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Despite years of development and research, aerodynamics remains some sort of black magic, especially in the case of race cars.

When running at speed on a road course, a Formula 1 car brakes, turns, accelerates, rides on kerbs, and follows other cars, all of which is far from being a perfect environment.

For that reason, testing the aerodynamic performance of an F1 car is an extremely complex task.

CFD image of the air flow around the Sauber F1 car. (Image: Sauber AG)

British publication F1-Monitor found out that a few years ago Honda F1 team [now Petronas Mercedes AMG] opted to use a water tank - more normally home to boat hulls - to test some characteristics of rear wing flows.

Analysing their track data, Honda wanted to find out if normalised downforce levels fell when the car was decelerating.

Honda's simulation methods could not be relied on to accurately predict such subtle transient flows, so the engineers decided to use a full-sized rear wing in a water towing tank.

The tank used for the test was 200m long, 10m wide and 5m deep. The rear wing assembly was placed in the tank, inverted and attached to a six-component load cell, 1m below the surface.

Water provided here a huge advantage over air, because of the differing densities.

The key benefit of such a test is the fact that water's higher density effectively allows flows to be simulated in slow motion. Roughly speaking, for the same dynamic pressure across the wing, the speed of water flow over the wing element need only be 1/30th of that if it were in air.

Honda conducted tests with this system to assess the rear wing flows under deceleration, and was able to conclude that the wing was operating as it should at all times.

From press release

Japanese car manufacturer Mazda announced that the new 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata will be raced in a new Global Cup series, in North America, Europe and Asia.

Starting in 2016, there will be multiple Mazda Global MX-5 Cup series around the world, all using identically prepared cars.

Full details of the Global MX-5 Cup, including which countries will be involved and when the races will take place, will be announced as they are confirmed.

The Global MX-5 Cup will culminate at the end of 2016 with a Global Shootout at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., to crown the series champion.

Among other prizes, the series champion will receive a one-day test in Mazda's top-level TUDOR United States SportsCar Championship SKYACTIV prototype racecar.

While Mazda did not release final specifications, equipment or technical partners for the car, it was confirmed that the Global MX-5 Cup racecar will be equipped with a 2.0 liter SKYACTIV-G four cylinder engine.

Beginning this winter, Mazda Motorsports will undertake a development period to select the optimum tires, suspension and powertrain and safety modifications. The final specifications will be announced in 2015 when Mazda is ready to accept orders for the 2016 series.

In a first for Mazda, the Global MX-5 Cup racecars will be sold "ready to race" from a single supplier.

The 2014 Formula 1 drivers' championship will be decided next weekend in Abu Dhabi. However, the entire Williams team to be looking at scoring more points in what is its best campaign in over a decade.

Last year, Williams ranked 9th in the constructors' championship with just 5 points. This year, it lies in third place with an impressive total of 254.

“If you had said to any of us this time last year that we would be in P3 at this time next year, I don't think we would have believed it,” said deputy team principal Claire Williams.

“But the team has done a fantastic job to effect this turnaround and I am so proud of everybody involved. It is the reward of all our hard work. But as Frank [Williams] always says, 'It is P3 - we have got to win!' So it would be wonderful to end this year with a race win”.

Photo: Williams Martini Racing

Williams switched engine partners last winter, going from Renault to Mercedes. But that change alone cannot explain everything.

“I think it was Pat Symonds coming in last year that was the real key ingredient to our success,” Claire Williams told Formula 1.com.

“He is a great engineer - everybody knows that - but he is also a great man-manager as well. He has organised and restructured every area of our team. Then we've brought in a new level of senior management to work with Pat across each area. But it is not just about the management level - it's about the 520 other people at Williams who have stayed with us and made this turnaround possible. It is a real team effort,” she explained.

Finland's Valtteri Bottas finished five times on the podium so far this season. Some people claim he is a future F1 world champion. What makes him really special?

“His work ethic. Last year - when he didn't have the equipment that he needed - he was still delivering,” Claire Williams continued.

“He was still extracting more from the car than perhaps he should have done. It was his consistency as well. And he is extremely calm - he will never repeat a mistake. He does everything that you need him to do - and on top of that he is a really lovely guy”.

The British team has announced its 2015 driver line-up quite early, keeping Bottas and the vastly experienced Felipe Massa who finished third in Brazil last Sunday.

“Both drivers have worked together so well - there are no egos between Valtteri and Felipe. And this is how we are as a team: the constructors' [championship] is the most important thing, and both drivers understand that. That is why the driver pairing works so perfectly for us,” she explained.

Constructors' championship (before Abu Dhabi)
1- Mercedes 651 points
2- Red Bull Racing 373
3- Williams 254
4- Ferrari 210

Alain Uyttenhoven, the head of Brussels-based Lexus Europe, has told just-auto that it is "impossible to catch the German three, worldwide" but that the brand is determined to be "number four".

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Julie Brown, the embattled former CEO of Plastech Engineered Products, is back in court six years after her company was liquidated under bankruptcy.

BorgWarner expects new business to grow by 10 percent to 12 percent through 2017 thanks to strong growth in Asia.

Honda CEO Takanobu Ito said he would prioritize quality improvements over the company's target of selling 6 million cars in the year starting April 2016, as the automaker recalls millions of cars to fix potentially defective airbags.

Nissan North America is recalling 5,412 model year 2014 Infiniti Q50 hybrid vehicles manufactured from 10 December, 2012 to 25 June, 2014, and Infiniti Q70 hybrids made between 7 November, 2013 and 7 May, 2014 due to a software error that may result in the electric motor stopping while the vehicle is being driven using the electric motor only.

A program to compensate the victims of a faulty ignition switch in GM vehicles found last week that the part was linked to two additional deaths and four injuries, bringing the total number of eligible claims to 67, according to a report on Monday.

News 10 Nov, 2014

Leaked brochure images of a mid-life revision to Mazda's CX-5 SUV have appeared online, ahead of its appearance at the LA Motor Show

General Motors ordered over 500,000 replacement ignition switches in December, launching an 'urgent' request six weeks before it began a recall for older Chevrolet Cobalt cars now linked to 30 deaths and 31 injuries, US reports on Monday said.

Russia, Lexus' number one market in its European region, might be down, but UK sales are up strongly. On balance then, 2014 has been a good year, according to the brand's Head of Europe. Next, he promises more hybrids but no diesels. Why?

After years in the European wilderness, Lexus now seems set on a steady path of sales expansion. The new NX, a RAV4-sized crossover, is the next step in its plan to become a sports-premium brand.

Volkswagen's method of constantly refining its main models pays dividends in terms of buyer loyalty. The facelifted Polo is a great example. It is now the UK's seventh best seller and has even overtaken the Audi A3 range.

GKN said it had produced the industry's first two-speed eAxle which is being used on BMW's i8 plug-in hybrid sports car.

Attracting over 750,000 visitors in 11 days, the São Paulo motor show saw several locally made and imported new model launches of varying degrees of importance that, together, made this year's event one of the best in the show's 54-year history.

Ford of Europe boss Stephen Odell's focus on respecting the customer will be a good start when he becomes the automaker's global sales and marketing chief.