REDBULL: NEW YEAR. NO LIMITS.
On New Year's Eve, A Car will Fly.
Article by Bill Wood:
On New Year's Eve Night, four-time Rally America champion Travis Pastrana will attempt a jump his rally car more than 250 feet at the "Red Bull: New Year. No Limits" event driving a Vermont SportsCar prepared Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car.
He'll attempt to jump his car off of the Pine Street Pier in Long Beach
(Calif.) and land on a barge floating in the harbor. Vermont SportsCar
is a technical partner on the event having prepared and maintained the
Subaru jump car for Red Bull. This is a link to the event site:
http://www.redbullusa.com/cs/Satellite/en_US/Sports/Motor-Sports/Red-Bull.-New-Year.-No-Limits/001242797773354
The following is a Q&A session with Vermont Sports Car spokesman Chris
Yandell on the background and preparation for the jump.
When did you start your planning? Your testing? When will you show up at the Long Beach site?
VSC: Vermont SportsCar started work on this project in August once Red
Bull approached us with the idea. The team will be onsite in Long Beach
beginning Dec 28th.
How do you practice a jump like this? Where? How often?
VSC: We did three different multi-day practice sessions, each with
multiple practice jumps. The first test session utilized a dirt take-off and
landing so the ramps were easily modified and adjusted. During that first
session we did several smaller distance jumps just to dial in the angles of the jump and begin testing how the car flew. In the second test session we began using the actual take-off ramp that would be used on New Year's eve, but still were landing on a dirt ramp. We gradually increased jump distances by moving the take-off ramp back. Then on the third session we utilized both the actual take-off ramp and actual landing ramp that would be used on New Year' Eve, so we basically re-created the event jump conditions as best we could, including jumping at night. The tests were all done in a private location.
I'm told you prepared three cars (I'm assuming the cars were prepped by Vermont Sports Cars?!) Were any harmed in the making of this stunt?
VSC: Vermont SportsCar prepared two cars; a primary jump car and a spare car. The primary jump car was heavily damaged in a crash at the end of the first test session, however it was repaired at our shop and then returned to California for the 2nd test session. The spare care was never used in any of the test sessions.
Did you do some computer modeling before you even started testing?
VSC: We didn't, but Red Bull did.
Did you learn anything that might translate to the rally program?
VSC: Not specifically, although we have gained further knowledge with regard to optimizing car setup for large jumps like these - however we only see jumps like these in the X Games.
Was there any rally technology that was used in the stunt project?
VSC: Well the jump car is a rally car, so there was plenty of rally technology used. Our rally suspension, that we have developed with EXE-TC got the most use obviously!
What can you tell me about the car? The horsepower? The torque? His speed at takeoff? His speed at landing? The altitude of the jump?
VSC: The car is a Vermont SportsCar prepared 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The car is built to VSC's 2009 Rally America Open Class specifications, the same spec that Pastrana drove in 2009 and won his fourth consecutive Rally America National Championship with. However the engine and turbo are slightly de-tuned from competition spec. The engine makes over 400hp and 450 lb-ft of torque. Its got the full complement of competition spec safety equipment such as roll cage, RECARO carbon-Kevlar race seat with HANS device, fire suppression system etc. Also the passenger seat was removed to accommodate production equipment, cameras etc... For specifics on the jump and speeds we'll be running you'll need to watch on the show on New Year's
Eve!
Travis mentioned that the Subaru rally wing was included on the car, how did you learn that it was needed to help the car fly better? Or further?
VSC: Our competition spec rally wing was included on the car from the start. From past jump experience we knew the wing helped the car fly a bit more level so we included it on the car. We knew there was a possibility that at higher speeds the wing may begin to have a detrimental effect, by providing too much downforce and lifting the nose up. However, throughout testing that never became a problem.
Did Travis' weight on one side of the car affect the way the car flew in the air?
VSC: Yes. We made provisions to add ballast to the passenger side of the car to even things out. We ended up needing a bit less ballast in the end because most of the production equipment was affixed to the floor of the car where the passenger seat used to be, so that added some weight.
What part did the "ambiance" in Long Beach play in the tuning and car
preps? What about the air temperature? The sea level altitude? The weather the night of the jump? Will you make the jump if it rains?
VSC: We made sure to test in similar conditions to what we would find in
Long Beach on New Year's Eve.
How big is the crew that built the cars?
VSC: Anywhere from 5 to 10 Vermont SportsCar employees have a direct hand in building the cars when they are first prepared.
How many will be there at the jump?
VSC: We'll have 5 team members there.
Any names, crew positions and titles?
VSC:
Lance Smith- Team Principal
Clint Fast- Team Manager
Gregg Hamilton- Technician
David Paul- Technician
Chris Yandell- Marketing Director
Are many in this crew part of the championship crew Travis uses at Rally America events?
VSC: Yes, we are all the same crew essentially. However Travis Pastrana's usual #1 Technician from the 2009 Rally America season will not be at the event, although he was involved in the tests.
Finally, What did you think when someone first came to you and said,
'This is what we want to do...?'
VSC: Well we have done lots of crazy things in the past few years and
have jumped many rally cars in different situations. But once we heard that it was over water and onto a barge it certainly made us pause and think if this was really a smart idea or not!
For more more photos, videos and information, checkout the following
resources:
*
http://www.vtcar.com/news106.htm=20
*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DH1FmcuPNtTA=20
*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dljpy2HKGhtk=20
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