At 1.5kms, the incredibly long start/finish straight at Fuji Speedway brings more than a certain spirit of the famous Mulsanne section of the Circuit de la Sarthe to the Japanese venue.
The legendary straight has seen race cars slipstreaming each other for over 45 years and the new generation of LMP and GT cars relish the challenge that it provides.
“The straight is a unique feature of the circuit for sure,” said Loic Duval, who has raced here since 2006. “It presents a test for the engineers because after the changes that were made a few years ago the third sector now makes it much more of a compromise on the set up.”
The technical preparations that the teams go through, running on a circuit with such a long straight take in to consideration minimising the overall drag of the car. This usually means running a lower-downforce bodywork package. The cars can also gain extra momentum on the straights by sitting in the tow or wake of another car to create a ‘hole in the air affect’ and increase speed, although this often has the negative effect of destabilising the following car.
However, the teams have to counter any ‘slippery’ set-up by ensuring that there is enough downforce on their cars to generate sufficient grip for the tighter sectors one and two at Fuji. It is the ultimate test for aerodynamic and mechanical engineers to work on the best set-up compromise for a track with these characteristics.
An indication of how quick the cars are travelling on the start and finish straight at Fuji Speedway is indicated in these quickest speed trap figures (by class) from Free Practice 3 this morning:
LMP1-H #20 Porsche 316.7kph
LMP1 -L #13 Rebellion 305.9kph
LMP2 #26 G-Drive 280.5kph
LMGTE Pro #92 Porsche 270.7kph
LMGTE Am #98 Aston Martin 270.7kph
With the imposing and magnificent backdrop of Mount Fuji, the teams and drivers will be ascending their own peak of performance in qualifying this afternoon.
Sam Smith
Photo: FUJI INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (SHIZUOKA, JAPAN), 2012 6 HOURS OF FUJI, 14 OCTOBER 2012. The long straight of Fuji International Speedway brings its own challenges.
