It’s all a matter of weight…
Or why cream cakes are off the menu for LMP1 drivers…
Why cream cakes are off the menu for LMP1 drivers…
Kilos equal tenths of a second in the eyes of engineers so all professional drivers watch their weight like horse racing jockeys!
In LMP1, where the hybrid prototype missiles weigh just 875 kilos (minus the driver and fuel), the weight distribution of a car is critical for its balance, handling and performance and the lighter the driver, the less it affects this balance.
However, within a team of three drivers, physiology differs and two years ago a regulation was introduced so that if one driver crew was heavier than another, they would not be unfairly penalised.
LMP1 entrants must therefore declare the minimum weight of each driver entered between 4-2 hours before the start of qualifying. If the average weight of the 3 drivers is 80kg or more, no action is necessary.
If the average weight of the driver line-up in each LMP1 car is less than 80kg, ballast must be added to the car to take the average driver weight plus ‘driver ballast’ to 80kg, which on average equalises all driver crews. Placement of this ballast is up to the team but , from an engineering point of view, any ballast that is added to the floor of the cockpit is beneficial to the centre of gravity. So, while lighter crews lose one advantage, the addition of ballast can at least be turned into another.
The weight of the driver includes the driver's full equipment: Equipped complete helmet, HANS device, overalls, fireproof underwear, shoes, gloves plus any additional detachable seat specific to each driver.
So, the weighing scales are never far from the drivers in the pit garages. Those cream cakes will have to wait for another day!
