Whether you are competing on the racetrack, carrying out a role in the pits, or working within the organisation of FIA WEC events, communication is absolutely vital for the many people in the WEC paddock.
Making this possible and enabling the hundreds of professionals to go about their job efficiently is MRTC, the communication systems specialist, which as of 2016 has become an official partner of the WEC.
With thirty years of experience in most motorsport disciplines and series, the company’s support staff play an integral part at tests and races, providing this essential service.
“Endurance racing is very demanding for us, simply because of the amount of time that teams and drivers are racing for, and you obviously have the driver changes,” says Chris Lee, MRTC’s technical support engineer. “So, if the driver has an issue with his radio, it can usually be fixed which means we have to react very quickly.
“The support service we give at races is vital and it is quite high pressure because, if there are any issues, the customer wants them addressed immediately,” continues Lee. “There is nothing like a driver or team manager pushing you to resolve a problem five or ten minutes before the start of a session. It gets you extra-focused pretty quickly.
“We do a whole variety of championships in addition to the WEC and ELMS, from F1, GP2 and WTCC to F3, Blancpain and BTCC, so pretty much all the major series.”
Communication is everything
Communication in racing was, until relatively recent years, quite basic. Pit boards are, of course, still used to get visual messages to drivers, but now radios are used for clarity of verbal instruction, data gathering or simply pushing a driver to extending their pace and pressure in the cauldron of battle.
“The general basis of how the driver and the team communicate has stayed the same in that there is a head-set radio and you press a button and talk, but over recent years it has evolved a great deal from analogue systems to digital,” states Lee. “We started using the digital systems in 2010 and all the equipment we use is designed and manufactured by Kenwood.”
“In the WEC, for the whole organisation, we provide what we call a digital trunk radio system. It is a bit different to what the teams use, because there are features like a dial-up system on hand sets where you can have up to 250 channels if need be. This system extends to the safety cars as well as the medical cars which have permanently fitted systems. The safety car also has an intercom system so the driver and co-driver have an open channel and can talk between themselves.
Complete Paddock Service
For the stars of the show – the drivers – bespoke, moulded ear-pieces are created for maximum comfort and every detail of their communications system is thought of.
“The driver has a helmet kit which we install,” says Lee. “It comprises a microphone and a socket which the ear-piece will plug in to. So firstly you will see the driver put the ear-pieces in, then the balaclava and helmet, and then they plug in the ear-piece to the socket on the side of the helmet which then leaves a single plug on a curly wire which plugs in to the car. This system comprises not just radio communication but also the driver ID which tells the Al Kamel time keepers who is in the car.
As well as all the private teams, MRTC also supply the car and tyre manufacturers – Porsche, Audi, Toyota, Ford, Gibson, Onroak, Michelin, Dunlop and more, but one of the most critical systems is that of the WEC race control set-up which saw new innovations brought in last season.
“MRTC introduced the Race Control intercom system to WEC in 2015. The system was developed in cooperation with MRTC’s partners Clearcom,” says Lee. “The system provides an intercom panel for each user with keys assigned to vital operational channels. The Race Director, Eduardo Freitas, and his assistant Lisa Crampton control proceedings from their panels in Race Control, whilst the Stewards, the National Clerk of the Course and Chief Time Keeper also perform their key roles through the intercom system.
"In addition, for this year‘s event, the system will be extended to include Meteo France (the WEC’s weather partner) in the intercom group. All users are linked together so they can communicate as a group or individually. Because the intercom is also interfaced with the MRTC trunk radio system, Eduardo can talk directly to all members of the organisation, safety car, timing and monitor team radio, as required. From just one panel, the Race Director can easily communicate with all key personnel.”
The key to successful organisation is communication, and MRTC plays a vital part of the WEC’s success to date.
Photos: 1) Chris Lee, MRTC Technical Support Engineer; 2) Team Radios; 3) Chris Lee at work; 4) Andre Lotterer of Audi Sport Team Joest.
