The leading motorsport technology publication since Electric rallycross. The RX factor. Is this the future for racing s fast growing sport?

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1 The leading motorsport technology publication since 1990 Electric rallycross The RX factor Is this the future for racing s fast growing sport?

2 CONTENTS 5 First contact What did a former F1 engineer make of her first visit to a World RX event? 6 Electric rallycross The STARD-built electric Peugeot 207 that has sparked the debate on battery-powered cars 12 The business model While many motorsport series are struggling World RX is thriving. So what s its secret? 18 Joker Laps To outsiders it might seem a gimmick, but the Joker Lap also introduces an element of strategy 24 Tough tyres We talk to tyre supplier Cooper about the challenges of producing World RX rubber Produced by ANDREW COTTON, GEMMA HATTON, MIKE BRESLIN and DAVE OSWALD Two refugees from the WRC the VW Polo and Petter Solberg get stuck in at Lydden Hill s round of the World RX Championship. The discipline has attracted many star drivers and top manufacturers 2 WORLD RALLYCROSS 2017

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5 TREAD PATTERN GEMMA HATTON Crossing the tracks If you re more used to F1 then rallycross might come as a pleasant surprise Having spent last year working in the F1 pitlane, a five lap World Rallycross race didn t sound that exciting. Where s the strategy? Where s the endurance? Where s the engineering? My mood continued to deteriorate as the lack of tiered grandstands meant I had to battle my way through herds of rather intimidating fans to try and find a high point so I could actually see. I folded my arms when only five cars arrived at the start line. I sighed when I couldn t hear the commentary because of the loud music. You may have guessed already, but I was not enjoying myself. Then the race started. Non-stop action It was like an explosion. The noise, from the crowd as well as the engines, erupted as the cars roared into action, accelerating from 0-60mph in 1.9s faster than an F1 car. The drivers had no mercy as they slung their machines into the corners, drifting the rear into the dust and dirt which sprayed the crowd. Braking points were a test of bravery and the philosophy of non-contact was clearly loosely applied. It felt like I was watching touring cars on steroids. Cars would then spontaneously dive into their Joker Laps and watching them re-join with the rest of the pack, knowing that they would have to drift side by side round the next corner, was thrilling. In between cheers, the fans around me discussed who still had to take their Joker, building tension for the final lap. The place erupted once again as the cars roared past the finish line. The loud music began to fill my ears again, but before I could refocus on reality there were another five cars waiting at the start line time to race again. Fan friendly If you manage to detach yourself from the track action for more than five minutes, you will find that the paddock is a fan-friendly, relaxed environment. The garages are open marquees, where fans can watch the mechanics beavering away with their racecars and catch the drivers for a quick autograph and selfie. With up to 15 heats and races during a race weekend for the World RX class alone, the marshals have the unenviable mission of co-ordinating the drivers, teams and cars to continuously fill the next starting grid within minutes of the previous race finishing. They achieve this through a pre grid, where the teams for the next races line up in formation, ready to drive onto the track at a blow of the whistle. This presents an excellent opportunity for fans to not only get closer to the cars and explore them in greater detail but also chat to the drivers. As a fan, you feel completely involved in the day s events, rather than a nuisance to the teams and I can t think of many other world championship paddocks that achieve that. In F1, for example, you have electronic turnstiles at the entrance to the paddock which only grant you entry if your pass has the right metallic chip. Now this is essential for the teams as F1 weekends are chaotic and weaving your way through a cluster of fans every time you leave the garage is far from ideal. However, there are windows of time where the paddock resembles a ghost town, which just seems a shame because it could be another opportunity to engage with fans. Serious business Also, despite appearing like a spontaneous decision, taking the Joker Lap actually requires analytical strategic thinking and changes with every lap. Spotters are located at a vantage point where they assess the gaps between the cars, overall lap time and traffic, to determine how to use the Joker Lap to their advantage, which they then communicate to their driver. The loose track surface continuously evolves with every corner so there is never an obvious optimum strategy which can lead to situations where all five cars dash into the Joker on Lap 1 a great spectacle. And that s exactly what World RX is, rain or shine. The format has been designed to guarantee thrilling racing to its fans and this is why it has become so popular, so quickly. Yet somehow, despite the mud and the dust, World RX has maintained the aura of professionalism, too. In my view, World RX has achieved the perfect balance. The balance between engaging with your fans, but not creating a scrum; providing a racing spectacle that is also technically interesting; and injecting enough variability whilst maintaining consistency to keep the fans interested. But as World RX continues to grow exponentially it now needs to retain this balance; and that will be its next challenge. The grids are small and the races short, but for many motorsport fans rallycross ticks all the right boxes Before I could refocus on reality there were another five rallycross cars ready and waiting at the start line it was time to race again WORLD RALLYCROSS

