SHORT TAKE

C By MARTIN SHARPornmencing motorsportsactivities in 1970, when 27Spanish national Formula 1430racecars were powered by Seatengines, the seed of the SeatSport operation was germinatedthe following year. The first offi-cial Seat team appeared in 1972and, by the end of that year, Seatworks driver Salvador Cafiellas'sefforts were to net the team thenational rally championship.

Now part of the Volkswagen/Audi/Skoda VAC operation, Seatroad cars are based on VAC floor-pans. Its current works rally car isa 2-litre, front-drive Ibiza, pre-pared to the Variant Option KitCar regulations. The production

lmJ RACECAR Vol 7 No 4

Ibiza road car is based on the VWPolo platform, but this, and thecar's general layout, are the onlysimilarities to the small VW.

The fi rst Ibiza rally carappeared in 1995, this a l.8-litre,16-valve Croup A car whose mostnotable successes that year werefirst and second places in the 2-litre class on the Acropolis. SeatSport introduced a 2-litre Kit Carversion of the original Croup Acar last year, which representedthe Spanish manufacturer's thenbiggest motors ports campaign.

Seat made an all-out bid forthe FIA World 2-litre RallyChampionship, which went downto the wire at the UK's RAC Rally,locked in championship battlewith Skoda Motor sport on this

final round. Despite StigBlomqvist's magnificent andgiant-killing third overall in hisSkoda Felicia Kit Car, the retire-ment of the other two worksSkodas meant that the WorldChampionship went to Seat.'Almost by default' might seemsomething of a glib statement, butthis comparatively small rallyteam enjoys average 'budgets andhas been gaining experience aboutits Ibiza Kit Car by event, amass-ing knowledge in the process.

The 1996 World 2-LitreChampion manufacturer is cam-paigning Ibiza Kit Cars in thisyear's World Rally Championship.Seat contested the first fourrounds using developed versionsof the originally evolved car. A

homologation birthday on 1 April1997 then enabled the Spanishteam to revise the Ibiza Kit Car'sspecification in time for the RallyeCatalufia-Costa Brava. In com-mon with some competitors, this'second evolution' Ibiza Kit Car istitled Evo 2. It is a significantlyrevised machine - sufficiently sofor regular 1997 Seat Sport worksdriver Oriol Comez to describethe latest Kit Car as, "A com-pletely different car."

Under president VicenteAguilera, Seat Sport is managedby Jaime Puig. On the arrival ofBenoit Bagur from Citroen Sport,towards the end of last year, Puig's35-strong team (not includingrally car crews) began its mainthrust at developing the Evo 2

Seat

Spor

t.inf

o

..............................................................................................Ibiza Kit Car.

The 1996Catalonia Rally washeld in November, and Bagurbegan developing the chassis ofthe 1996-specification 'Evo l'Ibiza Kit Car after that rally. Mostof the imrpovements were pro-vided by anti-roll bar revisions,and damper and spring evolu-tions. These were seen on the1996 RAC Rally and, by the MonteCarlo Rally this year, furtherrefinement had been detailed intothe 'old' Kit Car's suspension,although the drawn specificationsof very few parts had changed.

Bagur and his engineeringteam began the design and con-struction of the new car on 1January, before this year's Monte.The resulting Evo 2 Ibiza Kit Caris so revised that similarity to theold car remains in just its six-speed, sequential-shift transmis-sion. Knowledge gained fromexperience of the World 2-LitreChampionship-winning 'Evo rcar on events - plus significantpotential performance improve-ments from other 'second evolu-tions' of competitor Kit Cars -indicated that a major redesignwas necessary. A stiffer bodyshellwas a priority, as were suspensionrevisions.

A completely revised cagedbodyshell design was modelled bySeat Sport, and this is now con-structed by Matter France. At thetime of writing, torsional testingis planned for the assembly, therehaving been no time available tocomplete this before the car was

entered for its first event - the1997 Catalonia Rally (brought for-ward to April this year).

However, Bagur reported thatthe new Evo 2 shell, is very muchmore stiff "in principle" than itspredecessor.

