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Third in the 2008 championship, but what can BMW Sauber achieve in '09?
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A Beginners Guide To The 2009 Rule Changes
Part one
The FIA (federation internationale de l,Automobile) have made a number of changes to the sporting and technical regulations for the 2009 Formula One Season and the Results of some have already been seen in Testing.
In the case of the sporting regulations, the primary aims are increased reliability and further cost. in the case of the technical changes there are three main objective - reducing the role of aerodynamics in the cars' performance; making overtaking easier; and keeping lap times in check...
Tyres
After 10 season on grooved tyres Formula One racing returns to slicks in 2009 as part of moves to increase the emphasis on mechanical reather then aerodname grip. with no grooves , grip will increase by around 20 percent bringing a significant performance gain. Howeve the vastly reduced downforce levels of the revised aerodynamic regulations (see below) will offset that gain. the overfall effect should be reduced performance through high speed corners. Drivers will still have the choise of the two dry tyre compounds and will still have to use both compounds during a race.
Kers
2009 teams have the option of employing a kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) to boost their car's performance. as it name implies a KERS recovers the (normally wasted)kinetic energy generated by car's breaking process. this is stored useing a mechanical fly wheel or an electrical battery and then made available to the Drivers in set amounts per lap via a boost button on the steering wheel. under the current regulations the power gain eqates to around 80 horsepower available for just under seven sconds per. this could be worth several tenths of a second in terms of lap time. but the weight and packaging of the system- and its impact on the cars weight distriburtion - also have to be taken in to account.
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