6 RALLYCROSS ELECTRIC PEUGEOT 207 Rallycross is without doubt the best-suited category in modern motorsport for electric powertrains Electric rallycross racers can create the same spectacle as petrol cars, as was demonstrated by STARD s electric Peugeot 207 S2000 in testing last year. The only thing missing was the noise E fficient (Adjective): Achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort. It s the one goal of every automotive manufacturer, which has led us down the route of electrification. To conclude how much more efficient an electric vehicle is compared to an internal combustion vehicle, you need to determine the well-to-wheel efficiency of each, which is essentially the energy conversion efficiency. Using this method, one study suggested that the electric Nissan LEAF is approximately 37 per cent more efficient at converting energy into power than a VW Golf 1.6 Diesel. The exact value of efficiency varies 6 WORLD RALLYCROSS 2017 for each particular vehicle and energy source, but the underlying conclusion remains that electric vehicles are more efficient. This is why manufacturers are pursuing the development of electric powertrains, and what better platform to test them on than a racetrack? Electric switch Arguably the first major turning point in this shift towards electric was the introduction of KERS in Formula 1 in This has now advanced into two Energy Recovery Systems (ERS) which can generate 160bhp, reducing fuel consumption by 35 per cent. Then, 2012 saw the first petrol hybrid car compete in the LMP1 class, the Toyota TS030; with today s version generating an additional 500bhp from the hybrid system. History was then once again made in 2014 with Formula E becoming the first all-electric racing series, which has since gone on to attract nine manufacturers for its fifth season. Electrification appears to be the next logical step in the evolution of a motorsport category so is this the future for rallycross, too? Yes, it would appear so. Rallycross is without doubt the best suited category of modern motorsport for electric powertrains, says Michael Sakowicz, CEO of Stohl Advanced Research and Development (STARD), the company behind the world s

7 Sparking interest With short, sharp races rallycross seems the ideal environment for electrification but just how do you develop a battery-powered car for the rough stuff? STARD talks us though its electric Peugeot 207 rallycross project By GEMMA HATTON first electric rallycross car, which completed testing in October of last year. Around seven years ago, we first decided to build an electric rally car. However, with rallycross once again becoming very popular, and due to its perfect format, we switched the focus to rallycross rather than rally. The race profile of rallycross demands high power, the distances are shorter and the format of having several heats throughout a day allows time to charge or change the batteries in between races. Therefore, we moved from the original pure rally concept to rallycross, which has resulted in a car that is a hybrid between the two categories and is therefore compliant with both the FIA rally and rallycross regulations. The chassis of a Peugeot 207 Super 2000 has been converted to an electric drivetrain, with one motor per axle, each coupled with a limited slip differential (LSD). By having separate motors front and rear with no mechanical link between them, sequential torque control can be achieved through the use of a MoTec M150 vehicle control unit with STARD in-house developed software. Batteries included The batteries are centre-mounted between and behind the driver and co-driver (for the rally version) in the form of a T shape, with the intention of making the battery easy to change during a rally stage. They are air-cooled and make use of the available thermal capacity whilst remaining lightweight for an EV battery of this power and energy content. However, in absolute numbers the battery is still a relatively large mass with the total package weighing in at just below 200kg. To minimise weight, once the battery is discharged it is replaced with a new one as opposed to on-board charging and this swap can be done in under 15 minutes. The car can also be charged with an off-board charger within one hour. The power output from the drivetrain is around 400kW, but in terms of peak power, WORLD RALLYCROSS

8 RALLYCROSS ELECTRIC PEUGEOT 207 For easy access the batteries are located at the side of and behind the driver and can be changed in under 15 minutes. They can also be fully recharged at the racetrack in less than an hour the battery can run up to 700kW, but is restricted by the capabilities of the inverters and motors chosen for this development car. STARD has also developed its own firmware, which is specific to electric racing and is integrated into the MoTec control units. Complying with the FIA electric rules was a challenge, Sakowicz says. We have to have specific control and monitoring of the installation; a way of shutting down the high voltage circuit mechanically and electronically and to monitor each cell with an RBMS [Remote Battery Monitoring System] which is integrated within the battery layout. However, by being fully compliant it means that the moment an FIA championship is created we can immediately start racing. Of course, the biggest challenge for electric rallycross is to design a powertrain that can The biggest challenge for electric rallycross is to design an electric powertrain that can endure off-road conditions endure off-road conditions. Not only are there jumps, but the track surface can range from slippery tarmac to loose gravel, which creates further difficulties when trying to allocate the right amount of torque to the wheels for optimum dynamic behaviour. This variability in track surface makes it difficult to design any Energy Recovery System (ERS) during braking that also provides the driver with a constant feeling on the brake pedal. Currently there is an on demand energy recovery function that is controlled by the driver via a third pedal. This essentially switches the energy recovery mode on or off with the specific brake maps adjusted by a potentiometer switch. Recovery position An effective energy recovery system is not so easy to design for rallycross when compared to other racing applications, Sakowicz says. Usually, there are clearly defined braking zones, but rallycross is so dynamic and the braking behaviour often depends on the fight with other drivers. However, we are currently working on an integrated solution which will automatically link to the braking system for our new concept, which we ve been designing for the last two years. It s essentially a complete new system and has nothing to do with the current 207, which was a research development and test vehicle without focus on ultimate performance. It will have four individual motors achieving full sequential torque control. We ll be able to recuperate a sensible amount of energy per lap with a slightly heavier car than we have now. The individual motors of an electric drivetrain allow more flexibility in terms of power delivery to the wheels. Therefore, depending on how the car is set up, the dynamic behaviour can be programmed to either be similar to a conventional petrol car, or entirely different. This creates a major challenge for the drivers, as they have to adapt their instinctive driving style to extract maximum performance from the car. With 4wd cars you can accelerate and brake each wheel at any time, in any situation, so the driving behaviour is hugely different, explains Sakowicz. With our current concept using two motors, we can fine-tune the understeer and oversteer balance of the car, which you could never achieve to such an extent with petrol cars. However, the biggest difference for the drivers is missing the shift points of the gears. There are various concepts, you can have a higher RPM with smaller torque and a several staged gearbox, or there is our concept which has a relatively large motor with low RPM, high torque and therefore one 8 WORLD RALLYCROSS 2017

