Virgin MVR-02

Virgin MVR-02

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Virgin
Designer(s)	Nick Wirth (Chief Designer)
Predecessor	VR-01
Technical specifications[1]
Chassis	carbon-fibre construction monocoque and nosebox
Suspension (front)	carbon-fibre wishbones with titanium flexure joints, aluminium alloy uprights, Penske dampers
Suspension (rear)	as front
Engine	Cosworth CA2011 2,400 cc (146.5 cu in) 90° V8, limited to 18,000 RPM, naturally aspirated, mid-mounted
Transmission	Seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox with reverse gear, Aluminium construction, "seamless shift", electronically controlled hydraulic differential
Weight	640 kg (1,411 lb) (including driver)
Fuel	BP
Tyres	Pirelli P Zero BBS Wheels (front and rear): 13"
Competition history
Notable entrants	Marussia Virgin Racing
Notable drivers	24. Timo Glock 25. Jérôme d'Ambrosio
Debut	2011 Australian Grand Prix
Races Wins Poles Fastest laps 18 0 0 0

The Virgin MVR-02 is a Formula One racing car designed by Nick Wirth for the 2011 Formula One season. Like its predecessor, the Virgin VR-01, the MVR-02 will be designed entirely with computational fluid dynamics, with Nick Wirth's Wirth Research design studio doubling their CFD capacity ahead of the 2011 season. The addition of the "M" in the car's chassis designation is to reflect the team's new owner, Russian sports car manufacturer Marussia.^[2] The car was unveiled in London on 7 February 2011, and is being driven by returning driver Timo Glock and debutant Jérôme d'Ambrosio.

Design

The MVR-02 has followed the VR-01's design principle of exclusively using computational fluid dynamics instead of the more traditional approach of a windtunnel. The car will not use KERS, with chief designer Nick Wirth commenting that the gains offered by the system did not justify the expense in developing it; instead, the team concentrated on improving the car's hydraulics and gearbox, both of which had been the frequent source of problems in 2010. After being forced to re-design the VR-01 when it was discovered the fuel tank was not large enough to finish races with a high fuel consumption, the MVR-02 was designed to be the same length as the original VR-01 chassis whilst retaining the full-size fuel tank.^[3] The air intake on the front nose has been designed to resemble the one on Marussia's road car, the Marussia B2.^[4]

It was announced in June 2011 that Marussia Virgin Racing had ended its relationship with technical partner Nick Wirth and his company, Wirth Research, who designed their 2010 and 2011 contenders. The reason for this was cited as being a disappointing start to their 2011 season.^[5]

Racing history

The MVR-02 ran its first race at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix with several problems that included rain and the 107% rule. The car was performing poorly due to the condition of the track and speculation rose up that Virgin was not going to be able to race. However, both Timo Glock and Jérôme d'Ambrosio made it through, taking the last spots on the grid. Once the race went under way, Glock was forced into the garage for a mechanical failure. As such, Glock completed less than 90% of the race and was not classified in the standings. D'Ambrosio, however, finished sixteenth at first, but the disqualification of both Sauber cars bumped him up to fourteenth.

d'Ambrosio suffered a catastrophic suspension failure during the first Malaysian Grand Prix practice session.

However, fates changed at the Malaysian Grand Prix as d'Ambrosio suffered from a mechanical failure during free practice. Qualifying was a repeat of Australia, with the drivers taking twenty-first and twenty-second. When the race began on Sunday, things did not work out for d'Ambrosio as he retired due to electronic problems. Glock finished sixteenth, his first classified finish of the season. This trend of low qualifying and high finishes was undone at China, as both drivers finished just one place higher.

Turkey was the location of the team's first upgrade for the season. Timo Glock was given an "extreme" update, while d'Ambrosio was to wait until Spain. Surprisingly, d'Ambrosio was faster than Glock for the whole weekend and proved that the upgrades needed more work. The stewards awarded him a five-place grid penalty after ignoring yellow flags on Friday. As such, his starting place was twenty-third, while Glock's was twenty-first. When it came time for the cars to take their positions, Glock's pit crew noticed a mechanical fault and set to correct it. However, the repair proved so drawn out that Glock ended up not racing, his second unclassified race of the season. D'Ambrosio suffered from no problems and drove the car home for twentieth.

The MVR-02 scored it's best result in a wet Canadian Grand Prix, with d'Ambrosio and Glock in fourteenth and fifteenth respectively.

The livery of the MVR-02 included an advertisement for the film Cars 2 at the British Grand Prix - shown here on d'Ambrosio's car.

