F1: Wirth Convinced Virgin Doesn’t Need Tunnel

Formula 1

F1: Wirth Convinced Virgin Doesn’t Need Tunnel

Nick Wirth is convinced that his philosophy of using only Computational Fluid Dynamics and no wind tunnel research will pay off in 2010...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted December 15, 2009 Notting Hill (ENG)

Nick Wirth was introduced as Virgin Racing’s technical chief Tuesday. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Virgin Racing technical chief Nick Wirth is convinced that his philosophy of using only Computational Fluid Dynamics and no wind tunnel research will pay off in 2010.

Nick Wirth was introduced as Virgin Racing’s technical chief Tuesday. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Wirth ran the unsuccessful Simtek team in 1994-’95 and later worked for Benetton. He has been successful with a CFD focused design strategy with Acura’s ALMS car, which was produced by his company in Bicester, England.

“We are of course delighted to add Virgin Racing to our burgeoning list of blue-chip clients,” he said in a statement.

“Virgin Racing is an all-new Formula One entry and here at Wirth Research we are very proud to be providing the backbone to it with a unique approach to car design and development, part of a process we call ‘Development in the Digital Domain’.

“We will continue our philosophy of major investment in cutting edge technologies to carry on innovating. Our group of companies has involvement in many areas both inside and outside motorsport and our philosophy of technology transfer will continue to benefit all of our existing and future clients.

“The fact that our Formula One project is fully on schedule speaks volumes for the motivation and capabilities of our entire workforce. We are all looking forward to seeing the car break cover for the first time on track in February.”

“Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport technology and working on such an exciting project as the Virgin Racing entry gives Wirth Research a unique opportunity to showcase our engineering talent.”

He’s convinced that his plans gel with a new low cost approach to F1.

“When I left the sport in ’99 I admit that I was disappointed and disillusioned. I felt that Formula One had become like Boeing versus Airbus. Teams were spending a million pounds a year on wheel nuts, with hundreds of engineers battling against each other for supremacy. I had absolute belief in the digital design approach but I knew I would have to wait for the F1 world to change.

“So we decided to prove the process in the USA, first in Indy Car and then in Sports Cars, in which we achieved phenomenal success. As soon as I heard about the proposals for a budget-capped Formula 1, the opportunity to prove the all-CFD approach at the highest level was too exciting for words.”

Photos: Virgin Racing Launch

Adam Cooper notched up his 25th season as a racing journalist in 2009. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’09. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher and hosts a race preview show on Sirius XM. He has written about F1 for SPEEDtv.com since 2005.