9 Under the bonnet of STARD s Peugeot 207, showing the set-up of the front motor; the handling of the car can be optimised by balancing it between the front and rear motors. Power output from the drivetrain is around 400kW The amount of cabling snaking through the cabin makes it clear this is not your average rallycross machine. The 207 is fully-compliant to FIA regulations concerning electric vehicles and is ready to race should the chance present itself staged gearbox. Only having one gear to accelerate from nought to 200km/h makes a huge difference to the driving style. Despite this, the drivers who have tested the electric Peugeot 207 since October last year have been very impressed, even those who were initially sceptical of electric racing. Clearly, the thrill from the increased power and acceleration outweigh the potential drawbacks, as last year s World RX Champion with EKS, Mattias Ekstrom, highlights. You have to be aware that these cars have even more power and acceleration, but I like that challenge because the driver skills become more important. Electric rallycross will be the next level. If you ask me, in 2020 we should drive one race per month in the championship, half with electric, and half with combustion engines. To become world champion, you should be able to drive both fast. Current thinking The car has been built and tested, a new concept is on the way, the drivers want to race electric rallycross cars, so surely the only thing left to do is to decide on a championship format? This is the next challenge how to design a championship that embraces electric technology without losing the heritage of the petrol cars and therefore the current fans. STARD developed its own software specifically for the running of the electric rallycross car and has integrated it into the MoTec control units. For safety reasons there is also a remote battery monitoring system What could be very interesting to see is a challenge between conventionally powered rallycross cars and electric cars, Sakowicz says. I think this would be something that people would love to see and it would also demonstrate the capabilities of an electric car and might also encourage the fans to accept electric cars more. Over-charging However, this competition between the two would be impossible to normalise fairly through the regulations. We ve seen electric and combustion Formula Student cars competing within the same class, which can lead to arguably unfair results and grey areas. We ve also seen the complex consequences of applying a Balance of Performance (BoP) to the World Endurance Championship, which again has resulted in uncertainties and questions. Add an electric powertrain into the mix and the governing bodies are presented with the nightmare of trying to equate combustion performance with electric performance to create a fair and competitive championship. The only solution is that electric rallycross will have to become a separate class or a championship in its own right. The next question is how to win over the fans. Rallycross is a very raw form of motorsport that thrills fans with roaring engines and the smell of petrol fumes. So how can you make this type of audience accept and enjoy the quiet whirr of an electric racecar? You have to be really careful not to alienate existing fans, but we have to embrace the potential for new fans and new technologies, says Paul Bellamy, managing director of World RX for IMG, the championship promoter. Our first loyalty has to be to our existing fans who enjoy everything that comes with petrol engines, but we need to find a way of WORLD RALLYCROSS

10 RALLYCROSS ELECTRIC PEUGEOT 207 The only solution is that electric rallycross will have to become a separate class or even a championship in its own right including both the old and the new and there is no obvious answer yet. However, we have two consumers: the fans that come to the live events and those who watch the coverage and digital content at home. The sound and smell is less of an issue for those at home, it s the live audience that you have to consider. You have to find other ways to generate that buzz and adrenaline that adds to the atmosphere of a live event. This can be achieved through loud music, or many other forms, so we have to think wider about what s going to give the fans a good live experience when the engines are quieter and there is no smell of the fumes. Of course, systems such as sound generators and other engineering tricks can be integrated to solve these issues, but as seen in F1, this is a much more complex topic. Either STARD s Peugeot 207 is basically a research and development project. The company is now working on a more advanced electric rallycross car way, these talking points are all good publicity for the future of electric rallycross. I think it s a good thing that electric rallycross is prompting so many positive and negative discussions because it shows how interesting a topic it is, Sakowicz says. People start to think, argue and discuss, and this is how we can generate new ideas. At the end of the day, motorsport fans will still enjoy it as a sport, as a competition and as the technology-driven activity it is, even without the loud and noisy engines. It would be a great achievement if we could create a championship which could be seen as environmentally friendly. We are discussing with many manufacturers who are interested in competing in electric rallycross, so it will have to happen somehow within the next few years. The question is, how? Not when. Plugging-in Four out of the six permanent World RX Supercar teams are manufacturer-backed and the continued growth of rallycross as a sport is set to increase this manufacturer interest. As automotive manufacturers continue to invest and develop electric vehicles to suit modern demands, they not only use motorsport to test their technology but also showcase the potential of electric vehicles to persuade the audience. Electrification is a focus topic for us, says Dieter Gass, head of Audi Motorsport. I don t think it will become reality before 2019 or 2020, but if it happens in a format that s attractive for Audi, we re going to look into it. Audi has always consistently used motorsport to test and further develop new technologies for subsequent use in production vehicles, this may be the case when electrification is introduced into rallycross. So, with manufacturers now a major customer of World RX, the organisers will surely have to account for their enthusiasm towards electrification to secure the continued growth of the championship. It is clear that electric rallycross is the future and not the distant future, then. Red Bull, which is behind the Global Rallycross Championship, founded a company called Speedleague that has announced that it will be introducing an electric rallycross championship called E/Racing. The cars will be provided by STARD, which is the engineering partner, and will be based on a variety of production models, that are already incorporating most of the technical details of the new performance optimised STARD concept discussed earlier. The championship will consist of five rounds in North American cities running from late October 2017 to Spring The success of this strategy will no doubt be watched closely by the World RX organisers, but the burning question still remains: how can they incorporate electric rallycross in to World RX? The STARD 207 in the raw. Weight low down in the chassis is just one of the benefits of an electric approach. The CAD rendition shows two seats within the spaceframe as the project was originally going to be a rally car 10 WORLD RALLYCROSS 2017

