Button makes history

Sunday, 29 March 2009, was a very important day for the Brawn GP racing team, as it was to be their debut as a Formula One racing team, and the stakes were high. After Honda decided that they no longer wanted to be a part of F1, Ross Brawn, the team principle took the chance to take over the team and see how far they could go. It is obvious that the change is exactly what the team needed, as they exploded on the Melbourne track for the Australian Grand Prix.

In 1950, the Alfa Romeo F1 team won their debut race, followed by the Mercedes team in 1954, who managed to pull of the same feat. And on Sunday, the Brawn GP team became the first team since 1977, to win their debut

It seems that the other teams were constantly running into trouble, with Felipe Massa (Ferarri) losing his steering and an unfortunate Kimi Raikkonen spinning out on the 48th lap. Two crashes also sent drivers out of contention, with Robert Kubica (BMW) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) crashing into each other a mere four laps before the end of the race and the collision between Nick Heidfeld (BMW) and Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) also effecting Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Mark Webber (Red Bull). Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) finished in fourth position, followed by Timo Glock (Toyota), Fernando Alonso (Renault), Nico Rosberg (Williams) and Sebastien Buemi (Red Bull).

But the day undoubtedly belonged to Brawn GP, with Button commenting after the race: “This is where we deserve to be, after the difficult times we have had. Roll on the season, I am so excited about this year.” When asked about the finish, Jenson Button had this to say, “This is a fairytale ending for the first race. Some people may say it’s a pity the race finished under the safety car but I don’t care, I won the race and that’s all I care about.”

Blue Sky Looking Ahead to 2009 Panasonic World Solar Challenge

Every two years a number of ‘special’ cars are shipped to Australia where they participate in a race known as the Panasonic World Solar Challenge. The race sees these cars cross the Australian continent with only one source of fuel – the sun.

Building a car that is capable of completing the 3,000 km journey from Darwin to Adelaide in dry, hot, dusty conditions powered only by solar power, can prove to be quite a challenge. Special teams need to be assembled to accomplish the task and Toronto team Blue Sky Solar Racing is constantly striving to attract world class engineers, environmentalists and scientists to help them to accomplish this goal. In the 2007 challenge, the team managed to come first amongst fellow Canadians and it was fifth overall in its class. Now Blue Sky Solar Racing is looking ahead to the 2009 race with plenty of ambition. Not only do they want to improve on their previous performance, but according to Andreas Marouchos, their singular mission is “to demonstrate the viability of alternative energy technology and the practical benefits of a multidisciplinary approach to solving problems.”

A constant supply of new blood is supplied in the form of the University of Toronto as a number of team members involved in the design of the vehicles are often first or second year engineering students. The team also uses the Dassault SystSmes Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tools. These include the ENOVIA SmarTeam data management technology and the CATIA virtual 3D design software. In order to speed up the design for the 2009 car, the team plans to use ENOVIA SmarTeam to work on complete assemblies in context. This will save time because it means they will be able to look at the bigger picture without having to focus so intently on the individual parts. Being able to look at the bigger picture also means that ways of reducing vehicle weight and so increase speed will also be easier to spot.

The final result is a great team working on a great concept car at a fantastic pace. The students that get involved with the program will get invaluable hands-on experience in automotive design and the software used in the design process as well as the opportunity to work alongside some really experienced industry experts. All this goes a long way toward finding more efficient ways to design new car parts. Heads will definitely turn when the Blue Sky Solar Racing team takes part in the 2009 Panasonic World Solar Challenge.

Fantastic Motor Racing in Australia

The 2008 Australian racing season will see big changes in the industry. The AMRS (Australian Motor Racing Series) has undergone a complete redevelopment and a number of exciting new events have been established at grassroots level. The change comes after three years of steady, motor racing growth in the country.

The Australian Motor Racing Series is the most affordable racing series in Australia and so it is very popular with aspiring drivers and auto racing fans. Thus it was only natural that this racing series should be developed more fully. Starting 2008, the newly titled Australian Motor Racing Championships (AMC) will not only cater for racing, but also touring, GT cars and Sports cars. Races will be held at five different circuits during the course of the year. The new racing season started on the 1st of March. The 2008 series is just the start of it. The new racing plan has been set up offer the course of five years, with the ultimate goal of making this auto racing competition the most affordable in the country.

This year’s series will be made up of nine meetings that will be held at Calder Park, Winton Motor Raceway, Queensland Raceway, Wakefield Park and Adelaide International Raceway. The racing will be sanctioned by the Australian Auto Sport Alliance (AASA). The fact that races will take place across the Eastern seaboard means that competitors and sponsors will reach a far larger market than they normally would. The races will also be nationally televised so that fans unable to make it to the race will be able to enjoy all the action from the comfort of their living rooms.

The main events in the new series will be the AASA Australian Production Car Championship and the AASA Australian Touring Car Championship. The Touring Car Championship will see the inclusion of categories such as V8 Giants and 3-litre Turbo Giant Killers. The races will also be longer, with less or no handicaps. A special feature of the racing calendar includes the ‘Thundersports’ category. Vehicles in this class have motorcycle engines and a fiberglass body. This makes them extremely low cost and super fast. The Production Touring Car Championship is open to any street legal sedan that has been fitted with all the necessary safety equipment, while the Classic Touring Cars remains a popular event.