Driverless at 150km/h over the Red Bull Ring

Over the weekend, some of Europe's best racing drivers fought for podium places and championship points in the DTM with their GT3 cars at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. However, the secret star of the race weekend in Styria was a vehicle without a driver, which was used in the supporting program of the motorsport series. The DTM Electric Demo Car was remote controlled by the AVL Driving Simulator from Graz.

Graz/Spielberg 5th September 2021 - In the innovative AVL Driving Simulator at AVL's headquarters in Graz, Tim Heinemann (DTM Trophy Champion 2020) took his seat to steer the DTM Electric Demo Car, prepared by Schaeffler, around the Red Bull Ring from a distance of 82 kilometres. The simulator, developed by AVL, allowed the 23-year-old race driver to receive feedback on parameters such as the handling and stability of the vehicle - without being at the wheel himself or even in the cockpit. The driving simulator runs based on the AVL VSM™ RACE (Vehicle Simulation Model) software, which represents the real race car in a virtual model.

"For AVL RACING, motorsport has been the platform for innovations and state-of-the-art technologies for more than 20 years. The know-how we generate through our involvement in various racing series around the world, is transferred to the development of production vehicles for future generations of mobility," said Ellen Lohr, Director of Motorsport at AVL. "The DTM race weekend at the Red Bull Ring was the perfect opportunity to present the AVL Driving Simulator and the technologies integrated in it to a motorsport enthusiastic audience. At the same time, we were able to show that our technologies are already defining the mobility concepts of tomorrow."

On site in Graz, the entire project was implemented by Franz Reisenhofer and Ull Thaler, Simulation and Software Engineers at AVL Racing. "This project is very special because we had our driving simulator in use in a completely new application. The difficulty was to give the driver in the simulator the feeling of the real vehicle by means of steering, pedals, as well as image and sound, in order to move the DTM Electric Demo Car at full race speed around the Red Bull Ring."

AVL technologies are already being used in the DTM's "Balance of Performance" process

The "Balance of Performance" (BoP) is a regulation that brings the different vehicles within a racing series to a performance level and thus ensures equal opportunities - and exciting races. To this end, the DTM uses the AVL VSM™ RACE driving dynamics software developed in-house, which works in simulation with purely virtual vehicle models as well as virtual drivers.

Automobile manufacturers also rely on AVL solutions in vehicle development

The AVL Driving Simulator and the integrated simulation software AVL VSM™ RACE (Vehicle Simulation Model) are primarily used in the racing sector for race driver training and the optimization of vehicle tuning. Simulators and AVL software are also used in the development of production vehicles - for example in the form of virtual vehicle dynamics tests, ADAS development and system integration projects. In addition, AVL RACING assembles customized simulators and software for its customers and takes care of setup and commissioning.

About AVL RACING

AVL RACING is the global comprehensive motorsport expert of AVL, working in all technical fields of the sport for more than 20 years. Currently AVL RACING is involved with customers in over 16 Race Series worldwide in the fields of engineering, testing, simulation, and manufacturing. We are key supplier for teams in the most respected racing series worldwide, from Formula 1, as well as NASCAR or Moto GP and provide state-of-the-art technology and services to the motorsport world. We believe in and utilize motorsports as the platform for innovation. We transfer this know-how into road car development for future generations of mobility.

www.avl.com/racing

Photo Credits: @ AVL List GmbH, Farid Wagner

Contact

Kathrin Kvas, Marketing Specialist AVL RACING

E-mail: kathrin.kvas@avl.com