Bentley coming back to racing?

[NaBUru38]

2019 Bathrust 12 Hours:

• #107: Steven Kane, Jules Gounon , Jordan Pepper.
• #108: Andy Soucek, Maxime Soulet, Vincent Abril.

[NaBUru38]

Bentley will have four pro cars at the Spa 24 Hours.


https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpa...ar-spa-effort/

[canaglia]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Bentley will have four pro cars at the Spa 24 Hours.


https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpa...ar-spa-effort/

three of them used to smash other cars, one for the glory

[GT6]

Originally Posted by canaglia

three of them used to smash other cars, one for the glory

As long as they win, no one remembers anything but the winner

[Akrapovic]

Don't worry, M-Sport always find a way to lose.

"Hey guys, lets pull the kill switch on the steering wheel!" #whatcouldgowrong

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Don't worry, M-Sport always find a way to lose.

"Hey guys, lets pull the kill switch on the steering wheel!" #whatcouldgowrong

Especially if the story about the guy who hit the button twice being the guy who asked for it moved. That's gotta be a kick in the teeth. Wonder if that's homologated or they can move it?

[canaglia]

well, that was a really silly mistake (x2)
but most of racing cars have killswitch on the steering wheel

488 gt3 has the kill close to other buttons


at least 919 s. wheel had k.switch button in a place where unlikely drivers could push it by chance

[canaglia]

cadillac dpi has kill close to TC selector


I'm not an engineer but I guess kill s. should be pressed for 4-5 seconds to stop ignition

[Akrapovic]

The 488 GT3 has a remappable steering wheel, so you can make whatever button you want a killswitch. In that photo, they've mapped it to the flashing lights button, so presumably, that's a series you don't flash much.

The 919 layout is perfect from a "control room ergonomics" point of view (corporate BS name for one of my work-related tasks), as the shroud around it makes it very unlikely that it will be hit accidentally.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

The 919 layout is perfect from a "control room ergonomics" point of view (corporate BS name for one of my work-related tasks), as the shroud around it makes it very unlikely that it will be hit accidentally.

That was my thought, why not somehow blocked or made so it's obviously NOT the other button. Plus close enough to pit speed button seems like a poor choice of location

[GregUK]

https://youtu.be/x5GN6P3IzTc

You can see the Bentley wheel in this video.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by canaglia

I'm not an engineer but I guess kill s. should be pressed for 4-5 seconds to stop ignition

Electric / electronic kill switches are usually instantaneous. Should turn off battery power to everything, hence ‘kill’ rather than ‘off’! A similar button will be on the outside of the car for marshals to activate if required, in the event of a crash......

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by GregUK

You can see the Bentley wheel in this video.

Thanks! The switch is (in my opinion) very vulnerable. I’d like it a bit further away from the pit lane limiter and where thumbs naturally rest....Interesting that it’s marked ‘Stop’ rather than ‘Kill’, so maybe just connected to ignition and fuel supply?

The important thing is to make sure that the same situation never re-occurs....

[canaglia]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Electric / electronic kill switches are usually instantaneous. Should turn off battery power to everything, hence ‘kill’ rather than ‘off’! A similar button will be on the outside of the car for marshals to activate if required, in the event of a crash......

I see, thanks for the explanation,
anyway to place a so dangerous switch 0.5cm next to other buttons.... not the wisest move. I'm not talking just about bentley.... many other cars use to


991 RSR s. wheel, guess like 488 it has remappable settings, but anyway not the best place for a kill switch, considering also there is a side dashboard with 20 functions nearby....





let's say that for ergonomic and functionality reasons, a kill switch should be placed as far as possible from left/right thumb IMHO

[canaglia]

Just checked huracan gt3 s.wheel lol






if driver hasn't his eyes on wheel and is entering pit-lane, risk to push the kill switch instead of rpm limiter is not so unlikely

[Maggo]

Originally Posted by canaglia

cadillac dpi has kill close to TC selector


I'm not an engineer but I guess kill s. should be pressed for 4-5 seconds to stop ignition

That wheel looks f...ugly with the tape

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by canaglia

let's say that for ergonomic and functionality reasons, a kill switch should be placed as far as possible from left/right thumb IMHO

I build control room software and simulations for oil rigs. I've seen some crazy ergonomic nonsense at times, but not like these wheel switches. The oil rig equivalent of a kill switch is called a TPS (Total Platform Shutdown). It kills everything from wells all the way to export lines, generators, shoves the gas up the flare. The only thing that stays running is a UPS for essential 'life support' systems. You'd never dream having the TPS button in a place it could accidentally be hit. A software TPS button would require a confirmation, whilst a hardware one would be a double action (lift and push).

I don't understand these steering wheels, and having now seen the Bentley one, I'm amazed this isn't more common.

