INTERVIEW – SVEN SCHNABL BUSINESS – PEOPLE
Team principal and technical director, Sven Schnabl, has been running Porsches for close to 10 years. He has engineered 911s in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and Porsche Mobil1 Super Cup. Before that, Schnabl worked on Alfa and Ford Super 2000 Touring Cars, as well as providing technical assistance to the Vitaphone Maserati squad. Schnabl has considerable expertise at the Nürburgring Nordschleife too, with campaigns with an M3 and a 996 RSR, as well as V8STAR and Ford Mondeos under his belt. In more recent times he has run an Aston Martin, before taking charge of Falken’s 997 GT3R in both the VLN and N24 race.
Q. What changes have you made to the car over the winter? First we go over the whole car and service the consumables. This winter, we’ve changed the fuel pumps and filters, for instance, and serviced the uprights and driveshafts. We have fully rebuilt the engine with some minor upgrades [and] also done the gearbox, upgrading to paddle shift. Chassis-wise, we have a new front anti-roll bar, but that is about it.
Q. Are these changes part of an upgrade kit from Porsche or are they your own ideas? We are not allowed to upgrade anything on the car except the brake pads, dampers and, of course, the tyres. All the other upgrades are courtesy of Porsche. We are going to run different brake pads and most likely dampers at one of the early VLN races as a test. We also will have a number of different tyre constructions and compounds from Falken to work through ahead of the N24 [Nürburgring 24 Hours].
Q. What will these changes mean to the performance of the car?
The engine upgrades offer more power and better overall driveability. I think the paddle shift will be a big improvement and will help the drivers avoid mis-shifts. We’ll get better control of the front axle thanks to the new anti-roll bar, too. The anti-roll bar has the same outside diameter but a larger inner diameter, so the material is a little thinner and therefore the roll bar is softer.
Q. Have you made any set up changes for the new Falken tyres in 2012? No, not yet, we are still waiting for the tyres. Once we have these we’ll be able to refine the set up. We were very surprised how well the tyres worked with the Porsche right from the off. Maybe it was experience from Falken’s ALMS campaign with the GT2, but the tyres worked really well from our very first test.
Q. What do you do to the Porsche for the N24 compared to other races? We make very few changes. The car is designed for long distance races so we don’t even have to lower the rev limit. The car runs the same spec as it has in all the other races before. We simply
install additional lights, as well as the illuminated number panels, and try to ensure we have fresh parts for those that are lifed.
Q. How many hours before the engine needs a rebuild? 30 hours.
Q. What chassis set up is needed for the Nordschleife? And how does it differ from other tracks? We tend to go softer to cope with all the bumps and jumps. We also have increased suspension travel compared to when we run on grand prix circuits.
Q. Can a Porsche win the N24 this year?
It’s a good question. We don’t know about the competition and it is such a long race. Personally, I think there is a chance for a podium, maybe more. If, and I mean if, everything goes well.
Q. What are the strong points of the Porsche compared to its N24 competitors? And are there any weaknesses? The Porsche car is so reliable. We know the track and we know the car so experience is one of the biggest advantages. With a good balance of performance package and a good tyre from Falken, we are in a strong position. As for weaknesses, there are none that I know of.
Q. What is required to win the Nürburgring 24 Hours? Well, it’s obvious; first you have to finish! Then you need good drivers, a good team, good tyres, good strategy, a good car – and lots of luck!
Rare breed – the Porsche 997 GT3R, a racecar with no known weaknesses 86
www.racecar-engineering.com • May 2012
OBITUARY – TED CUTTING
Former Aston Martin designer, Ted Cutting, has died at the age of 85. Cutting, who will be best remembered for designing the Le Mans 24 Hour-winning Aston Martin DBR1, began his career in racing at Sydney Allard’s team in the late ’40s, after a spell in the Fleet Air Arm, before leaving to join Aston in 1949. Once he had worked his
way up through the ranks and into the design team, he initially worked alongside former Auto Union designer, Robert Eberan-Eberhorst, before becoming chief designer in 1955. His first design for the
company was the legendary DBR1, Aston’s first tubular spaceframe chassis, for which he was responsible for just about every part, including chassis and the famously beautiful body.
Cutting also designed the 1957 DBR2, the 1959/’60 DBR4 and DBR5 grand prix cars, plus the Project 212, 214 and 215 coupés. But when Aston dropped its race programme in 1963, he left to join Ford, where he worked until the end of his career. In retirement, he lectured in motor engineering and kept a close interest in both Aston Martin and Ford.
Ted Cutting 1926-2012
Cutting’s glorious DBR1 was the company’s first tubular spaceframe racecar
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