Safety car

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(Redirected from Pace car)

Image:2006FOS DTMSafetyCar.jpg

In auto racing, a safety car (known in America as the pace car) is a car which limits the speed of competing cars on a racetrack in the case of a major accident or obstruction on the track.

In production automobiles, a safety car is one which highlights safety features (see car safety).

1 Formula One
2 Indianapolis 500
3 NASCAR
4 Production safety cars
5 External links

[edit] Formula One

Image:F1 Safty Car at US Grand Prix.jpg

In Formula One or other road racing events, if there is some incident (such as an accident blocking parts of the track, or very heavy rain) meaning that normal racing cannot continue safely, the operating steward will call for a full course yellow flag and corner workers will show boards saying "SC" meaning that the safety car has been deployed.

The F1 Safety Car (SC) has both yellow and green lights on it; the green light allows the driver just behind the SC to pass. Once the race leader is right behind the SC, the yellow lights go on. This car is to be operated by a professional driver—currently Bernd Mayländer—and must maintain a good speed so that the tires on the racecars can stay at operating temperature and at the same time avoid engine overheating.

The first use of the Safety Car in Formula One was at the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix. However, the Safety Car took its place in front of the wrong driver, which placed part of the field incorrectly one lap down. It took several hours after the end of the race to straighten out who the winner actually was.

Formula One did not use the Safety Car again until the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix. Image:F1 Safty Car out of Garage.jpg To date, the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix is the only Formula One race to finish behind the Safety Car.

The race has been started under safety car three times due to wet conditions: 1997 Belgian Grand Prix, 2000 Belgian Grand Prix and 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix. The same procedure was also used in the restart of 1994 Japanese Grand Prix.

In Formula One, during the one lap to green, the SC will have the lights on until it is a few turns away from the pits and the lights will go out. That notifies the drivers that they will be racing in a few moments.

Since the start of the 2004 season, the safety car has been a (tuned) Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG. For the 2006 season the new Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG is used. It has a slightly modified engine over road-going specification, and has also been modified to reduce its weight and improve braking response - but even with 354 kW (481 bhp) output from its V8 engine, that's still little more than half the power of a current Formula One car (combined with over three times the mass.)

The 1973 Canadian Grand Prix was not the only controversy for the Formula One Safety Car. During the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, the race director decided to order the safety car (Driven by Max Angelelli at the time) out after two cars (JJ Lehto in the Benetton-Ford and Pedro Lamy in the Lotus-Mugen Honda) wrecked during the start (in a crash that was frighteningly similar to the 1982 crash that killed Riccardo Paletti), rather than put the race under a red flag, and subsequently have the cars restart. This decision caused the temperature in the cars' tires to fall, a circumstance to which the death of Ayrton Senna later in the race was partially attributed.

The use of a safety car has the side effect of pushing all the competitors together, so any time advantage of one car over another that remains on the same lap is virtually eliminated. This "drawing together" effect can make racing more competitive; conversely, it can be viewed as preventing faster drivers and cars from receiving appropriate rewards for their efforts. For incidents during the first three laps, the safety car also has an advantage over the traditional red flag; in a red flag, the ensuing start would take a minimum of fifteen minutes to restart the race, and the two-hour limit would not start until the cars are ready for a second reconnaissance lap, and start formation. With regards to the time limit, the race is being scored and the time is also counting while a caution period happens, and the race resumes .

A well-timed safety car can also affect pit strategy, while it has not been used much for this in Formula One. A team could theoretically use the safety car situation to make a tire and fuel stop at the time, and be behind the other lapped cars, while making other adjustments which would be improbable during green conditions because of time. By taking the fuel stop then, they could pass the other cars during the ensuing restart, while the cars up front would have to pit under green.

For 2007, two new procedures will be instituted. First, pit lane is closed immediately (with a penalty for entering whilst the pit is closed) upon the deployment of the safety car, until the safety car is directly in front of the race leader. When the safety car crosses the pit entrance with the race leader in tow, pit lane is open.

Second, upon a selected time (one-half to one lap) before the restart, the safety car will request all lapped cars to proceed by, therefore making the first car to take the restart the leader, and the line will be lead by all cars on the lead lap.

[edit] Indianapolis 500

See also List of Indianapolis 500 pace cars

The officials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway have been selecting a pace car and its driver for the Indy 500 each year the race has been held since 1911. The first pace car was a Stoddard-Dayton driven by Carl G. Fisher. Chevrolet models have been chosen as the official pace car numerous times. The pace car is selected two months before the race runs, allowing the manufacturer of the selected pace car to produce replicas of that year's car, which sell at a marked premium to collectors and race fans. Pace car replicas are often seen on the streets of Indianapolis weeks before the race is actually held, and a celebrity driver is usually used for the start of the race only. For the 2006 Indy 500, the Chevrolet Corvette was chosen as the Official Pace Car yet again, with Lance Armstrong driving the pace car for the start.

Automakers compete for the prestige of having one of their models selected as the year's pace car for the publicity. In 1971 it backfired for Chrysler Corporation and local Indianapolis-area Dodge dealers. Eldon Palmer lost control of the Dodge Challenger pace car and crashed into a photography stand, injuring several people. The blame for the crash was never fully determined, as officials realized that an orange cone (or perhaps an orange flag), which was to identify Palmer's braking point, was accidentally removed.

In the last 50 years, the Pontiac Trans Am, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Corvette, Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Ford Mustang are the only models that have been selected as pace car three or more times.

During the Indy Racing League season, however, Johnny Rutherford is the normal driver of the IRL pace car for all series events. The pace car is deployed for debris, collision, or weather reasons. Since 1993, upon the waving of the yellow flag, pit road is closed until the pace car picks up the leader and he passes the pit entrance the first time, unless track blockage forces the field to drive through pit lane.

Furthermore, in 2002, two other rule changes have been used: first, with one lap to go, Rutherford waves by all cars between the pace car and the leader. Then, he pulls the pace car off at a point other than the pit entrance, allowing the leader to control the restart.

[edit] NASCAR

In all NASCAR series, if the caution is out for debris, accident, or inclement weather, the flagman will display the yellow caution flag and the pace car will pull out of the pits and turn on the yellow lightbar on the top of the car. NASCAR pace car driver Elmo Langley (August 22, 1929–November 21, 1996) was a frequent "victim" of Dale Earnhardt, who had a reputation for bumping the pace car during cautions "for the fun of it".

Since mid-2004, NASCAR official Brett Bodine drives the vehicle during official race functions during Nextel Cup Series races after a series of controversies over the beneficiary rule, when NASCAR race control was unable to work out issues during the rule with NASCAR official Robert "Buster" Auton.

The beneficiary rule states once the safety car is deployed, the first car not on the lead lap will regain a lap. Initially, the free pass was deployed on the one lap to go signal, then on two laps to go signal, but after that controversy, the current rule was applied so the free pass car will regain his lap once pit road opens. Bodine will signal that car to pass him through radio contact between NASCAR and that team. The free pass car must pit with the lapped cars.

[edit] Production safety cars

Another use of the term applies to the many car sold with a focus on safety features. The term was coined for the Stutz Motor Company in the 1920s, and was used repeatedly as a marketing differentiator after that. Notable Safety cars included the 1948 Tucker, the 1957 Aurora, the Bricklin SV-1 ("Safety Vehicle-1"), and the De Lorean DMC-12. In modern times, both Volvo and Saturn have used safety as a sales pitch.