!NEW! Opel Astra TCR Celebrates Race Debut in Bahrain

• TCR International Series 2016 kicks off on the Bahrain International Circuit
• Target Competition with two Opel Astra TCR driven by Jordi Oriola and Andrea Belicchi
• Testing under special conditions

Campaign opener in Bahrain: Two Opel Astra TCR of Team Target Competition will compete for this first time this season.

The opening race of the Touring Car Racing (TCR) International Series in Bahrain on April 2 and 3 will not only mark the start of the second season of the competition, it will also see the start of a new chapter in 

Opel’s touring car tradition. Two new Astra TCR cars, run by the Italian Target Competition Team, will take to the track in the kingdom on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Thirty-nine-year-old Italian veteran Andrea Belicchi and 19-year-old Spanish youngster Jordi Oriola will be behind the steering wheel of the customer racing cars from Rüsselsheim.

Opel drivers: Italian veteran Andrea Belicchi (39) and 19-year-old Jordi Oriola from Spain will be behind the steering wheels of the 330hp Astra TCRs.

In the light of the specific external conditions on the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, built in the middle of the desert around 30 kilometers from the capital Manama, the Target Team will face a tough challenge. The expected temperatures of over 40C represent a substantial challenge for the engine cooling system, the turbocharger, the transmission and the brakes. Tire wear will also be a major topic in the desert heat. The 5.412km-long Bahrain International Circuit consists of six left and eight right-hand corners together with four straights, the longest being the finishing straight with a length of around 1.1km.

The Astra TCR is thus facing it first major challenge. The technical staff of Opel Motorsport and Target Competition made significant progress in relation to the vehicle set-up during the final test drives on the Spanish Valencia circuit. 1993 German Touring Car championship winner and former Formula One driver Nicola Larini also stated that the Opel Astra TCR “has a very good handling”. Larini was responsible for test all the TCR cars of the different brands to create a basis of the “Balance of Performance” (BoP).

BoP uses the key elements weight and engine performance to create a balance between all vehicle concepts and thus give every carmaker the chance to field a competitive car for customer sport. Equal opportunity is one of the key characteristics of the TCR (Touring Car Racer Series) that was developed for five-door compact class cars with a maximum engine displacement of 2.0 liters. Another major factor in favor of the TCR is the possible use of the vehicles in a multitude of national and continental championships in addition to the global TCR International Series. Three races of the international competition, including the one in Bahrain, will be held as part of the Formula 1 Grand Prix supporting program. Each round of the TCR consists of two heats.

Opel Motorsport Director Jörg Schrott is already excited ahead of the Astra TCR’s competitive debut but is also managing expectations. “We are a newcomer to the TCR series with our Astra and will definitely need a bit more time to further optimize the vehicle. Furthermore, the conditions in the desert are unique. Therefore, we should treat the two races in Bahrain as another important test. We aim to learn as much as possible to have a fine-tuned the Astra TCR as soon as possible after the races.”

For customer racing: Opel Astra TCR is based on the serial production Astra and benefits from its lightweight construction and outstanding aerodynamics.

!NEW! Outstanding Aerodynamics: Best Conditions for the Opel Astra TCR

• Efficient aerodynamics are one of the keys to success in touring car racing
• Meticulous wind tunnel work important element of vehicle development
• Already excellent aerodynamics of serial production Astra as the perfect base

Key to success: Aerodynamic efficiency is the result of a well-balanced ratio of downforce and drag. 

Aerodynamics have become increasingly important in motorsports. In the past, aerodynamic problems have often been hidden by simply increasing engine performance. However, the key to success in modern motorsports is now the same as in serial production: efficiency. This was one of the most important development goals for the Opel Astra TCR that was created to compete in the Touring Car Racer Series (TCR).

New Opel Astra TCR: Wind tunnel testing for efficient aerodynamics.

Aerodynamic efficiency is the result of a well-balanced ratio of downforce and drag. In order to achieve the perfect combination of high speeds through the corners and on the straights, engineers strive to have as much as possible downforce while simultaneously reducing drag as far as possible. The new Astra comes with the perfect prerequisites for a close to serial production touring car. The “Car of the Year 2016” has an outstanding drag coefficient for hatchbacks of 0.272. It therefore is perfectly suited to serve as the base for a fast racing car.

Compared to its serial production sibling the width of the Opel Astra TCR has been increased to 1,950 millimeters – the maximum permitted by the rules. The bumpers, fenders and side panels have also been modified. The front splitter and the rear wing are the main elements creating the decisive downforce. Both features have been defined as standard components in the TCR regulations to keep costs down. Manufacturers can thus not change the shape or finish but they can fine-tune the mounting position. The location of the rear wing is especially important. According to the regulations, the rear wing is not allowed to protrude the roofline. Furthermore, it is not allowed to protrude by more than 1,050 millimeters – measured from the center of the rear wheel hub.

Increased width: The front splitter and the rear wing are the main elements creating the decisive downforce.

The downforce created by the rear wing increases the more it stands in the wind. However, this simultaneously increases drag, which is detrimental for top speed. Therefore, a compromise between drag and downforce needs to be found. The same goes for the setting angle of the front splitter. It needs to be as flat as possible while being steep enough to the keep the front axle stable when braking and to prevent understeer in the corners. Once again the aerodynamic balance in decisive, i.e. the downforce ratio between front and rear axle. This ratio needs to be well balanced so that the car remains stable no matter what the driving situation.

Meticulous preparation: Wind tunnel work about the position of the rear wing, the angle of the front splitter and the design of the fenders and the side sills.

In order to get as close to this delicate balance as possible from the very start, the development team around Opel Motorsport’s Senior Manager Dietmar Metrich put the Astra TCR through an aerodynamics test lasting several days. The team decided to use the wind tunnel of Stuttgart University for the tests. “It has a rolling floor and can simulate speeds of up to 250 km/h. That makes it ideal for our purposes,” explains Metrich.

Time in the wind tunnel is expensive and therefore calls for meticulous preparation. “We used models to prepare various solutions. This gave us to chance to test and change the configurations when we were on site,” says Metrich. “It was mainly about the position of the rear wing, the angle of the front splitter and the design of the fenders and the side sills.”

Dietmar Metrich suddenly turns very quiet when it comes to communicating data and measurements. “I can tell you this much: we feel perfectly prepared thanks to the excellent suitability of the base model. We will only find out where we stand when the cars compete on the race track but that makes the whole thing really exciting!”