Hello, and welcome back to my blog! I've decided to take a deep dive into the Tatuus FA010 (known in Assetto Corsa as the FA01), a car used in SimRace1's Fast & Furious Pro event last weekend, and which will be used in the forthcoming Intermediate event. I'll be taking a look at the technical specifications to hopefully give racers a better understanding of their machinery.
Tatuus is an Italian constructor specialising in open-wheel cars. They've primarily built cars for the Formula Renault series, though they have also built cars for other manufacturer Formula series, Formula 3 and 4 championships and the W Series. The FA01 was built in 2010 for the Formula Abarth series, which lasted until 2014, and a few other regional entry-level championships. It was developed as a safe, high-quality and low-cost single-seater for entry-level racing. 120 FA01 chassis were built before the type was replaced by the Tatuus F4-T014 for 2014.
The chassis and bodywork are made of carbon fibre, contributing to a kerbweight of just 525 kilograms with the driver onboard. The front wing has adjustable flaps, and the rear wing can be adjusted to provide three aero profiles. The vehicle uses double-wishbone suspension, a layout that is common on sports and racing cars. For the braking system, the vehicle uses cast iron ventilated discs with four-piston calipers all around. Tyres are provided by Kuhmo, wrapped around 13 inch wheels front and rear.
The engine is a 1.4 litre inline-4 with a turbocharger, a modified version of the engine found in the Abarth 500 road car. It produces nearly 200 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. That power is sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential gearbox and a limited-slip differential. Power-to-weight ratio is approximately 377 horsepower-per-tonne, making this car quite rapid for an entry-level racer.
I will now quote Aristotelis Vasilakos, dynamic modeler for Kunos Simulazioni (the developers of Assetto Corsa):
“From a driver’s point of view, this car is a delight to drive. It has plenty of both mechanical and aero grip and can carry incredible amounts of speed into turns. It is very stable under braking and acceleration and you can safely drive it around any circuit without problems, making it the perfect single seater for youngsters starting out in racing. Still, it is a very sensitive racing car and the more you push to find the limits the more difficult it becomes to find lap time. The driver ends up braking very late into every curve, turning in very fast and stepping on the gas pedal as soon as possible. When you reach this kind of limit, then you’re really on the edge, and being so fast in any corner can make the car reactions tricky to handle, so try to not upset it as it might turn around and bite you.
We think this is the perfect car to start learning the secrets of car setup and racing against others. Do not expect to be able to drift everywhere around the circuit with this car, but do expect to be able to carry out brisk manoeuvres while surrounded by your opponents without fear of losing control of the car.”
Hopefully this post has given you a greater understanding of the Tatuus FA01 and its engineering. I intend to do more of these What's The Deal With... posts, taking a look at the other kinds of racing vehicles that you'll find in Assetto Corsa and/or at SimRace1, so please do let me know what you thought of this post, and if you want me to do more like this!
No comments:
Post a Comment