Watch A1 Team Great Britain in action on Channel Five’s How Do They Do It on Monday 2 June
A1 Team Great Britain’s will star in next week’s episode of Channel Five’s high-rating pop-science programme, How Do They Do It. The show will be broadcast at 7.30pm on Monday 2 June and aims to get behind the fascinating story of the pit stop crew, how they manage to change four tyres in less than ten seconds and the strategy involved in motor racing pit stops. How Do They Do It looks at modern technologies in the world today and educates viewers on how things work.
The show’s presenter, Robert Llewellyn, joined A1 Team GBR at the team’s home race at Brands Hatch earlier on this month. Robert discovered how the race team perform pit stops and the tactics and strategies involved in selecting the optimum time for a stop. This was evident in the Feature race at Brands Hatch when second-placed Robbie Kerr and the team opted to remain out a lap longer than leaders India in order to put in a fast lap in clean air.
This, combined with a fantastic pit stop from the GBR crew, enabled Robbie to emerge from his stop in the lead of the race. Later on, we saw that a fraction of a second lost in a stop can cost valuable positions, as Robbie emerged behind India to take second overall. During their day with the team, Robert and the How Do They Do It crew met up with Team Manager Paul Bellringer, Race Engineer James Goodfield and driver Robbie Kerr.
Paul, James and Robbie explained the skills and strategies required for a pitstop and Robert then had the opportunity to try out all the various pit stop duties, including tyre changes, lollipop and operating the jack. He was able to listen in on the team radio during free practice, and joined the team in the garage in an extremely tense qualifying session, which saw GBR take pole for the Sprint race and second place for the Feature race.
Although there is no requirement for a pit stop in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Sprint race, each driver must pit twice in the Feature race. The first stop must take place between laps eight and 20, with the second pit stop window announced when the pit lane opens for the race. A maximum of seven mechanics are permitted to change all four wheels and tyres.
Pit stops not only need to be quick they also need to be strategically planned for the perfect point in the race. The team need to plan exactly when the best time is to pit - depending on the strategy of competitors and traffic on the track. As the pit lane is a busy, confined area, a pit lane speed limit is enforced. A driver will press the pit limiter as the car crosses a line at the entry of the pit lane, which will quickly bring the car down to a speed of 60km/h. If a car exceeds the speed limit, the team will be fined and the driver will incur a drive through penalty.
Pit stops therefore, make up an integral part of the race strategy. Also on Monday’s night’s episode of How Do They Do It, viewers will get an insight into the brand new Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger airliner, and its unique flexible wings, and will also get a behind the scenes look at a factory in Elst, The Netherlands, which produces 95% of Europe’s Heinz tomato ketchup supply!
A1 Team Great Britain is partnered by AquaSP, Playseats, Visit Britain and Metro.
www.a1teamgbr.com
-Victoria Henley-
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