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12 RALLYCROSS 2017 BUSINESS OVERVIEW Close racing and thrilling on-track action leads to packed grandstands. It s a simple formula and it certainly seems to work; event attendance grew by 130 per cent in 2015 Hot ticket Rallycross is that rare thing in modern motorsport, a growth sector. But why has this unique form of motor racing succeeded where others continue to fail? By GEMMA HATTON The decline in the number of people watching motorsport has been a topic of discussion for many years. Between 2008 and 2016 Formula 1 lost over one third of its global audience. Circuits are struggling to make revenue from ticket sales, and if you ve ever been to a race that doesn t belong to an FIA championship you will know how eerie empty racetracks can feel. Rallycross, on the other hand, has experienced a 555 per cent increase in television audiences since 2014 when it became an FIA World Championship. Track attendance grew by over 130 per cent in 2015, 12 WORLD RALLYCROSS 2017

13 Peugeot is just one of four major manufacturers involved in the World Rally X Championship with digital coverage that s said to reach 30.6 million people the appeal of this series to car makers is obvious The core of rallycross has always been its exciting racing, it perhaps just wasn t quite packaged in the right way while the digital coverage of the 2016 World RX season reached over 30.6 million. The biggest task we want to achieve is build a loyal audience both live at the track and through TV, says Paul Bellamy, managing director of World RX for its promotor, IMG. We had 80,000 fans over a weekend last year at the French round in Loheac, and we want to see more events attract these kind of numbers, particularly in our key markets, but outside these as well. IMG is responsible for all the TV, commercial and promotional rights of World RX and its strategy since 2014 has been to transform this conventionally raw form of motorsport into a professional championship worthy of FIA world status. This has involved not only improving the TV product, but the social media product as well, as Bellamy says: The short format of RX racing lends itself perfectly to new forms of media such as digital, which are currently exploding. This together with our efforts to standardise the events treats live fans to a higher quality of trackside experience. This then encourages big event drivers to compete, such as Sebastien Loeb, Ken Block, Mattias Ekstrom and Petter Solberg, who attract sponsors, along with the interest of car manufacturers. It is having a snowball effect. The core of rallycross has always been exciting racing, it perhaps just wasn t quite packaged in the right way. While maintaining this core aspect of rallycross, the exciting racing that is key to its future success, the accessibility for the fans to the teams, cars and drivers is also important: If you compare World RX with other FIA World Championships, the set-up is still relatively basic, explains Kenneth Hansen, previous winner of 14 FIA European Rallycross Championships and the current team manager of the Peugeot-Hansen operation. The paddock is made up of tents, fans can come close to the drivers and see the cars, and I really hope that we maintain this close relationship with our fans throughout the future of the World RX Championship. Non-stop action The fans are fully engaged with the drivers and teams because the paddock has been designed to be unintimidating, open and friendly. Meanwhile, the format of four qualifying heats, semi-finals and finals mean there is continuous action, but with different cars and characters to keep your attention. Then you have the spectacle of the rallycross racing itself, where fantastic looking WORLD RALLYCROSS

14 RALLYCROSS 2017 BUSINESS OVERVIEW Non-stop entertainment: while one heat is run the next is readied on the dummy grid. There is very little waiting around between the races for the fans in the grandstands at Word Rally X events Four of the six permanent World RX teams are manufacturer backed cars drift round corners while battling for position. The racing is undeniably phenomenal and diverse, making it great viewing. IMG s improvements in the TV coverage are also important. Not only is the programme shown by over 40 broadcasters, but replays of every round are easily accessed through the official World RX Youtube channel. Rather than showing every heat, the content provides a concise summary of all the qualifying action, but then detailed coverage of the finals. Clever infographics are continuously utilised to set the scene and explain how the championship works, focussing on the rivalry between the teams, while offering insights into the more technical aspects, such as tyre strategy. The show has been designed to cater for the entire spectrum of rallycross fans, and you can watch it at any time. We put a lot of time, energy and effort into the TV product, Bellamy says. We have a team of about 30 people trackside and we even bring focus groups who aren t necessarily rallycross fans to analyse the coverage. One crucial aspect is how long it takes to get to the racing from the start of the programme. When TV shows finish on the hour, consumers spend two or three minutes changing channels. If they change channels to find five Supercars going into Turn 1 quicker than a Formula 1 car then they re more likely to stay with it, rather than watching two people analysing the technical aspects of the sport. The new consumer wants almost instant gratification now, so we have to get to the action quicker. This demand for immediate information is particularly important for the younger generation, and with 73 per cent of World RX fans under 34 years old, this young audience is certainly a focus for IMG. In addition to the digital media, IMG is bringing an entirely new concept to motor racing next year Speed Machine, which will be launched at Silverstone as the World RX of Great Britain. Speed Machine The primary aim of this venture between IMG and Silverstone is to attract a new and younger audience through putting on a festival, whilst having a World RX Championship running in the background. It will be a festival of headline music acts, proper food areas showcasing food from all over the world, and e-gaming facilities in the Silverstone wing, where fans can come and compete against each other, explains Bellamy. There will also be the ability for car manufacturers to build temporary showrooms for their latest models, which can then be driven by the public on the F1 track, surrounding the Rallycross action. The move to Silverstone, and the consequent birth of the Speed Machine concept, was initiated by World RX outgrowing it traditional UK venue at Lydden Hill. This year s round was bursting at the seams according to Bellamy, inflicting a little too much strain on the track s facilities and infrastructure. With limitations on investment and the potential to grow, IMG had no choice but to relocate the UK round. Everyone is very sad to be leaving Lydden Hill because it has such charm and legacy, says Lukas Stelmaszyk, press officer at rallycross team EKS. I think the big challenge for IMG will be to keep the rallycross charm and style, whilst making money and growing the sport. From a fan standpoint, the best aspect of rallycross at Lydden was being able to see the entire track and therefore have full visibility of the races as they unfolded. This was due to the natural topography of the circuit, but this will hopefully be a consideration for the new track layout at Silverstone. Inter-continental World RX will be visiting South Africa for the first time this year, which is important as to get accredited FIA world status you need to have rounds in three continents. Yet 10 out of the 14 WORLD RALLYCROSS 2017

