9.24.2010

TRIVIA // IT'S GETTING LAUDA

TRIVIA // IT'S GETTING LAUDAWe're pleased to announce that CTD reader, Pablo, answered yesterday's trivia question correctly! That said, we'd like to thank everyone that submitted an answer and apologize to our friends on Facebook for not posting the question on our page :( So, what was the correct answer you ask? Follow the link to find out... [read more]

The photo we featured was taken in 1978 at Brands Hatch. The car is a Brabham-Alfa BT46B and was being driven by Niki Lauda. Following Lauda's test session he had this to say: "The new Brabham was unpleasant to drive. It understeered massively, all the more so when you took your foot off. The fan was powered by the engine, with the result that the suction effect fell off when the revs dropped. After a couple of test laps at Brands I started to adjust my driving style. Whenever the car failed to respond going into a corner, you had to put your foot down rather than ease off. This way, the car would be sucked down tighter against the track and would corner at incredible speeds."

The car was designed by Gordon Murray, who in 1978 was working for Bernie Ecclestone’s Brabham team. The 'fan' was a solution developed by Murray to compete with Colin Chapman’s Lotus 79, which had considerably more downforce thanks to ‘ground effect’ aerodynamics. Click here for additional information on Murray's Brabham-Alfa BT46B.

Thanks again for participating. Stay tuned for more trivia questions!

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