We all enjoy the adrenaline that comes from watching the Formula One racing series, or any other racing series for that matter. The incredible speed with which these drivers fly around the track might let your heart skip a beat.
The action is all that you see while watching your favorite motor racing, but what goes on behind the scenes? What needs to happen so that you can enjoy the race? We are talking about the hours of planning and effort that various team members put in so that we can enjoy this sport.
Explore the fascinating process of how racing teams transport their cars from race to race, and find reliable and convenient auto transport near me options to meet the unique needs of racing enthusiasts and professionals alike.
One of the most significant components of the race is getting the car to the race. You can not simply drive this car to the race track. With Formula One spanning across five continents, 20 races in a period of nine months, logistics can quickly become a nightmare without proper planning. In this article, we look at how racing teams transport their cars.
Road Transport
The first method of transport that we look at is road transport. The majority of the Formula One teams are based in Europe, so if the races are hosted in Europe, the teams will transport their cars to and from the race on the road.
Teams can use their own trucks for transportation, or they can outsource the transportation to experts. If the teams use vehicle hauling companies because they do not have their own truck, they will look for the most affordable car shipping quotes.
Road transportation is the most straightforward transportation for the racing teams. Because it is a shorter distance, it is usually less expensive than the other modes of transport, and a great benefit is that the cars stay in tack.
Before the cars can be transported, all the aero packaging will be removed, and the vehicle will be placed in a box. The car will be placed on an elevated platform that has cushioning all around to ensure that there is no damage to the car during the transport. All the spare parts of the vehicle are usually transported separately.
Air Transport
If the race is not held in Europe, the transportation of the race gets a bit tricker. The team usually groups the different components of the car into two categories, critical components, and non-critical components.
Critical components would usually be shipped by air, while non-critical components would be sent via the sea. We will look at the non-critical components in the next section; for now, let’s focus on the critical components.
The critical components include the chassis, engine, wings, computers, and IT racks of the race. When it comes to traveling via air or water, the cars will be stripped down to their last component before transportation.
Each component will be wrapped and placed into slotted foam boxes. Some Formula One teams will go the extra mile by placing additional bubble wrap on the components. A cargo plane will be used to transport the parts to the destination country.
In the destination country, the parts will be delivered to the team headquarters, where the car will have to be assembled again.
Water Transport
As mentioned earlier, the non-critical components are usually shipped via sea because this mode of transportation is generally slower and less expensive. The non-critical components include the components that are used in the garage, like jacks and tools to fix and assemble the car.
The racing team can send duplicate sets of tools to the various locations early on in the season because the tools are standard. If these tools are lost of late, the team should be able to replace the tools, whereas the critical components of the car can’t be easily replaced.
The teams will use water transportation for the non-critical tools mainly due to the costs involved. Water transportation is usually less expensive than air transportation, but it takes longer.
However, the team can plan well in advance to ensure that the tools reach the destination before the race, and they can be stored at the team headquarters at the different race tracks. These tools will be used to assemble the car when the parts arrive from the airport.
In Conclusion
There are various modes of transportation that racing teams can use to get their racing cars to the big race day. The most significant factor in deciding which mode of transport to use would be the location of the race.