15 It only takes six cars to make a race. Small grids and short races make rallycross the antithesis of F1 and most other FIA championships, but it s a format that suits digital media Volkswagen s Polo has begun to win very regularly in World Rally X this season, as it did in the WRC until VW pulled out late last year. One team dominating is a worry for promotor IMG, which is working hard to level the playing field The fans are fully engaged with the drivers and teams because the paddock has been designed to be unintimidating, open and friendly 12 races this year are still within Europe and expanding these horizons is another key focus for IMG, though within limits. We won t grow to Formula 1 level with 20 events. Less is more for us, because we not only want to keep the fans attention but we also need to take into account the cost for the teams, Bellamy says. However, our focus is to reach new audiences outside of Europe and these may replace current venues, but I don t see us growing to any more than 15 races. Regulation issue Another area where World RX has developed in recent years is with its regulations. For our first year as an FIA championship in 2014, we had nine A4 pages of regulations, now we have a book of 35 pages, explains Jann Ljungberg, technical director at EKS. The regulations did have a lot of grey areas and as the teams grew, along with their engineering capabilities, these grey areas could be fully exploited, leading inexorably to larger investments by the teams. This issue has had to be addressed by a Technical Working Group composed of the teams, the FIA and IMG, to prevent team s budgets escalating out of control. Of course, every team and engineer want to push the boundaries to gain performance, Hansen says. But we are very aware that the WORLD RALLYCROSS

16 RALLYCROSS 2017 BUSINESS OVERVIEW Since Audi ditched its LMP1 WEC programme at the end of last year its focussed on Formula E and its rallycross effort with the EKS team. It now has its engineers working with EKS at World RX events costs can t be crazy because we need to try and close the gaps between the teams so as to have good competition without spending a huge amount of budget. This effort to try to cost cap the regulations is just one area where the organiser is trying to avoid the situation of alienating the privateer teams, which is becoming a growing issue. For 2017, four out of the six permanent World RX teams are manufacturer backed. This is excellent for the championship as manufacturers bring more money, professionalism and interest to the sport. However, if privateer teams can no longer compete with the budgets of manufacturerbacked teams then they will be forced out of the sport and this leads to a whole array of issues as we ve recently seen in LMP1. The works The primary benefit for teams who are backed by manufacturers is their access to engineering talent and facilities. Take the reigning driver and team champion, Mattias Ekstrom and his own EKS team, which he founded in 2014 If they change channels to find five Supercars going into Turn 1 quicker than an F1 car then they re more likely to stay with it fielding two Audi S1s, as an example of how a manufacturer will get involved. We have observed World RX very precisely because of Mattias engagement for the last few years, which has been very successful, says Dieter Gass, head of Audi Motorsport. We realised it was becoming increasingly difficult for EKS to stand its ground against the factory teams, so we decided to intensify our commitment. Audi s backing proved critical for the survival of EKS because at the end of 2016 Ekstrom decided it was impossible to compete successfully on purely private money. We had all three cars at the Audi Sport headquarters in Neuburg-Heirichsheim for the first time, where they conducted a lot of performance development over the winter. We now have Audi engineers working here at the track, but also in Neuburg, who are dedicated specifically to rallycross, explains Stelmaszyk. Currently we re focusing on improving the overall performance of the car rather than refining the detail to gain tenths of seconds, but this will happen at some stage in the future. Mind the gap The 2017 season is, arguably, the first time where privateer teams are seriously struggling. Only once has a driver from a private team been on the podium this year. That was Timo Scheider for MJP Racing Team Austria in Barcelona, where his past track experience and an element of good fortune helped. Furthermore, this year we are seeing the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team dominate the championship. So, the challenge remains to attract enough manufacturers to continue progressing the professionalism of the championship while monitoring the budgets to give the smaller teams a chance. I think more manufacturers will be coming in, but we need to stop the budgets from escalating otherwise we could lose both private teams and manufacturers, Hansen says. The goal should be to reach 24 to 26 cars on the grid with a mixture of teams where at least half of them have the potential to win races. Level headed This is the focus for World RX organiser IMG, too. Whenever anyone is incurring extra costs it is a major concern for us because one of the advantages of World RX is it s a relatively level playing field, Bellamy says. In any sport you don t want one or two teams dominating, which is what we are starting to see already when we re only halfway through the season. It s very difficult to restrict budgets as you don t often get full transparency on what teams are actually spending. However, there are a number of tools that have been used in the past to try and keep a lid on costs, so we ll be investigating those to ensure it remains as much of a level playing field as possible. World RX is an exciting and encouraging example of how motorsport can go about attracting new and younger audiences whilst holding on to its heritage and loyal fans. However, there are some major changes on the way for the championship: new tracks, new concepts and even the potential introduction of electric cars (see page 4) WORLD RALLYCROSS 2017

