The Blancpain Endurance Series, where the Marc VDS Racing Team will do the majority of their racing in 2012, is a series based around the GT3 regulations. In essence, it is a category with road cars modified for racing – for example, the team’s own BMW Z4 GT3 is based on the road going Z4.
So that the competition is close, the cars are balanced by the organisers, so that no one car is faster than others – in theory. This is mostly done with penalty weight, ride height changes and engine air restrictors. If a car is fast, then it will have its weight increased but if it is slow, its weight is reduced. In theory it is very simple, but it is very tough to get right, as technical director for the team, Sebastien Metz, explains.
“I understand, of course, that it’s an almost impossible job for the organisers,” he muses. “It is a balance formula but there are so many cars, with different teams and different levels of driver. And then all this talk of sandbagging, it’s a bit crazy. I guess there’s no way they can have an accurate formula. It’s nice to have so many brands but then it’s just more brands to keep happy, isn’t it?”
The Marc VDS cars were given extra weight and a slight change in the ride height for Paul Ricard. Though it was just 15kg and a 2mm ride height, that changes the car a surprisingly large amount.
“The ride height change, for sure, makes a lot of difference to the aero,” explains Metz. “The more you raise the car, the more you lose, even in a tiny measure like 2mm. The closer the car is to the floor, the better the aerodynamics work – it is why the race car is lower to the ground than the road car. As soon as you increase the weight, too, then the weight transfer is a big issue and the same applies to the brakes, because a heavier weight is harder to stop. Even if it is a small step, it is always worse to have more weight on the car.”
The change, however, has come after two races run in wet conditions, a decision that has bemused some people in the paddock – Metz included.
“I’m not too surprised about the effect of the balance of performance – I’m surprised that they have made the decision based on two wet races. Yes, we won at Monza and at Silverstone, but what can really be judged from two wet races? They made some changes despite the fact that in the dry, at Monza especially, we were not on the pace at all. The new Audi was as fast as us in both races, but they have had no change to their balance.”
It was obvious to see the effects of the changes on track at Paul Ricard. All the Marc VDS drivers complained of a shortage of power at the start of the season, and adding weight to the car has only made the problem worse – the drivers barely able to pass slower cars because they cannot get close on the straights.
“Right now, the Porsche and Ferrari are perhaps a little quicker than the others – more than 18km/h faster than us on top speed,” Metz points out. And it’s having an effect on the approach for the team. “The thing is, now, we are pushing to be at the top. We have to, to get near. We have to push, push, push to get near the front. We rely on our strategy.
“I understand, of course, that they want to make people happy,” he continues. “You look at the past, it has been four wins in a row for Marc VDS, two with a 2011 BMW Z4 GT3 and two with a 2012 car. They want to help some cars and reduce our car’s performance, and it makes sense for them to try and help other teams make a good result. But a decision based on two wet races is odd. It is strange, but we have to deal with it. We can complain but when we are on track, it makes no difference – we just have to make the best with what we’ve got.”
Whatever the adjustment to the car, the team were able to use consistent laps and a good strategy to earn a double top six in France – and are hoping for another good result at Spa.
Source : Marc VDS Racing Team