Porsche Driving LeMans Race Coverage Article 10

6/14

4:12 pm PST

"In The Rain..."

IN THE RAIN, PORSCHE'S 911 GT1 HAS THE ABS ADVANTAGE

By P. Michael Clarke

The two works Porsche 911 GT1s are equipped with ABS brakes -- a fact which will undeniably help them if and when the weather gets soggy. Every weather report is predicting rain, so teams are beginning to prepare for it into the night.

In racing, rain does necessitate a softer, more compliant set up promoting more body roll. That can be done mechanically by softening springs, shocks and/or anti-roll bars. But even with a softer race setup, adherence becomes more of an issue in the rain, so the newer technologies often prove useful.

But unlike many technologies, which were first developed in racing before finding their way into production cars, ABS was first installed on passengers cars as a safety device and then developed at a different level for racing purposes. Of course, the ABS technology is today has been greatly enhanced through racing development, and, as Porsche customers have come to expect, these race-bred improvements will undoubtedly find their way into the next generation of Porsche 911s.

ABS has gained a lot of popularity over the past few years. Both in racing and street applications, it keeps the wheels from locking up under sudden braking so the driver can retain directional control. For racing, it needs to be adjusted to meet the specific demands of road course driving, and thus can be programmed according to specific conditions (street vehicles, in contrast, have only one program). The racing ABS system of today is so sophisticated that it can actually keep several laps in memory and compare them to insure a strict consistency under even the hardest braking pressure.

And, as always, Le Mans will provide Porsche engineers with extreme conditions for testing and perfecting these technologies.

6/14	4:12 pm PST	"In The Rain..."
IN THE RAIN, PORSCHE'S 911 GT1 HAS THE ABS ADVANTAGE By P. Michael Clarke The two works Porsche 911 GT1s are equipped with ABS brakes -- a fact which will undeniably help them if and when the weather gets soggy. Every weather report is predicting rain, so teams are beginning to prepare for it into the night. In racing, rain does necessitate a softer, more compliant set up promoting more body roll. That can be done mechanically by softening springs, shocks and/or anti-roll bars. But even with a softer race setup, adherence becomes more of an issue in the rain, so the newer technologies often prove useful. But unlike many technologies, which were first developed in racing before finding their way into production cars, ABS was first installed on passengers cars as a safety device and then developed at a different level for racing purposes. Of course, the ABS technology is today has been greatly enhanced through racing development, and, as Porsche customers have come to expect, these race-bred improvements will undoubtedly find their way into the next generation of Porsche 911s. ABS has gained a lot of popularity over the past few years. Both in racing and street applications, it keeps the wheels from locking up under sudden braking so the driver can retain directional control. For racing, it needs to be adjusted to meet the specific demands of road course driving, and thus can be programmed according to specific conditions (street vehicles, in contrast, have only one program). The racing ABS system of today is so sophisticated that it can actually keep several laps in memory and compare them to insure a strict consistency under even the hardest braking pressure. And, as always, Le Mans will provide Porsche engineers with extreme conditions for testing and perfecting these technologies.