Adrian Newey were just starting out. By '89 he was ready to go his own way and
formed Simtek Research. Four years later, Simtek Grand Prix was born and.
Nick Wirth, Technical Director
CFDynamo Nick Wirth was a wild child. Bored of Lego, he set about building a rocket powered by weedkiller and sugar. This explosive episode provided an early insight into the mind of the man who now heads up the technical programme at Virgin Racing. Nick left University College, London, with a First Class honours degree in Mechanical Engineering. His final year thesis explored the subject of airflow within engines and earned him the Institute of Mechanical Engineers prize. At the age of 21 Nick looked pretty unstoppable and he has gone on to become the youngest ever Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, as well as being elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Nick’s first foray into Formula 1 was with Leyton House where rising stars like Adrian Newey were just starting out. By ’89 he was ready to go his own way and formed Simtek Research. Four years later, Simtek Grand Prix was born and provided Nick’s first experience of the tough environment of running an F1 team. It was a difficult experience but one which has made Nick stronger today. He joined Benetton as Chief Designer in ’96. The team twice finished in the top three constructors during his tenure and with plenty of podiums and points along the way. But Nick likens this, and the more recent F1 era, to a battle between Boeing and Airbus – vast conglomerate teams fielding almost 1000 personnel in the battle for supremacy. Nick admits to being somewhat disillusioned: “Because I remained in the motor sport business I was acutely aware of what appeared to be an atrocious wasting of money going on in F1, with teams spending a million pounds a year on wheel nuts alone.” After leaving Benetton in ‘99, Nick waited for the world to change and founded RoboScience and the Robo Dog - an electro mechanical dog which could read out emails, respond to spoken commands AND kick a football! In ’03, Honda Performance Development spoke to Nick and his new venture – Wirth Research - about developing cars for the Indy Car Series. Said cars, the th Honda engined Dallaras, achieved 4 place in their debut season, took the first three places in ‘04 and swept the board in ‘05. Next up was the LMP2 category of the American Le Mans Series. The Acura ARX car that Nick designed for HPD won the first race of the ’07 championship in Sebring. The ’08 LMP2 Acura was heavily updated and Long Beach saw the first win for this all-digitally developed update. For all developments in ‘08, wind tunnel testing was replaced by testing in computer simulation through CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), and drivers tested cars before races on advanced simulators. The LMP2 car delivered continued success in ALMS that year, culminating in a fantastic championship battle, with Acura cars winning more races and pole positions, but it was Porsche who went on to win the championship by a single point. HPD and Acura decided to step up to LMP1 in ‘09, the highest category in sports car racing. The challenge was to win against the likes of the Audi and Peugeot diesels, with a less-powerful petrol engine. This environment, where the technology involved is at the highest level, was the proving ground for the digital design process that Nick has brought to the Virgin Racing Formula 1 car. Acura’s all-new LMP1 car was designed, built and tested digitally, and scored a sensational poleposition at the season opener in Sebring against the mighty diesels. In ’09 Wirth Research reveled in the sweet taste of victory, with Acura cleaning up in both the ALMS P2 and P1 championships, with a record number of pole-positions, podiums and victories – the first manufacturer to ever achieve this in both classes simultaneously.
Big Moments
In ’09 the world did change and cost-cutting initiatives in F1 prompted Nick to think “Formula One under resource restriction? Welcome to my world.” He teamed up with John Booth of Manor Motorsport and they were one of four new teams to gain an entry into F1 in 2010. Their first F1 challenger – the Virgin-Cosworth race car – has been developed entirely in the digital domain by CFDynamo Nick Wirth.
‘66
Born in London
‘87
Graduated from University College, London, with a First Class Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering. Won the Institute of Mechanical Engineers prize Became the youngest ever Fellow of the Institute of Engineers
‘89
Formed Simtek Research
‘93
Simtek Grand Prix is formed as sister-company to Simtek Research. A tough first experience of F1 team management and the team closed its doors in ’95
‘96
Bounced back with Benetton Formula as Chief Designer
‘99
Left Benetton and founded RoboScience and the RS-01 RoboDog
‘03
Founded Wirth Research and teamed up with Honda Performance Development to design a car for the Indy Racing League
‘07
Stepped up to ALMS P2 category with Honda’s Acura marque
‘08
Achieved more pole positions and more race victories than Porsche RS Spyder in ALMS. Received the Queen’s Award for Export
‘09
Raised his own bar to enter LMP1 with an all-digital design. Back in F1 for the ultimate challenge
Coming soon…
Nick’s first allall- digital F1 car design - the VirginVirgin - Cosworth VRVR- 01 - breaks breaks cover in February 2010