[canaglia]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

I build control room software and simulations for oil rigs. I've seen some crazy ergonomic nonsense at times, but not like these wheel switches. The oil rig equivalent of a kill switch is called a TPS (Total Platform Shutdown). It kills everything from wells all the way to export lines, generators, shoves the gas up the flare. The only thing that stays running is a UPS for essential 'life support' systems. You'd never dream having the TPS button in a place it could accidentally be hit. A software TPS button would require a confirmation, whilst a hardware one would be a double action (lift and push).

I don't understand these steering wheels, and having now seen the Bentley one, I'm amazed this isn't more common.

yeah, that's why is wierd to me that a k.switch on a gt3 doesn't require to be pushed for 4-5 seconds to be triggered. You can accidentally hit it and nothing happens but if you push it for seconds it's because you want to push it or really you don't know what you're doing.

[Mike Bell]

‘Kill’ switch / button by normal motor sport definition needs to be instantaneous. It’s a regulated safety requirement, same as a fire extinguisher activation button.

‘Stop’ suggests a switch is for cutting off ignition and fuel supply, and it’s possible that’s what one or more of those steering wheel switches are. All that’s needed is a location away from the pit lane speed limiter!

[Akrapovic]

Yeah, I understand the instantaneous bit. Again, to use an oil rig example, the TPS is does require a very purposeful action (you cannot accidentally do it), but once you activate it, there is no wait time. The generators are off, the valves will close, the blowdown valves will open, and all of your gas is going up the flare to be burnt off.

The 919 system looks good. It's very hard to accidentally push, but very easy to activate on purpose. If a 2 action system is not allowed, then that's what I'd design my buttons to be like.

[Mike Bell]

It would also be awkward for a driver to hold a button down for 4-5 seconds while undoing belts, disconnecting radio and drink supply, and attempting the fastest driver change of all time during a pit stop. And don’t suggest it’s held down as the car enters the pit lane....

Think that’s exhausted my input on Bentley buttons.....

[Greem]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Yeah, I understand the instantaneous bit. Again, to use an oil rig example, the TPS is does require a very purposeful action (you cannot accidentally do it), but once you activate it, there is no wait time. The generators are off, the valves will close, the blowdown valves will open, and all of your gas is going up the flare to be burnt off.

The 919 system looks good. It's very hard to accidentally push, but very easy to activate on purpose. If a 2 action system is not allowed, then that's what I'd design my buttons to be like.

Shrouded button FTW in so many cases. I showed the Mrs - who is a practicing ergonomist - some of the steering wheel photos and she cringed.

As an aside, and linked to Akrapovic's profession, more years ago than I care to remember* I worked on a chemical plant as a trainee chemical engineer prior to going to University. One bit of the plant was a continuous furnace operation making carbon disulphide & hydrogen sulphide (so pretty noxious and toxic materials) from boiling sulphur and high pressure natural gas. Our various control room shutdown buttons were big, bright red, well signed, in cages to avoid shoulder-presses & had a two-stage operation - and were similarly instantaneous, shutting off all feeds and dumping nitrogen (and more natural gas, counter-intuitively) through the system to push everything up a flare stack.

The fire alarm was linked to it, too, which I had the misfortune to activate when a fitter set fire to a sump under a storage tank while doing some grinding. The two-stage bit in that case was me thinking "do I automatically shut the plant down costing two days production? Hell yes!" before hitting the break glass...

*that was pretty much bang on 30 years ago. Lordy.

[Akrapovic]

I find this sort of stuff especially fascinating. The 919 certainly appears the best thought out. The R10 is interesting



The only shrouded buttons on it are PIT and MAP. MAP will be engine mapping, so fair enough. PIT being protected is interesting. The kill switch doesn't appear on the wheel at all, but it does have an emergency button - presumably just an alarm back to the pits. But that isn't protected.

Originally Posted by Greem

The fire alarm was linked to it, too, which I had the misfortune to activate when a fitter set fire to a sump under a storage tank while doing some grinding. The two-stage bit in that case was me thinking "do I automatically shut the plant down costing two days production? Hell yes!" before hitting the break glass...

There is an amazing amount of complexity in these sort of systems, and often it does produce this weird sort of contradiction that you faced. In your case, a blowdown is a two-stage action to activate it, yet it can also be activated by a break-glass call point - something very vulnerable to accidental impacts!

It is thought that the Buncefield Explosion was caused by the Control Room Operator shutting down the plant, as he is meant to do. The leak had already happened, and when he noticed he shutdown the plant. The shutdown started a fire pump, which they suspect was the ignition source.

Kill/ESD/TPS systems are a lot more complex than just killing the power and hoping for the best

[NaBUru38]

2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup

• #107 M-Sport - Andy Soucek / Maxime Soulet / TBA
• #108 M-Sport - Steven Kane / Jules Gounon / Jordan Pepper
• Team Parker Racing - Pro-Am Cup

No entries in the 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe.

[NaBUru38]

Bentley won't have factory cars at the 24h Nürburgring.


https://www.motorsport.com/endurance...hours/4370083/