A Day at the Test Track

Posted on Thursday 20 Nov 2008

Winter testing opened this week with a three day test for teams in Barcelona. With two further tests scheduled before the teams break for a short Christmas break and plenty more testing days due before Melbourne, we asked our Test Team Manager, Dickie Stanford, to walk us through a typical day at the test track…

“You typically wake up on a test day thinking “I’ve only just gone to bed!” generally, we have to leave the hotel around 7am depending on which test circuit and hotel we are in. As a rule, we always try to get as close as possible to minimise unnecessary travel time. When you arrive at the circuit everybody has a long list of jobs to do before the cars can run, so breakfast is taken in our own catering facilities when it best fits in around an individual’s tasks. Typically the mechanics will go straight into the garage to check engine and gearbox temperatures as the car cannot be started cold.
 
The engineers may well have gone to breakfast first before preparing for the morning briefing, which we typically have an hour before running starts. The drivers will appear just before the briefing, during which we go through the day’s running programme and any changes since the previous night’s debrief. Changes will often be a result of the weather forecast, or maybe because there was a technical issue with the car.

The truckies have also been busy during this time, as the tyres will all need corrections to their pressures depending on the ambient temperature and we will need the tyre warmers turning on and setting so that the tyres are ready and in the correct sequence for the test schedule. With one car testing and the restriction of only 300 sets of tyres for the whole year, this part of the job has got easier but it still needs a lot of effort and a methodical mind to keep on top of it.

One of the truckies will also go out on the circuit and attach freshly charged batteries to the timing beacons. Typically there are three sets on each circuit for each team, although, since most teams now test at the same venues, a joint system is provided by a third party and shared amongst the teams. All of the radios will need batteries fitting that have been recharged overnight. With about an hour to go before the session starts, the engine will be fired up and all the electronic and hydraulics systems checked – this is known as the ”box-run”.

As the time for the cars to leave the garage approaches, everyone will grab their own radio, ready for the radio check at the designated time. The driver should now be in the garage getting ready and the test team manager will have already done a lap of the circuit to advise on its condition and check that the marshals and safety cover are in place.   

All teams are eager to maximise their use of the available track time so, with around a minute to go before the session starts, virtually all the engines in the pit lane will fire into life with the keenest of teams aiming to hit the end of the pitlane as it goes green. We will do a single “installation” lap and then bring the car back into the garage to check for leaks.

Generally the car will be out again after about 20 minutes and into the programme for the day. Typical tests focus on areas like tyres, particularly warm up and performance over a long run, aerodynamic parts, including brake ducts and cooling effects. Software is often changed, and can be for almost anything such as the gearbox, traction control or changing the driver’s steering wheel display. You will often hear about us changing the set-up which means we’re adjusting something in a given direction in order to measure and record the effect to check against design predictions. We are not necessarily searching for outright performance at that point, but getting a picture of how much of an effect changing different parameters has on the car in this way. Additionally we will want to build up mileage on new parts to prove their endurance before they are signed off as fit to race.

We will then continue working through the programme, aiming to schedule any time-consuming changes for when the driver takes a brief lunch break. Red flags caused by cars breaking down or having an accident on circuit have to be worked around, with the senior test engineer and the race engineers adapting the programme as they go through it to make the most of the time available based on the priority of the parts to be tested.

Typically tracks will close at 5 or 6pm – halfway through a typical test day! As the drivers usually squeeze in a few minutes with the press before the debrief, the mechanics set about their long list of jobs, both checking the condition of parts run during the day and preparing the car for the following day. Many parts of the car are “lifed” and therefore need to be replaced at set intervals – for example, you may need to change the suspension becasue its reached the end of its life cycle. The truckies will get the remainder of the tyres stripped that were not able to be done during the day, they will also clean and inspect all the wheels, particularly for stone damage which can score the insides.

The debrief takes place in the “office” truck and involves the drivers, race and data engineers, as well as Toyota and Bridgestone and any engineer who might be at the test to see his new part in action. It follows a set format so that nothing is missed. The debrief will influence what happens the following day by changing priorities and the engineers will issue job lists for the mechanics and tyre lists for the truckies.

For some parts, the decision of which specification to run is made earlier during the day so a spare can be prepared whilst the car is running - this will often be a function of how many spares we have available at the circuit. The car is then systems checked with a box-run and if all is ok then the mechanics start setting the car up to the engineer’s specification, including a final weight check. By now, it is often into the small hours of the next morning and everybody is glad to get a few hours sleep before repeating the process all over again!  Testing certainly requires stamina!

If you liked this story, why not watch "The Test Team: Unsung Heroes" movie on WF1TV by clicking here.