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18 RALLYCROSS 2017 JOKER LAPS Playing the Joker It s not all flat-out, no-holds-barred racing in rallycross there s also the need for cool, strategic thinking to make the most of the Joker Lap. Racecar investigates The Joker Lap essentially injects a short sprint race with all the drama and strategy of a pit stop, just in a much narrower time-frame There are many rallycross championships worldwide and although they differ slightly, the basic format remains the same: a demanding schedule of short, intense racing to thrill the fans throughout the weekend. This is achieved by having several qualifying heats (usually four), where up to five cars race for four or five laps. The points accumulated throughout these heats are then used to classify the drivers, with the top 12 making it through to the semi-finals. These are six lap races where the top three or four from each semi-final qualify for the final. In the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship the bottom three in the semi-finals then compete in a four lap Last Chance Qualifier to fill the remaining spots in the final, which consists of 10 laps and 10 competitors. World Rallycross, on the other hand, race a six lap final comprising the top three cars from the two semi-final races. Joker in the pack With such compressed races, there is no need for pit stops, of course, and safety cars are unheard of so surely the strategy is simply to sprint to the finish? The organisers had a different idea, and introduced the Joker Lap. This is essentially an alternative section of track which every driver must use once in each heat, semi-final and the final. Depending on the championship and circuit, the Joker Lap can either help you gain or lose lap time. In World RX, for example, the route of the Joker Lap is aimed to add at least two seconds to the overall lap time, whereas in Global Rallycross, the Joker acts as a short cut which can help you gain up to seven seconds in some cases. This is a clever way of adding an element of strategy to the race, because there is no clear solution. The team has to first determine how the tyres degrade throughout the laps, although this is usually minimal. However, if the track layout wears the tyres significantly, 18 WORLD RALLYCROSS 2017

19 A car peels off to take its Joker Lap, something each racecar must do once in every race, whether it s a heat, semi final or the final. It s proved so successful that the WTCC s now going to adopt the concept then the last lap should be the shortest possible to minimise time loss: if the Joker Lap is longer, complete that first then, and if it is a shortcut, save it to the last lap. Spot the call If tyre degradation is minimal, the next consideration is traffic, and this is where the spotters come in. Regardless of whether the Joker Lap gains or loses time, you want to complete it as efficiently as possible and therefore in free air. Each driver will have a spotter, who is a member of the team who stands in a viewing area where they can see the entire track. They will monitor the sector times, average Joker Lap times and the traffic to determine the best lap to take the option, and to communicate this to the car s driver over the radio during the race. The problem is, that the time to complete the Joker Lap can change during the event, so you have to be aware of that too, says Kenneth Hansen, 14-time FIA European Rallycross Champion and current team manager of Peugeot-Hansen. This happened at Lydden Hill, for example, where the tyre stacks moved during the event which changed the average Joker Lap time. This is a particular problem when we don t race on permanent circuits, because two or three tenths can make a huge difference and if you don t spot it or are not prepared, you can lose the race because of it. This is not the only thing that changes. The tracks are a mixture of dirt and asphalt which are subjected to continuous running. Consequently, the dirt surface is moved about and constantly changes while the grip on the asphalt improves with track evolution. Therefore, the average sector and lap times change with every lap, adding another element of complexity that has to be considered. You have to try and compare the lap times of other groups and categories to see how the track changes. Of course, past experience really benefits you here because WORLD RALLYCROSS

20 RALLYCROSS 2017 JOKER LAPS For the World Rallycross Championship the Joker Lap needs to add a minimum of two seconds to the average lap time. The Joker section is highlighted in red on the diagrams above. The brown sections are dirt while the black shows the tarmac you already know how the track changes with weather and temperature, explains Hansen. You also need to consider the position of the entrance to the Joker Lap. At Lydden Hill, for example, the Joker Lap was before the first corner, so if you were on the outside of the grid and believed that nothing unexpected would happen, then it made sense to take the Joker on the first lap. Of course, things change and you can t expect anything so you need to have a second strategy and quickly come up with new ideas. Who are you competing with? Who has been on the Joker? What is the gap to the driver who has already been on the Joker? As a spotter, you try and inform your drivers to keep them up to speed on whether they need to push more. The problem is, it s never clear and you only have a few seconds to have a quick discussion with your other team spotter before you have to make a decision. It s very stressful, but it s a positive stress. Old jokes Hansen s past experience as a driver offers a great advantage during these stressful situations, however, as he understands the feelings and emotions of the driver in the car. This means he can think in a way that is perhaps more relevant to the driver. This has clearly proved advantageous. The other spotter is also a previous driver and both have contributed to the successful Joker Lap strategy for Team Peugeot-Hansen. Making decisions in this high-pressured environment can lead to mistakes, where sometimes the drivers miss the Joker Lap entirely, as Reinis Nitiss, a driver for EKS, did in round five at Lydden Hill. This destroys the team s weekend as the penalties are harsh: a 30-second time penalty if the Joker is missed during the qualifying heats, or a drop down the order to last place and consequent loss of points for missing the Joker during a semi-final or final. It looks quite stupid when someone misses a Joker Lap or everyone goes into the Joker Lap at the same time, Hansen says. The driver completely trusts the spotter, but the spotter doesn t have an easy job. Also, sometimes the radio communication can break down at a crucial point, so the driver never receives the radio message and therefore misses the Joker. Punch line One of the few ways to try and add some certainty into the strategy is to analyse any trends as to when other teams usually take their Joker Lap. In this way you can then try and predict how the race will unfold and therefore when you should take the Joker. Typically, the privateer teams always complete the Joker on the first lap. However, it is difficult to spot trends in the more experienced and bigger teams as they are able to react quicker and often do the unexpected. You can have 20 WORLD RALLYCROSS 2017