Spain was a relief as the upgrades allowed the cars to finish nineteenth and twentieth, with both drivers not complaining of any faults. At Monaco, the MVR-02 proved to be unable to catch the other cars, once again taking the eleventh row on the grid. A minor concern that Virgin shared with other teams was the DRS zone, as Monaco is a tight, slow track, the cars might not be able to negotiate the course. The pace the cars ran in qualifying proved otherwise. The start of the race showed promising signs for both drivers until Glock suffered a suspension failure. After the dramatic and unprecedented end of the race, d'Ambrosio finished fifteenth, bringing the MVR-02 to another classified finish.

Canada was the last place the MVR-02 was expected to have finished so well. Their pace in qualifying - plus d'Ambrosio's failure to post a fast time - convinced people that Virgin was going to finish low. However, it was the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix, which gave the MVR-02's enough pace to finish fourteenth and fifteenth. During the course of two weeks, however, the team fell back to their familiar pace in the European Grand Prix, with qualifying and race day placements towards the back of the grid. During the event, Virgin put out a form of complaint as their cars are powered by Cosworth engines and the new diffuser rules appeared to have hampered their chances of winning. Yet, to the liking of the team, both Glock and d'Ambrosio qualified in good position (20 and 22) for the race. Then came the British Grand Prix, which was the first race with full diffuser bans. The track conditions were in between dry and damp, a condition that hampered the team in Australia. The result was Glock with sixteenth and d'Ambrosio with seventeenth.

In Germany the two cars qualified twentieth and twenty-second on the grid, with Glock ahead of d'Ambrosio. Glock commented to his engineers on the car-to-pit radio that they were making it "difficult for him" after this. Glock later tried to cover up his comments by saying they were meant in a joking way. Glock announced the following day he would be staying with the team until 2014. The two cars finished the race in the same order, in seventeenth and eighteenth places. The MVR-02s sandwiched the HRTs in Hungary qualifying twenty-first and last. Glock finished the race of mixed weather conditions seventeenth and teammate d'Ambrosio was ninteenth.

The car was not expected to do well in the power circuit of Spa. The cars were twentieth and twenty-first, with d'Ambrosio outside the 107% rule for his home race. He was however, allowed to race because it had been a mixed weather qualifying, and with no such weather in the race he brought the car home in seventeenth, one place above Glock. Despite outqualifying and out-racing HRT, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza was quite disappointing for the MVR-02. Qualifying on the second-back row, d'Ambrosio suffered a gearbox failure on lap 1, and although Glock managed a fifteenth place finish - this was last place. It was the same Q1 result in Singapore, although Glock crashed out on lap 9 whilst d'Ambrosio finished a reasonable eighteenth. It was positions 20 and 21 in both Qualifying and race in Japan - beating the HRTs and Nico Rosberg's hydraulics failure in Qualifying, before beating the HRTs and the retirement of Sebastien Buemi in the race. At the Korean Grand Prix, Glock and D'Ambrosio qualified twenty-first and twenty-second before finishing twentieth and twenty-second in a seemingly typical race for the team.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Points	WCC
2011	Marussia Virgin Racing	Cosworth CA2011 V8	P		AUS	MAL	CHN	TUR	ESP	MON	CAN	EUR	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	KOR	IND	ABU	BRA	0*	12th*
				Glock	NC	16	21	DNS	19	Ret	15	21	16	17	17	18	15	Ret	20	18	Ret	19
				d'Ambrosio	14	Ret	20	20	20	15	14	22	17	18	19	17	Ret	18	21	20	16	Ret

^* Season in progress.

References

1. ^ "Inside the MVR-02". Virgin Racing. Virgin Group. 7 February 2011. http://www.virginracing.com/car/265/inside-the-mvr-02. Retrieved 7 February 2011. 
2. ^ "Virgin reveals new car launch date". Autosport (Haymaket Publications). 21 January 2011. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89027. Retrieved 21 January 2011. 
3. ^ Noble, Jonathan; Beer, Matt (7 February 2011). "Wirth: MVR-02 'better in every way'". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89322. Retrieved 7 February 2011. 
4. ^ Collantine, Keith (7 February 2011). "Virgin MVR-02 launch – first pictures". F1 Fanatic (Keith Collantine). http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/02/07/virgin-mvr-02-launch-first-pictures/. Retrieved 7 February 2011. 
5. ^ "Virgin to break ties with technical partners Wirth". The Official F1 Website. 2 June 2011. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2011/6/12129.html. Retrieved 15 June 2011. 

External links