Lola Cars has joined forces with Multimatic's Dynamic Suspensions' brand to enhance its assault on the British Formula 3 Championship.
The P1 Motorsport Lola B05/30 Mugen Honda of Danilo Dirani has now been fitted with Dynamic Suspensions DSSV dampers - the same damping technology used by Nelsinho Piquet to win last year's British Formula 3 Championship.
After winning the opening two races of the 2005 season utilising an evaluation set of the DSSV dampers, Dirani and the P1 team made a full-time swtich to the Dynamic Suspensions product at Monza and immediately returned to the front running pace with a pair of third place finishes.
'"What I have noticed about these dampers is that they are very responsive to change, especially during a long test. This is so important in F3 because in a race weekend there is so little time before qualifying," Dirani said.
"At the start of the season we won both races at Donington Park with Multimatic products so I have a good feeling of confidence about their performance."
The partnership between Multimatic and Lola also includes extensive use of the Multimatic's four post rig at MTCe's Thetford base.
"Technically the Dynamic DSSV damper is very advanced and at the moment is one of the best in the marketplace," said Adam Airey, Lola F3 Designer.
"It has a highly developed method of control and is very predictable. Due to this we are able to model the characteristics which makes the DSSV completely unique."
The fiercely competitive worlds of Formula One, CART, IRL IndyCar Series, Formula 3 and international sportscar racing have been the laboratory for the high speed research and development of the new and unique Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve - DSSV Damping Technology.
After taking victories in each of these categories and winning the 2002 and 2004 Champ Car World Series and 2004 British Formula 3 Championship, Dynamic Suspensions unveiled the new range DSSV dampers in January at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham, England.
Currently used extensively in Formula One, sportscars and the Champ Car World Series, Multimatic is now developing a new mono tube version of the DSSV product targeted at the Formula 3 market.
The new damper (pictured right - click for high res image) to be introduced for the 2006 Championship season will be available for both the Lola and Dallara chassis.
"The development partnership between ourselves and Lola is an ideal combination as both Multimatic and Lola are looking to increase our share of the Formula 3 market," Multimatic Technical Centre Europe General Manager, Roger Tyler said.
"Our design engineers are working on a new package for 2006 which will enjoy the benefits of the DSSV technology, but be suitably packaged for Formula 3 competition and appropriately priced for the market.
"This damping technology has been developed at the highest levels of the sport in Formula One and Champ Cars. Formula 3 teams now will be able to enjoy that same technological advantage for next year's championship."
DSSV is more than just a damper - it is a complete program which incorporates hardware, software and engineering services.
The DSSV damper program includes Dynamic Suspensions' acclaimed SpecFinder™ software which enables race teams to analytically develop and precisely match the desired damping characteristic, providing consistency, enhancing performance and simplifying adjustments.
This new technology is not just confined to open wheel racing. The DSSV Technology has also been used in sportscar racing with Multimatic winning the Daytona Prototype class at the 2003 Rolex 24 at Daytona and Panoz Motor Sport winning the 2002 ALMS Grand Prix of Washington DC.
Previously only available through exclusive arrangements, the DSSV dampers provide significant performance and operational gains over conventional damping technology and eliminates the use of shims traditionally used in motorsports dampers.
DSSV provides pure damping characteristics, eliminates cavitation and significantly minimises temperature sensitivity in a modular design which is suited to an extensive variety of motorsport applications.
Further Information:
Sam Smith – Lola Group - +44 (0) 1480 359590
Paul Ryan - Dyanamic Suspensions - +44 1842 755 744
