David Watson, Chief Aerodynamicist, Pacific Team Lotus:
"Over the past twelve months and due to the regulation changes we have lost a significant amount of downforce, typically of the order of 40%. The main aim of our development programme has therefore been to gain back as much of this downforce as possible, without damaging important cooling characteristics. Another significant result of the rule changes is the reduction in ride height sensitivity and we believe we have exploited this factor especially well by incorporating the radical front wing design seen on the PR02.
"The development work would not have been possible without the use of a reliable wind tunnel and we are therefore grateful for the help and support from the MIRA model wind tunnel and their extensive machine shop facilities. We are also indebted to the support and enthusiasm shown to us by Chell Instruments and Hewlett-Packard software support whose help has greatly enhanced our data acquisition and analysis techniques."
During the 1994 season Pacific tested its first Formula One car, the PR01, in the Full Scale Wind Tunnel at MIRA, and in September a contract was signed between Pacific and MIRA for the development of the PR02 - the team's 1995 design. Using MIRA's Model Wind Tunnel, Pacific produced a one-third scale model, and the extensive work carried out over the past four months has helped in the development of the new car in the following ways :
MIRA's service has also included some model parts manufacture. The Model Wind Tunnel has undergone a number of improvements recently and will soon also incorporate a platten cooling system. MIRA and Pacific have now extended their relationship through to July 1996, ensuring a consistent approach to the aerodynamic development of the PR02 and future Pacific Formula One cars.