LMP 1 REAR WINGS
increase in frequency during the 2008 season. At the September 2008 ACO press conference at Silverstone, the ACO’s Daniel Poissenot reflected on the reasoning behind the changes. ‘Safety is important, we have invested a lot in circuits, but cars are going faster and faster. This has created accidents and has concerned us. We have to reduce the speed of the cars.’ Ironically, he then added, ‘…and reduce costs. Cars should be cheaper to build and cheaper to race.’ The rear wing changes were quite simple: a reduction in span from 2 metres to 1.6m and a shortening of wing chord from
“a desire to
simply reduce cornering speeds”
300 to 250mm. The rear wing changes weren’t necessarily a direct response to the yaw incidents, but were made more out of a desire to simply reduce cornering speeds in general, as that was felt to be a contributing factor to the blow overs. The immediate effect was
a loss of total downforce and a significant change in front- to-rear aerodynamic balance. Between seasons development naturally produced balanced cars, but with perhaps slightly less downforce and a little more drag. Ultimately, that was the goal of the regulation change. And you can’t argue against the results. Lap times did indeed
Le Mans •
www.racecar-engineering.com
No cheap solution I
An investigation into the effect of the ACO’s 2009 rear wing regulations BY MIKE FULLER
n 2009, the ACO introduced new rear wing regulations in response to a spate of frightening, yaw-induced blow overs that seemed to
The rear wing changes decreed a reduction in span from 2m to1.6m and a shortening of the wing chord from 300-250mm. No one expected it to lead to a complete re-design of the uprights as well
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