June 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Computers
Screen capturing software is far from being a hot topic when we talk exciting programs. Many users simply use the Print Screen button on the keyboard, followed by a Clipboard paste into an image editing software in order to customize the snapshot of the screen. The procedure is one of those old habits that die hard for many users. It is also a more comfortable approach, es… (read more)
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June 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Computers
The world glows with dazzling, vibrant and joyful colors around us, every single day. Nature is our best teacher, wisest friend and a never-ending source of inspiration for our work. And this statement is particularly true if you are an artist, a fashion designer or you work in the world of web design, where you are practically asked to generate fresh ideas on a daily basis…. (read more)
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June 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Motorbikes
On face value, Triumph’s new Sprint GT is a master-stroke - a significantly updated version of an already good bike. Find a sports tourer for sale But is a face-lift and some panniers enough to best the BMW K1300GT, Honda…
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June 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Motorbikes
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No more money for paint for your motorcycle or scooter?
No problemo for this Vespa owner….
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June 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Motorbikes
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Nice video (and article) on a test ride of the Brammo electric motorcycle by the Earth2Tech web site.
It’s not a test ride by a professional motorcycle tester, but more one by a newbie to motorcycles, so she asks different questions.
Interesting!
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June 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Motorbikes
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After last months very well done TV ad for Allstate Insurance, featuring a ghost motorcycle crashing, they have now released a second TV ad, this time featuring a ghost motorcycle and road rash.
Nice graphics and special effects.
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June 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Racing
HRT technical director Geoff Willis would like to see the return of in-season testing – albeit on a limited basis.
From a purely engineering point of view, if we don’t have testing we have to compensate with rig testing and analysis. The money you don’t spend on testing you spend on that.
The mistake, for me, is that while it was sensible to stop unrestricted testing, a better balance would have been to have certain fixed testing times common to all teams and wrap up a commercial operation around it. You have to remember that there are often fairly large gaps when there is no F1 in Europe and we could have one test in Spain, one in Italy, one in the UK, something like that.
The downside is that to do that, unless the calendar was particularly sympathetic, would mean going back to requiring an additional test team.
Unless you can synchronise the calendar and actually use your race team to do the tests, but that might be difficult and would probably take a couple of years to work out. It’s something for FOTA to talk about but from an engineering point of view it would be nice to have some testing during the season.
Geoff Willis
With limited resources and no in-season testing HRT are, like Virgin, relying on Computational Fluid Dynamics for their development work:
In the short term we will be using hired wind tunnel time and will be doing a balanced programme of wind tunnel and CFD. For in-season development right now, with the time pressures it’s almost certainly going to be a 100% CFD programme, which has its slight risks, but I think from where we are, is sensible.
Geoff Willis
The team have suffered a series of gearbox-related problems on the F110 but Willis says they will have to continue using a customer gearbox as they are not ready to build their own:
Most of our problems have been related to transmission hydraulics, which is a complicated part of the car. It is the first time that Xtrac has been involved as a supplier of the whole system. It’s tough considering that we don’t have testing and we therefore have to try and find fixes on the dyno.
We’re looking at various options for next year. I think the one thing that is pretty certain is that the team will not be designing its own gearbox next year, so we’re either going to be a customer of Xtrac or a customer of somebody else. We don’t have the resource to do an in-house design.
Geoff Willis
However he believes the team have made good progress since the start of the season, having not been able to do any pre-season testing:
I think to date we have generally kept level with the other start-up teams which are developing the cars. I think the drivers have found their way around the car pretty well and from race two or three we have been more or less fixed on set-up and are getting slicker at operating the car and getting the best out of the race weekend.
You can clearly see we have been maintaining pace and if anything compared to the leading cars, closing up. We were 6.5% off the pace and now we are typically 4.8-5% off with qualifying time. The car is fundamentally the same, so I think that has come from the drivers. Both of them have worked well with the team and have a good working relationship.
Geoff Willis
The 107% rule set to return next year but despite HRT languishing at the back of the grid Willis says he’d be happier with a lower target:
I think at one race it would have been an issue. But from an F1 engineering point of view the limit should actually be closer than that, more like a 5% rather than a 7% rule. I think you have to expect the teams to operate at a certain level, that’s what we want from Formula 1.