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22 RALLYCROSS 2017 JOKER LAPS Making decisions in this high-pressured environment can lead to mistakes Conditions are always changing on the loose surface sections; just one factor that needs to be weighed up before taking the Joker Lap An indecisive driver bails out of his Joker Lap at the last minute. Timing is everything and spotters are on hand to help with the strategy some teams that normally have a particular strategy. Other team s strategy used to be relatively obvious a few years ago, but now it s very difficult to calculate, Hansen says. For example, in Lydden Hill when PSRX VW Sweden were dominating, they decided to Joker earlier when they were leading, which is not so normal, but they changed their strategy for security. The most important thing for the Joker Lap is to give our drivers a free run. If they don t have a car in front of them they can go as fast as possible, so that is usually our number one goal. Constant change The close racing in rallycross means that the driver order, the track surface and the Joker Lap strategy changes with every corner. Therefore, it is almost impossible to go into each race with a clear picture of what is going to happen due to the uncertainty. Teams and drivers have to react quickly to their opponents and the timing screens, because if they make the wrong strategic decision, they only have a few laps to catch up or hope for an opponent s mistake. The Joker Lap essentially injects a short sprint race with all the drama and strategy of a pit stop, just in a much narrower timeframe. The success rallycross championships have had integrating the Joker Lap concept is now starting to catch the attention of other motorsport categories, too. This year the WTCC was set to introduce a Joker Lap into its street circuit events in Morocco and Portugal. However, the idea was abandoned for the Morocco race as it required around 500sq/m of track resurfacing and the risks associated with the narrow Marrakech track were deemed too high. The race in Portugal, at the Vila Real circuit, however, went ahead with introducing the Joker Lap and had full approval from the FIA Safety Department and local authorities. Spreading the joke The Joker Lap concept works very well in rallycross and I m certain it will bring an extra dimension to the WTCC street race in Vila Real, says Francois Ribeiro, head of Eurosport Events, the WTCC promoter ahead of the event. It will open up strategies for each WTCC driver, and might even change the course of the race. Of course, we never compromise on safety so we have worked very closely with our colleagues at the FIA and with the authorities in Vila Real to put in place a route that matches our requirements but also conforms to all the rigorous safety standards. This was the first time a series outside rallycross raced with a Joker Lap. It might also be the beginning of a new trend WORLD RALLYCROSS 2017

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24 RALLYCROSS 2017 TYRES Slide rules Perhaps no other motorsport discipline subjects tyres to quite as much abuse as rallycross we talked to World RX supplier Cooper Motorsport for the inside line on rallycross rubber By GEMMA HATTON Starts are vital in short rallycross races, so the tyre has to work right from the off. The rubber also has to help propel Supercars from 0 to 60mph in under two seconds The cross-ply works well at large slip angles, which means that the driver can control the car better Motorsport tyre design is a constant balance between developing a construction that can withstand the high longitudinal and lateral loads seen, whilst structuring a compound that is soft enough to switch on, but not degrade. With the above in mind, rallycross is arguably the most brutal form of motorsport for tyres. With the Supercars accelerating off the line from 0-60mph in under two seconds, the compound has to perform immediately to provide grip. The construction has to withstand the impacts of jumps and sharp kerbs. The track surface varies from 59 per cent to 33 per cent asphalt, with the rest gravel or dirt, which changes the effectiveness of the contact patch and the resulting grip; another factor the tyres have to overcome. Then there s local conditions. This year s calendar varies between the cold Nordic regions to the heat of South Africa; demanding the compounds to deliver throughout all temperatures and all conditions. In terms of tyres, rallycross is a combination of drag racing, dirt racing and circuit racing all rolled into one, explains Matt Vincent, materials development manager at Cooper Motorsport. The tyres really do have to go through a lot, even though the races are only four or five laps. [But] I ve only ever seen our rallycross tyre blister once and that was because the driver was doing doughnuts. Rallycross-ply Cooper Tyres supplies the World RX Championship with the ACB11 Rallycross tyre, which was developed from a range of rallycross slick tyres. It has also developed a 17in full race wet, especially for World RX. The most interesting feature of these tyres is the cross-ply construction as opposed to the more 24 WORLD RALLYCROSS 2017

