Got a question? Ask the XXXXpert
Question: How long does it take to build a V8 Supercar? Anthony Fresen (Facebook fan)
Answer: The quick answer, Anthony, is several months. Or between 1500 and 2000 man hours. The current V8 Supercars chassis are ridiculously labour-intensive to construct. Much of this is absorbed in the welding of the body-shell and rollcage. An aim of the Car of the Future project is to reduce the build time by using a control chassis. Time equals money.
Question: With the injury to Greg Murphy, what are the actual recorded G Forces experienced in a V8 Supercar? Simmo
Answer: Drivers experience the highest cornering G-Forces across the top of Mt Panorama. Specifically, Sulman Park’s sweeps see the drivers experience 2.1G. Under braking at some corners it’s between 2 and 2.5G. Compare that to a Formula 1 driver, who experiences a maximum of 5G under brakes and 4.5G in some turns. If you’re asking what Gs are generated in a crash, Simmo, I can’t help you. The quoted post-crash figures seem to get more rubbery and inflated each time there’s a significant accident. I stopped paying attention when a team quoted 115G a few years ago.
Pic: Frosty experiencing a few G’s around this tight corner
Credit: Justin Deeley
Question: Who will replace Murph behind the wheel if he pulls out of Phillip Island and/or Bathurst? It would be a tragedy to lose a legend like him for the enduros. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Murph. Tanya
Answer: That’s the $51 question right now, Tanya. Daniel Gaunt is firming as favourite for Phillip Island after testing for Paul Morris Motorsports on Tuesday. It won’t be the same at Bathurst if Murph is not on the grid. Fingers crossed he’ll be back for the biggie. Get well soon, Gregory.
Question: I’ve heard a rumour that if a Formula 1 car was racing at Bathurst that it would actually get airborne at places around the top of the mountain? You reckon that’s true? Brock
Answer: Glad you asked this question, Brock, as the thought of F1 machines around Mt Panorama blows the mind. I’d be surprised if a grand prix car would get airborne there. F1 teams spend hundreds of hours in windtunnels, resulting in cars that generate massive amounts of downforce. This downforce keeps them glued to the road – unless, like Mark Webber at Valencia, there is wheel-over- wheel contact. But a single F1 car on a fast lap would hug the Bathurst track beautifully. Mind you, it would have to take a wide line through the Dipper, so it didn’t rip off its front wing. Before anyone asks, a F1 car would lap in the 1 minute 30 second region, some 36 seconds quicker than a V8 Supercar’s 2 minutes 7 seconds. This is based on comparative laps around Albert Park, where a F1 car’s lap time around the temporary Melbourne circuit is roughly 70% of a V8 Supercar lap time there. Now before anyone gets too excited, it won’t ever happen. Mt Panorama is not licensed to host F1 cars at full tilt – but dreams are free. Several years ago it was planned for a Champ Car (an American open-wheeler) piloted by Max Wilson to try to break the outright lap record. But CAMS scuppered that plan, requesting a pace car to control its speed. Spoil sports. In any case, it never happened due to lack of a suitable engine.