Obviously we would be a little bit uncomfortable with 105% in our current position but it wouldn’t surprise me in the future. It’s just the nature of Formula 1. Go back 20 years and it was much more scattered.
Geoff Willis
Read more: Double finish at home (HRT race review)
By Mikel Add comment
June 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Racing
Would you like to be at Silverstone to see the first F1 race on the revised track next week?
F1 Fanatic has a pair of tickets to this year’s British Grand Prix for one lucky reader to win.
See below for details of how to enter the competition and more ways to win tickets for the race.
For your chance to win a pair of general admission tickets to the British Grand Prix, answer this question:
In which year did Johnny Herbert win the British Grand Prix?
Send in your answer along with your name and email address using the form below:
[contact-form]
Competition terms and conditions
1. Maximum one entry per household.
2. The competition is not open to employees, friends or family of F1 Fanatic or Silverstone Circuit
3. In the event of a dispute the editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
4. No cash alternative is offered for any of the prizes.
5. Closing date: Midnight on 4th July 2010.
6. Entries must be sent using the form above.
7. Winners will be notified by email within 48 hours of the closing date. Tickets will be collected at the gate.
Silverstone are giving away more tickets to this year’s British Grand Prix.
See their Twitter page or their Facebook page for details on how to enter.
By Mikel Add comment
June 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Racing
McLaren have put out a video showing Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button poking around their store of old Formula 1 cars and pulling back the covers on a 1988 MP4-4.
Both take turns sitting in the car which was driven by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, winning 15 of the 16 races they started. It feels a bit scripted in parts but on the whole it’s an interesting watch.
Hamilton was supposed to drive the car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year. But on the day before his run it broke down while being driven by Bruno Senna.
This year the Hamilton and Button will take turns driving the 1986 MP4-2C that Prost drove to the world championship, as well as the MP4-23 Hamilton won his title in two years ago.
Read more: Complete guide to the F1 cars and stars at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed
By Mikel Add comment
June 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Racing
Peter Sauber hailed Kamui Kobayashi’s performance in the European Grand Prix as “amazing”.
The Japanese driver claimed seventh place after pulling off two overtaking moves in the final two laps, one on Fernando Alonso.
The team owner said:
I can only think of one word for it – amazing!
I was obviously thrilled by his two overtaking moves at the end of the race, but what impressed me most was how Kamui mastered his long stint on the hard tyres.
At times he was setting some of the fastest lap times of any driver, but still managed to look after his tyres. He also drove very consistently and didn’t allow himself to be put under pressure by Jenson Button.
Signing a rookie is always something of a risk; on Sunday Kamui delivered confirmation that we made the right decision.
Peter Sauber
The team believe they are starting to make progress with their C29 which has fluctuated in its performance from track to track and has had several reliability problems.
Sauber added:
These kinds of lap times are only possible if both the driver and the car are quick; there’s no other way. The C29 has a huge amount of potential, but it doesn’t make it easy for our engineers and drivers to fully exploit this potential every time.
When I compare our qualifying performance in Valencia with the lap times in the race, I can’t work it out.
Peter Sauber
Technical director James Key said the team are working on improving the car’s qualifying performance after drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Kobayashi lined up 16th and 18th in Valencia.
He said:
When a driver finds himself in a competitive position like that he always finds something more in himself because he’s following quicker cars. And Kamui did a very good job.
The race also showed that the car works when it’s in the right conditions, but the question we have and we had for several of the last races is why the car is more competitive in race conditions than qualifying.
The drivers report that the car is easier to drive in the race, and tyre degradation wasn’t a problem either, so we weren’t particularly hard on the tyres. We need to look into the data, now that both drivers delivered a competitive race after a qualifying that was not up to our expectations.
We need to pin down the differences in how the car is feeling and handling and see how we can apply that to qualifying.
James Key
Sauber are last of the established teams in the championship with all their seven points scored by Kobayashi so far this year. Their Valencia score has moved them to within three points of Toro Rosso.
Read more: Strategy gamble helps Kobayashi take seventh on last lap (Sauber race review)
By Mikel Add comment