It had been identified that theEvo 1 suspension was not ideallyadapted to the tyres, or indeed toa front-dri.ve rally car.Accordingly, the Evo 2 redesignwas aimed at redressing this, plussignificantly improving suspen-sion serviceability - making thetasks of changing geometries andanti-roll bar types much moresimple (and in some cases, possi-ble). Bagur freely admitted that,after one rally, both front and rearaxle components of the Evo 1 carwere "Ready for the dustbin."

Clearly, a more sturdy, service-able and optirnised chassis wasalso a primary objective. Designwork for the new car was under-taken by Seat Sport. While atCitroen Sport, Benoit Bagur hadspecialised in engine develop-ment, but he is a time-servedmotors ports engineer, havingspent 13 years in the field on bothrally car chassis and engine devel-opment: "What interests me is thecar from the front bumpers to therear bumpers. I've never beenconcerned solely with just theengine or just the chassis; it's allthe car," explained Seat Sport'schief engineer.

Racecar caught up with Bagurduring workshop preparation forthe 1997 Catalonia Rally, the Evo

1997 Seat works driver Oriol Gomez demonstrates the Evo 2 Ibiza Kit Car's

unusual, vertically mounted handbrake.

2 car's debut event. Build of thisfirst car had been completed justthree days previously. Two half-days of testing had precluded anyreal performance comparisonswith the earlier car, and Bagurjoked that the Seat Sport teamwas incorporating modern pro-ductiontechniques in its rally carbuild, using the 'Just In Time'method.

The car's Hewland gearbox andfinal drive are the remaining mainassemblies common to both Evo 1and 2 Ibiza Kit cars. A carbontwin-disc AP Racing clutch wasfitted for Spain, but a change to atriple-disc is planned. ForCatalonia, the team employed amechanical plate-type Hewlandlimited-slip differential, arrangedto produce more 'free' character-istics on coast, although the unitis never completely open. A vis-cous coupling is also an option.

Prepared by Henri Mader inSwitzerland, the Evo 2 has a long-stroke (84.0x89.5mm), 1994cc,

16-valve, four-cylinder enginewhich officially produces 260bhpat 8400rpm. This is a furtherl Obhp than its 'first evolution'predecessor. The maximumtorque output remains the sameas before, but modifications to theMagneti Marelli managementhave significantly improved thepower curve. Gear ratios to suitthis curve had not been developedin time for Catalonia, althoughthis work was programmed to beincl uded before the Rally ofArgentina.

Despite its dual gravel/asphaltrequirement, inspection of thisnew car highlights some clevercurrent thinking in its design,particularly in the suspensionarea. The new design results incompletely different geometry inall areas. All suspension compo-nents, hubs, uprights and armsare unique to the new car. Atotally new tubular subframe atthe front supports uprightsdesigned and manufactured bySeat Sport, machined from solidalloy. Further evidence of clearthinking in the front suspensiondesign is in the relocation of theanti-roll bar to a position approxi-mately halfway up the height ofthe front MacPherson struts,rigidly located in mounts fixed tothe inner wing. Adjustable cast-aluminium alloy blades connectthe bar to the suspension points.Ohlins components provide thefront damper internals, andremote adjustable reservoirs arefitted. The springs are manufac- ~

The Mader-prepared, long-stroke, 1994cc, 16-valve Seat twin-cam engine

produces 260bhp at 8400rpm.

RACECAR Vol 7 No 4

Seat

Spor

t.inf

o

SHORT TAKE

rally aspirated 2-litre two-wheel-drive Kit Cars become increas-ingly sophisticated, it is evidentthat this very first version of SeatSport's second evoluti on Kit Carrepresents a thoroughly engi-neered, up-to-the-mark basedesign from which to engineercompetitiveness.

...............................................................................................~tured by Eibach.

"There are four wheels on a car,so you've got to use all four," rea-soned Seat Sport's engineer, andhis newly homologated rear axle(right) illustrates that he has pon-dered this fact. The original Evo 1car's rear arrangement was essen-tially a reinforced standard rearbeam. In respecting the FIA'smounting point radius toleranceof 25mm, the new assembly com-prises independent diagonal trail-ing arms to each rear wheel hub,following the lead initially shownby the rear suspension homolo-gated by Cordon SpoonerEngineering for the Ford EscortKit Car.

