21
TOTAL
DRIVING
A
LONG
“
SESSION
”
ON THE
D
ALLARA SIMULATOR WITH
E
NGINEER
M
ORONI
,
WHO REVEALS
ITS SECRETS AND POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS
.
A
HIGHLY VERSATILE TOOL THAT IS PERFECT
FOR TESTING CARS
,
TRACKS
,
CONFIGURATIONS
....
AND DRIVERS WITH INCREDIBLY REALISTIC
RESULTS
,
AND ENABLES TEAMS TO SAVE BOTH TIME AND MONEY
.
M
ANY OF THE
WORLD
’
S TOP DRIVERS HAVE BEEN IMPRESSED BY THEIR EXPERIENCE AT
V
ARANO
,
BUT NOT ALL OF THEM WERE ABLE TO GET THE BETTER OF
D
ALLARA
’
S TECHNICIANS
….
Engineer Moroni, the Dallara simulator has achieved
“
cult” status among Italian teams and drivers. Would you
mind summarizing the type of technology it’s based on
for us?
«
The basic idea was to create a test bench capable of
reproducing the car's performance, or rather its effect on
the driver. A realistic test bench that would make the
drivers feel as though they were actually driving the car.
The key is to make the drivers feel that they have to drive as
if it were a real car. In other words: in the event of a skid,
they must react as if they were on the track, and the
mathematical model of the car will respond as the real car
would on the under real conditions. If the system does not
fulfil this aim, drivers will react as if they were playing a
simple videogame, and the chances are that the input they
provide the model with would not correspond to reality.
And that, in a nutshell, is the engineering value of a
simulator”.
A kind of reality-effect obtained by using mathematical
models?
«
It’s obtained by combining two elements: Highly detailed
mathematical models that provide a realistic
representation of the car, the road, and the tyres, together
with dynamic stresses that ensure that the driver in the
simulator perceives these details: if the car is over-steering,
if the road surface is smooth, if the aerodynamics that you
have modelled for two different wing configurations
actually makes any difference. In the absence of either of
these components the simulator may still be used for other
purposes - for example, for learning the track layout, the
order of the bends and curves, what gear to use - but it
cannot provide drivers with complete training».
What types of tests can be carried out on the simulator?
«
It allows drivers to prepare for the conditions they will
experience when they are on the track, and this is extremely
useful in the case of championships that provide very
limited opportunities for free practising. They can experience
a whole range of in-race situations such as the start, wet
road surfaces, various wind conditions, and driving the car
when it is affected by wear and tear. It also provides
technicians with useful information about the car’s
behaviour. In other words, it’s like having an infinite
telemetry that describes the behaviour of the car. Provided
that they include an adequate range of tests, carrying out
couple of trials on the simulator enables the teams to
complete 80% of the work before they even reach the track».
