole. Unfortunately he was one of the tyre blow-out victims.

Fernando Alonso 8 – He didn’t become discouraged after the problems he had throughout the weekend, finishing a hard-fought race. He got an unhoped third place after driving an unlucky qualifying race.

Mark Webber 7.5 – He made a fantastic recover, but he took an unlucky start.

Felipe Massa 7 – This is not his ideal season. After taking an excellent start, a tyre issue ruined his race. He didn’t lose heart and scored important points for the team.

Drivers of Toro Rosso and Force India 7 – They drove an excellent qualifying and official race. They confirm to be excellent outsiders and preserve their position in the standing.

Lotus 5 – They made a heavy strategy error again, which deprived the team of scoring points. No doubt Kimi would have deserved to get a better result.

FIA and Pirelli 3 – The vote could even be lower. It is always said to take care of safety, but in this case, there was lack of safety. The Federation has the right and duty to intervene when safety is jeopardized. There was lack of safety on Sunday. Vergne’s accident at 300 speeds per hour could have had dramatic consequences. Pirelli has to protect its image and drivers’ safety in a better way.

British GP- THE POINT

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If, on the one hand, we lived two intense hours, on the other hand the GP was deeply affected by the safety car deployment and by tyres. To be honest, I think this is not the right way to run a GP and the Pirelli will have to batten down the hatches as soon as possible, above all for a matter of safety.

I hope rookie tests won’t be cancelled, as that would mean to frustrate car and tyre development. At the beginning of the weekend the Ferrari was in trouble, but the team was able to recover, as it was kissed by fortune. In such a long Championship some episodes cancel each other out. Vettel’s zero point cancel Alonso’s zero point scored in Malaysia. They’ll have to roll their sleeves up quickly to get ready for the next round, to be held at the Nurburgring in seven days.

Once again Alonso was the author of a hard-fought GP, but, although he managed to score a podium finish, which was an unhoped-for result until Saturday night, that is still not enough. In this moment the Mercedes is fighting against the Red Bull to become the Championship’s leader.

They took a great win with Rosberg, after monopolizing the first row on Saturday. Hamilton was delivering great performances, as well, but he was the first victim of tyre blow-out. The German team has the best couple of drivers, as they both can take the pole and win. They’re progressing, but the Red Bull still remains the reference car, as proved by the standing.

 Despite Raikkonen’s comment, Lotus made a strategy error again. It was a pity, because Kimi drove a great race and I think he would have deserved something more. Positive weekend for the Toro Rosso and the Force India; the two teams showed they can bother top teams. They’re fighting to get a good position inside the Championship. The Faenza-based team scored some points, increasing the gap with Sauber and the Force India increased the gap with the McLaren, as well. It’s such a good result for two second-tier teams.

In its 600th GP the Williams almost scored points finishing 11th and 12th. To be honest, I hoped they would have finished in the points zone to make their celebration day even more special. No doubt we have to praise Frank who is still fighting for his team’s development. I wish him to be a protagonist again.