Official Website of Steven Richards, FPR V8 Supercar Driver
Safety in V8 Supercar Land
Generally Safety is an uncool word. The only time we ever really here about the word Safety is when something untoward happens in our lives that has brought about some form of pain and suffering. Whether it’s the application of a band aid due to an open injury or the passing of someone through an accident, in most cases it is a reactive word, acted upon after a traumatic event. This is not the case in our world. The world I talk about is the world of Motorsport and in particular V8 Supercars.
Brakes are something that we take for granted everyday. We use them up to 100 times even on a 5 minute journey. They are the primary feature, along with our tyres that help us to operate a vehicle safely.
For most people it would be easy to assume that when a team goes testing it is for the driver to get some practice driving the car. This could not be further from the truth. In the past five years testing has slowly become more and more restrictive. The reality for this is based around cost and to provide all teams big or small a level playing field from which to play from.
Buttons, Levers and Instruments Inside the Cockpit
At every race meeting the Jack Daniels Racing Team conduct pit tours that give our valued sponsors the opportunity to get up close and personal to our JD Holden Commodores. Naturally during these tours many questions are asked about the various controls we drivers have available to us to alter or change the handling characteristics as the races wear on.
It’s a simple enough thing for us when we talk about it, but for everyone else it probably sounds like a different language. Understeer and oversteer. They are singularly the most important part of a driver’s repertoire for use when explaining a cars characteristics to the engineers.
Many people have heard the phrase “Heel and toe” during the Network Ten telecast of the V8 Supercar Championship and ask me what it is all about. Well here’s an in depth technical answer about why most drivers heel and toe in one way or another and why it’s so important for the reliability of the car throughout the race.
