RE: R v LHD

["Brian Shorey" <bshorey@domain.elided>]

> A good friend who is also a race driver once explained to me over too much
> wine (so excuse the sketchy nature of the recollection) that there is a
> slight advantage on certain type of tracks or road courses to having a RHD
> position, I believe owing to the % of turns in a certain direction.  I
don't
> really recall the details, if any, or know if he was pulling my leg, but
it
> sounded right at the time and he had a RHD GTA sitting the garage a few
feet
> away which he went to great lengths to get from the factory and schlep
home
> for USA campaigning, so there must have been something in it, at least in
his
> mind.
>
> Perhaps someone else can explain this better, but it was a practical
> consideration having to do with driving fast and not a fashion
> statement that
> promoted the RHD scuderia.

Quite simple, if the track has more right hand turns in it then placing the
driver on the right side of the car places his mass on the 'inside' of the
car during the turns, which will keep the car slightly more level than if
the mass of the driver was on the 'outside' of the car.

'Inside' and 'outside' refer to the radius of the corner, and not whether
the driver is inside or outside of the car, of course.

bs

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