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Motor
racing needs to drive technological innovation and link in with road cars if it
is to remain worthy of public attention and carmakers’ increasingly stretched
budgets. Herb Fishel, former competitions director of GM, gives his view of how
a new sports car racing business model could bring back relevance to the
racetrack.
This
is an edited version of an article first published in Ricardo Quarterly Review
and is used with permission.
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The yellow caution flag is flying on the old
cliché ‘Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday’ as automobile manufacturers are
beginning to more closely scrutinize dollars spent. GM now has cost-cutter Jerry
York on the board; Carlos Ghosn cut his way to profitability at Nissan; and
Volkswagen, Ford and others are operating with little or no return on their
investments.
Increasingly, the significant sums some automakers
spend on motor sport are being seen at best as questionable investments, at
worst as irrelevant to their everyday sales activities.
We are entering a new era, and if motor racing is
to remain in automakers’ investment plans, it will have to change to remain
relevant. In particular, it will have to be seen to be contributing something
more permanent and technologically useful than just a few champagne-spraying
moments of glory on the winner’s rostrum.
Audi just spent a small fortune to run the 12
hours of Sebring endurance race with a sports car powered by a V12, twin-turbo
diesel engine; a brilliant idea with high return on its technology and marketing
investment. But there is a reason why other manufacturers haven’t been quick to
jump on the bandwagon: what racing series has rules that allow for hybrid
experimentation?
Formula One, for all its huge worldwide audience,
has been one of the worst culprits. It has systematically outlawed many areas of
engineering innovation (anti-lock braking is one) on the grounds of cost, and
only very recently has it accepted the possibility of a limited degree of hybrid
energy recovery, for instance.
Change – or be left stranded
A new sports car racing business model needs to be
created that will spark investment from the manufacturers.
Let me begin with the new business model. First,
it must embrace research, drive product innovation and create a value
proposition for the automobile manufacturer that is not available in
professional racing today. This type of racing offers the manufacturers the
greatest opportunity to compete with production-based products through a variety
of engines, vehicles and configurations, competing on road courses.
Sustaining profitability and growth depends
greatly on the availability of exciting products with leading-edge design and
technology. And that’s the key area where racers and researchers have an
opportunity to get the green flag waving again for opportunity. The frequency,
pace and variety of new road car introductions prevents a manufacturer from
extended periods of domination on the track. Short product life cycles, speed to
market, mass customization, alternative fuels and hybrid technologies are
realities of the business.
The timing is perfect for racing to be a true high
speed test laboratory to bring great ideas and inventions to market quickly.
Research can no longer be conducted in a time capsule. Research is now! Design
tools, manufacturing techniques, mathematical modelling and simulation software
are available to bring great ideas and inventions to market quickly.
A new sports car racing business model can bridge
the gap between the race track and the showroom. It can capture the passion of
racing, provide a career path for aspiring engineers and create greater
opportunities for motorsports suppliers to grow their business relationship with
the automotive industry.
Technical specifications and sporting regulations
can be drafted around current and future products that provide benefits in
product design, manufacturing processes, development and validation. The
creative process must recognize and consider the technical sophistication and
ingenuity of today’s production vehicles.
Head-to-Head Competition
The test case could be built around sport,
compact, performance, small or luxury cars. The market segment chosen will need
to be of interest to a minimum of five Original Equipment Manufacturers.
Head-to-head competition is essential to validate the merits of winning that
translate into the customer purchase of the production vehicle.
Once a baseline has been established for the
concept, more progressive classifications can be drafted that incorporate the
usage of alternative fuels, new energy sources and hybrid technologies. For the
manufacturer, the series becomes a true high speed test laboratory. The race
moves from race track to showroom, from current to future products.
The performance demands for production-based race
cars competing on road courses take to an extreme the braking, handling, and
acceleration experienced by highway drivers. The rapid introduction of new
broadcasting technology has the potential to communicate this experience to
potential customers and drive traffic to the showroom.
A new sports car racing series will also offer a
more promising career path for young college engineering graduates who aspire to
jobs in racing that utilize the science, engineering principles and disciplines
they have learned as students. They are aware of sustainable development; they
know the impact of the automobile on air quality and energy consumption.
Outlook
For a sports car racing series to become truly
relevant, standards and protocols will have to be created around the real-world
issues of energy resources and air quality. Technical specifications and
sporting regulations can then be created that attract and encourage all
automobile manufacturers to compete - to get in the race.
Previous game-changers in racing such as
aerodynamics, electronics, TV and tobacco sponsorship led to big shifts in
attitudes and approaches. Now, race cars that meet and exceed fuel efficiency
and air quality regulations, which have provisions for alternative fuels, new
energy sources and hybrid technologies have the power to create change in
motorsports that is both seismic, refreshing, and profitable.
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