Virgin MVR-02 Cosworth

[Petroltorque]

Just to clarify Graeme Lowdon has CATEGORICALLY DENIED that Virgin will be using MacLaren Technology transmission next year. And why would you? Wirth effectively used all the teams resource bringing their bespoke Xtrac box up to spec.

[raymondu999]

I suspect it may also be because Virgin doesn't use Merc Gboxes?

[Morteza]

[raymondu999]

Have we got comparo photos of their old and new side pods; which are reported to be worth quite a bit?

I remember how the Lotus last year had massive "slimming" upgrades for the initially-boxy side pods.

[siwillems]

Didn't see qualifying, could any one see a difference in the cars today?

[marcush.]

Glock was miffed about his DRS ...which did open but refused to close again on his qualy attempt.
Still quicker than Ambrosio and damn near the lotus .He was sure he could have cought at least one of them.

Virgin has done a respectable jump in performance for Monza ,but seem to struggle as an oranisation at this time ..the chaos is almost as severe as early last year.....the Mclaren magic and Symmonds calm and professional influence is not yet visible.

the really interesting bit is:
http://www.motorsport-total.com/f1/news ... 91051.html

the update is worth 2 to 4tenth in Monza but should be double that on normal circuits because it is amied at creating more downforce not really reducing drag.

So why should Symmonds have laid the update to the side.......maybe to make sure nobody could think again after the latest wirth Technologies update was closing the gap to lotus???

[TzeiTzei]

the update is worth 2 to 4tenth in Monza but should be double that on normal circuits because it is amied at creating more downforce not really reducing drag.

So why should Symmonds have laid the update to the side.......maybe to make sure nobody could think again after the latest wirth Technologies update was closing the gap to lotus???

I don't think there is any conspiracy behind all this. I believe they just had their hands full with all the reshuffling the team has faced during the summer. Maybe Symonds just didn't have the time to take a closer look at it until now?

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/a_virg_gloc_monz_2011.jpg
Is that the exhaust below the CNBC logo? Atleast it's a very different looking side pod compared to the one Morteza posted on thursday.

[marcush.]

the update is worth 2 to 4tenth in Monza but should be double that on normal circuits because it is amied at creating more downforce not really reducing drag.

So why should Symmonds have laid the update to the side.......maybe to make sure nobody could think again after the latest wirth Technologies update was closing the gap to lotus???

I don't think there is any conspiracy behind all this. I believe they just had their hands full with all the reshuffling the team has faced during the summer. Maybe Symonds just didn't have the time to take a closer look at it until now?

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/a_virg_gloc_monz_2011.jpg
Is that the exhaust below the CNBC logo? Atleast it's a very different looking side pod compared to the one Morteza posted on thursday.

To me this is rediculous action .you don´t stop it all just because you have no time to take a look at it or do not understand what the other guy did .
so either you understand ..and give the go ahead or you say scrap this we save our recources for something useful.
But sitting there and saying wait i need more time and ah yes it is godd so lets do it a few months later ..that´s not working in F1 .Virgin was already famous for being slow with updates ..but that one was overkill plus it was the first that really seems to work...
PLUS it just needed some refinement according to the team -and now the DRS is sticking in open position...

[TzeiTzei]

Yes it is quite odd that they waited until now with the upgrade. After all, what did they have to lose? They should have just bolted it on at the first possible moment and see how it works.

Btw do we have any news about having KERS next year? I think Geoff Willis said that HRT wouldn't have it. I was just wondering that do they need a new gearbox if they put KERS in to the car? Or can the xtrac box take the increased torque? Am i talking nonsense, or does the KERS put more stress on the gbox?

[siwillems]

Virgin has done a respectable jump in performance for Monza ,but seem to struggle as an oranisation at this time ..

the update is worth 2 to 4tenth in Monza but should be double that on normal circuits because it is amied at creating more downforce not really reducing drag...

Was the update just applied to glocks car or both?

By the way just read they wil be doing an aero test on tuesday to hone tha package before they take it to the next race were they think it should perform better and give them a chance to mix it up with the lotus's

[marcush.]

IF that upgrade will close the gap to Team Lotus ,I´d say Wirth was shown the door
at the last moment and that is a conspiracy..
It is well possible that Symonds and Wirth had their issues when working at Benetton ....and back then Wirth had to take his hat as well....
As I ssaid all along MVR02 is a solid progress from VR01 nothing spectacularbut i think you need to learn so much it does not make sense to try to be more clever on all grounds.
Fact is the CFD only approach is working no worse than your smallteam windtunnel programme ,but you save the whole windtunnel modelmakers and tunnel service troops which must be a big item in every teams budget.
sure you are bound to evolutionary steps not too big to not lose your references but I guess the database you are building and correlating it to on track behaviour is sooner or later giving you a pretty good prediction capability.

The sight of the upgrade will make Nick smile a bit -told you so-

[raymondu999]

Is it just me or were they running a RBR/Williams style engine cover with the big gaping exhaust hole?

[aleksandergreat]

Is it just me or were they running a RBR/Williams style engine cover with the big gaping exhaust hole?

Jeah! I think exactly the same!

[marcush.]

I´m sure they have tried it already when introducing the first upgrade with the blown difusser ?

[ESPImperium]

By the looks of things, Virgin have pulled the bodywork in and made everything alot tighter and lower for air to engage the beam wing, also they have lowered their exhaust posistion and with the aid of a new floor, they have been able to blow in a early season style MGP W02 style and Hispania style diffuser to a point.

Makes the rear of the car alot slimmer and more compact, the only downside is the Pull Rod suspension whitch is making the ammount of avalable downforce avalable less due to disrpution of flow.

The sidepods, and especially the air inlets are also alot more sculpted to my eye, thus making more air go to the beam wing along the skirts of the sidepod as well.

Id say a good solid six thenths have been gained here, whitch will put them up to 4-tenths and 6-tenths behind Team Lotus now,as by my reconing, they are arround... Scrub that, just gone to my data sheets (With some rough estimates), and Virgin are arround a tenth and a half behing Team Lotus at present, so this could, and this is a big could, leap frog the Team Lotus cars if they dont have a step in Singapore as well. Id recon this could be a major threat for the Hingham based side for the remainder of the season. But that is on some very rough maths and non exact formule that im using.

Could be a spicy end of the season for the tail enders. Hispania will probably want a Glock-D'Ambrosio-Trulli-Kovalinen pile up that they miss and with a few other retirements, especially at Suzuka the race with the highest retiurement rate last year with 50% to go, Hispania could do with this senario being enacted as this could just bring them up to €60m in TV money that Hispania, Virgin and Team Lotus are all competing over.

When the sharp end is done and dusted, the tail of the grid just make it interesting again.