In a celebration of the history of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and in appreciation of the car that 32 years ago ushered in the ground-effect era of motorsport, more than a thousand members of iRacing.com are expected to participate in the iRacing.com Historic British Grand Prix. This group of race game enthusiasts and sim racers will compete in virtual versions of the Lotus 79, Mario Andretti’s mount for his 1978 Formula One World Championship and the first car to feature a fully-effective design that generates downforce through underbody aerodynamics.
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When it comes to Grand Prix racing, it doesn’t get any more historic than Silverstone. The modern World Championship was born on this former RAF bomber base, where Giuseppe Farina led a 1-2-3 sweep for Alfa Romeo, propelling him to the inaugural World Drivers Championship. It was also on Silverstone’s storied grounds, 28 years later, that Colin Chapman’s then-revolutionary Lotus 79 made its competition debut in the hands of Mario Andretti at the BRDC International Trophy non-championship event.
“Each year Silverstone pays homage to its grand prix history with at least two historic Formula One races,” said Divina Galica, iRacing.com’s director of partner relations. “As the eighth round in our 2010 World Tour, the iRacing.com Historic British Grand Prix allows our members from all over the world to join in paying tribute to this significant event in modern motorsport and a car that changed racing forever.”
Galica noted that unlike the real-world Silverstone historic races, which because of tight scheduling at the UK’s Formula One World Championship event must race on different weekends, iRacing’s virtual version is scheduled for the same weekend as this year’s real-world British Grand Prix.
The 60-lap race is scheduled for July 10 at 3 pm ET (19:00 GMT) and is open without additional charge to all iRacing.com members around the world. Grids for the 25-car race-split grids will be determined by qualifying time, with qualifying sessions beginning July 3 at 8 pm ET (00:00 GMT).
Lotus 79: Ground-Breaking Ground Effects
iRacing.com’s virtual version of the iRacing Lotus 79 was developed with the cooperation of Classic Team Lotus, which since 1992 has served as the Lotus Works for historic motorsport activity. Classic Team Lotus continues to maintain and operate Lotus F1 cars for owners around the world, and it preserves the Team Lotus archive and Works Collection of cars.
“Of all of the racing cars in Lotus’s long history, including others that have won world championships, few have had such an impact on the sport,” said Clive Chapman, managing director of Classic Team Lotus and the son of Lotus founder Colin Chapman. “The Lotus 78 was designed around the notion of underbody aerodynamics, but the 79 was the first car that fully exploited ground-effect principles. And that changed the face of racing. It was an amazing car for its time, and it remains an amazing car today. I’m pleased that iRacing has made it possible for people today to experience what it is like to drive the 79.”
Mario Andretti knows the Lotus 79 first-hand and his input helped iRacing’s vehicle dynamics engineers accurately develop the digital version of his championship-winning mount.
“Driving the Lotus 79 was one of the most satisfying experiences in my career as a race driver,” Andretti recalled. “The car was exceptionally responsive to different setups that we used to adapt to different circuits. Because I understood the dynamics of the car so well, I was able to achieve perfect balance with that car most of the time, which was very rare. I always looked forward to crawling into that cockpit. Of course that car also is significant in my life because I won the World Championship driving it.”
It was with the Lotus 79 that the brilliant Chapman realized the full potential of ground effect. With redesigned sidepods and front and rear suspension components repositioned so as not to impede the airstream’s entry or exit, the 79 generated 30% more downforce than the 78. Though it didn’t make its championship debut until the sixth race of the 1978 season, the Lotus 79 was miles ahead of the competition and with it Andretti dominated the rest of the year, winning the Drivers Championship and helping Lotus secure the Constructors Championship.
Williams FW 31
This past January iRacing.com and Williams F1 announced that with technical support from Williams F1, iRacing will build a virtual version of the 2009 AT&T Williams FW31. iRacing expects to make the car available to members of its internet-based global motorsport simulation service before the end of the year.
[Fonte iRacing]
