Supercars reach close to 300km/h in wind tunnel
Supercars
15 Dec
First day of wind tunnel testing in the United States in the books
Teams now digesting data after cars hit speeds of more than 280km/h
Tim Edwards labels first test as a “pinch yourself” moment
Supercars General Manager of Motorsport Tim Edwards, who along with CEO Shane Howard is stateside for the testing, described it as a “pinch yourself” moment.
The first day of Supercars’ historic wind tunnel testing in the United States is now in the books, with teams now digesting data after the cars hit speeds of more than 280km/h.
In the early hours of Friday morning (North Carolina time) the first Gen3 wind tunnel test began, with the Chevrolet Camaro pushed into the multi-million dollar tunnel testing facility for its first observation.
Supercars General Manager of Motorsport Tim Edwards, who along with CEO Shane Howard is stateside for the testing, described it as a “pinch yourself” moment.
“It’s been a big day, the boys pushed the car in the tunnel at six o'clock this morning and we literally haven't stopped all day,” Edwards told Supercars.com.
“We had the Camaro in for about five-and-a-half hours this morning, switched it over to the Mustang, tried a few different versions.
“We tried a few things on the Camaro as well this morning, so we've learnt a huge amount today."
After the first full day of testing, the teams on the ground which includes Supercars senior management, global aerodynamic experts and representatives from both Supercars homologation teams, Triple Eight Race Engineering and Dick Johnson Racing, will go through the data to prepare the next phase of testing.
“The big work will start tonight where effectively the two homologation teams and Dynamique will have to digest everything they've learnt today and come up with a road map of what we step through tomorrow,” Edwards said.
On his first observations of the data, Edwards added: “Interestingly, the cars are very close. Some of the traits that people have talked about during the year, we've identified it.
“So, that's a big tick of the box to start with. It’s just been a huge learning day today.
“Obviously this is the first time for us as a category, first time putting our cars in the air, but it's been a really good day.
“It was a bit of a goosebump moment.”
Edwards observed the first day of testing from the Windshear Control Room in North Carolina, a 30-hour commute from homebase in Queensland.
“I stood with Shane as we watched the car roll on there the first time," he said.
“We stood in the control room as it turned the wheels for the first time and then you see the thing, you know, at one point I saw the thing up at 283 kilometres an hour. So that's the wind, that's the road underneath it.
“It's pretty cool to watch and it was a bit of a 'pinch yourself' moment.”
Further testing will continue at Windshear in North Carolina over coming days.
Windshear has set the motorsport industry standard, and has been used by the likes of NASCAR, IndyCar and Formula One. The facility was established in 2008, and delivers actionable and repeatable results for motorsport and its teams.
Downforce and drag will be measured on both Supercars in the effort to end aerodynamic discrepancies before the start of the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship.