25 A rallycross tyre is built to survive the heavy impacts sustained on landing from the jumps, which are a popular part of the show Each driver has eight dry tyres and eight wet tyres per event. This brings an element of strategy into the rallycross weekend common radial tyres that we often see in most other forms of motorsport. It amazes people that we are still doing cross-ply tyres, which is not something other manufacturers usually do or have the facilities to do anymore. However, there are several advantages that the cross-ply has and the radial doesn t, particularly in this type of motorsport, Vincent says. It s mostly to do with the handling characteristics of the cross-ply. It works well at large slip angles and with these cars sliding a lot of the time, it means that the driver can control the car better. The radial offers more peak grip, so if you were to put a Supercar on radial tyres on an empty track, then yes it would probably be faster. However, although a cross-ply gives less peak grip, it exhibits this grip over a longer period of time which means when you are battling four cars around a corner, it is more controllable under those extreme situations. The carcass of these cross-ply tyres are made from Kevlar and nylon cord, where multiple plies are placed diagonally by hand, usually at 55 degrees, overlapping each other. This construction also creates rigid sidewalls which are more resilient to damage essential for surviving a hectic rallycross race. Tread softly Radial tyres, on the other hand, usually have steel cord plies that are placed 90 degrees to the direction of travel, and so the sidewall and tread essentially work independently of each other. This leads to the sidewalls having some degree of flexibility, which helps to maximise the contact patch and absorb shocks, which is why this type of tyre is used so heavily in both circuit racing and road car applications. From a compound perspective, the range of track temperatures, in addition to the mixed surfaces and lack of tyre blankets and ovens, demands a relatively soft compound. This means that the working range is relatively low and wide; so the compound can generate temperature and grip quickly, whilst accounting for the varied conditions. Typically, the working range of these tyres is anything from 90degC to 120degC, but they will still perform at carcass temperatures as low as 70degC and as high as 130degC, Vincent says. Compare this to the working range of F1 tyres, where the increased number of compounds means that the ranges are much narrower; and a variation in over 20degC could drop you out of the working window in some cases. For Cooper to achieve one compound that can deliver grip throughout a range of up to 60degC is quite impressive. You have to remember that in a five or six lap race, whoever pulls away first has a good chance of winning, so the tyre has to work straight off the line, Vincent says. To deal with WORLD RALLYCROSS

26 RALLYCROSS 2017 TYRES Cooper s World RX Championship rubber is cross-ply and treads are mandatory. To make sure drivers don t wear their rubber down to slicks the FIA has ruled that each tyre is fitted with a wear bar this level of acceleration, you have to consider the modulus and the construction of the tyre. We ve also used our experience from the US drag racing tyres that we supply, and although it s an entirely different compound, that knowledge has helped us to target a specific glass transition temperature. This glass transition temperature (GTT) is the temperature at which the rubber becomes most viscous. At low temperatures, the modulus of the rubber is high, and therefore the tyre is rigid and cannot generate its own heat effectively enough to reach the working range. As temperature increases, the molecules within the rubber are more mobile and can therefore generate heat. However, at too high temperatures then the compound will be susceptible to overheating and will lose grip. Therefore, the position of the GTT has to be balanced between these two extremes to suit the required conditions. For Cooper to achieve one compound that can deliver grip throughout a range of up to 60degC is quite impressive Another area of the tyre that can be modified to achieve optimum grip is the tread. However, in World RX, the FIA have specified regulations that restrict the tread pattern to two circumferential grooves, which have to cover between 17 per cent to 25 per cent of the tyre. In the national rallycross championships where there are no constraints on the tread, the teams run slicks with the general consensus that you do gain a slight performance advantage with these. However, in World RX we have to conform to the FIA regulations, Vincent says. Judge tread This regulation may seem extremely specific, however, it was bought in by the FIA for a good reason as Paul Coates, general manager at Cooper explains: In the past, when we used to run slick rallycross tyres in open areas, people would only cut a pattern into the tyre if the conditions demanded it. This is extremely difficult for the FIA to monitor, so at least with the current regulations, the teams have a moulded dry and a moulded wet tyre and they re not allowed to modify either of them. The FIA has also regulated how much the teams can wear the tyres. Wear bars have been incorporated into the tyre design so that the FIA can visually determine whether a team still has the required 2mm of tread left. The FIA are trying to stop teams gaining an unfair advantage by running through all of the tread pattern and are therefore effectively racing on a slick, Coates says. They are also mindful that some teams set up their cars very aggressively, so as ever, they are trying to create a level playing field. Naturally, the different track layouts result in varying loads going through each of the four tyres and therefore differing wear rates. The Lydden Hill circuit in the UK is particularly high on tyre wear, for example, as are some of the French rallycross circuits. The only issues we see in terms of wear are down to car set-up, rather than a product issue, Vincent says. There are some drivers who like a particular set-up which means they barely get through the weekend on their allocated tyres in terms of wear. Then there are some events and drivers where the tyres are hardly used. In general, we are seeing higher wear every year because as more manufacturers come in, they are putting a lot more load through the tyres because the cars are becoming quicker. True grip Similar to other forms of motorsport, the FIA has also restricted the amount of tyres for each event, where each driver only has eight dry and eight wet tyres at his disposal. This injects an element of tyre strategy into the weekend, despite the short races. Drivers can switch tyres between the sets, which allows them to 26 WORLD RALLYCROSS 2017

27 Conditions on rallycross tracks are often varied, while new venues around the world are likely to bring more challenges for the tyres save fresh rubber on a particular corner for the finals, for example. This also adds further challenges to the set-up because at high wearing circuits an aggressive set-up may cost you overall grip in the latter, and therefore most important, stages of the weekend. Future tech With the introduction of electric rallycross looking increasingly likely (see page 6), the tyres will be subjected to even more trauma. As with most electric vehicle categories we have dealt with, the cars are a lot heavier and have a lot more torque, so you have to react accordingly, Coates says. In terms of the construction, that will probably have to be upgraded significantly and we may push for a wider tyre section width. However, we ve been involved in the evaluation of other electric powered motorsports such as GT racing and off-road, so the shelf technology already exists. It will just be a case of designing a tyre with slightly higher abrasion resistance, that generates less heat to cope with the additional weight and torque. The ACB11 tyres from Cooper have now been used to win every European and World Rallycross event for the last 20 years. However, the future of World RX, with the faster, electric cars competing in a wider variety of continents and conditions, will continue to demand the near-impossible from the tyres. Rallycross drivers will often try to save fresher tyres for the corner of the car that does the most work for the later stages of the event I ve only ever seen our tyres blister once and that was because the driver was doing doughnuts WORLD RALLYCROSS

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