The independence of these reararms is maintained by a twin-tube'eye' welded into the left-to-rightwheel rear arm at the arms'crossover point, and throughwhich the right-to-left rear armpasses. It is an attractive and neatsolution, and indeed, a similararrangement is to be evaluated inthe rear of the Ford Kit Car.Remote-reservoir Ohlins dampersare also used in the rear of theSeat.

Road wheels of 18in diameterreplace the 17in versions of theearlier car in tarmac specification,enabling larger-diameter APRacing front brake discs to be fit-ted. The Seat has servo-assistedbrakes - unusual in a rally car.Bagur explained that the use ofpower-assisted brakes is a meansto arrive at his objective: "The dri-vers need a good pedal, and thecars need good brakes. The servois a solution to arrive at that, butthere are others." Water coolingfor the brakes was part of the

The innovative design of the newly homologated rear suspension 'beam' in the latest Evo 2 Ibiza has sentengineers of other Kit Cars directly to their drawing boards.

engineering design at the concep-tion stage of the Evo 2 car. Thiswas not considered necessary forCatalonia, but all parts were avail-able to fit the system at that time.

To say that Seat Sport had badluck on its home rally is anunderstatement. All three worksIbiza Kit Cars retired, OriolComez's Evo 2 with transmissionproblems in the fifth stage, BrunoThiry's Evo 2-engined Evo 1 carwith a 'window' in his engine'scylinder block, and HarriRovanpera out-of-time after an'off' on gravel thrown up by thefront-runners.

It should be borne in mind,however, that the Evo 2 car wasjust three days old, with two half-day tests under its wheels. Indeed,this new rally project effectivelyentered its first major tarmac testwhen Comez powered the Evo 2Ibiza off the line and onto LaTrona, the first special stage of the1997 Catalonia Rally. For the 1997season, Seat Sport plans to build afurther four Evo 2 Ibiza Kit Cars.

RACECAR Vol 7 No 4

Missing the Tour of Corsica, atwhich a thrilling battle betweenthe tarmac racing Renault andPeugeot Kit Cars is guaranteed,Seat's next World Championshipround was planned at press-timeto be the Rally of Argentina - anall-gravel event.

As the specifications of natu-

SEAT IBIZA KIT CAR: COMPETING ON WEIGHTALTHOUGH significantly stifferthan its first incarnation, the newbodyshell of the Ibiza Kit Car 'Evo2', which is built by MatterFrance, is also a major contribu-tor to a reduction of approximate-ly 30kg (66Ib) in the total vehicleweight, relative to the Evo 1 ver-sion in tarmac trim. This is animportant benefi!.

Seat Sport is contesting theWorld Rally Championship,which comprises both asphaltand gravel rallies. The basicdesign of its latest Kit Car musttherefore account for both sur-face types. By budget definition,it must be more of a compromisethan a design specifically for anational championship, becauseteams which only build cars fornational championships generallyneed to cater for predominantlyeither tarmac or gravel.

Seat Sport's chief engineer,Benoit Bagur explained: "All ourstudies were done so that allparts would be compatible withboth gravel and tarmac. At thelevel of the suspension, the shell,everything is previewed as for. the gravel and for the asphalt.So, we have parts which are tooheavy for the asphalt - there arethings one is obliged to do whichare not sympathetic."

The Seat, therefore, cannever be as light in weight as acar developed for, say, the all-tar-

mac, multi-practised nationalFrench Rally Championship. Theperformance of one such car, thePeugeot 306 Maxi Kit Car, wasembarrassingly superior even tothat of the turbocharged, four-wheel-drive, factory team WorldRally Cars on the tarmac stagesof Catalonia.

The weight factor was con-firmed at pre-event scrutineering.The minimum weight for the 2-litre category is 960kg (and forthe WRC cars, 1230kg). OriolGomez's Evo 2 Seat Kit Carweighed-in at 1008kg, BrunoThiry's Evo 1 Seat (fitted with anEvo 2 engine) at 1027kg, andHarry Hovanpera's Evo 1 wasthe heaviest Seat at 1034kg. Bycomparison, the super-quick'second evolution' Peugeot KitCars were the only class com-petitors under the tonne at 993kgand 983kg for the 306 Maxis ofFrancois Delecour and GillesPanizzi respectively.

At the weight check before thefinal service park in Lloret deMar, a ground-breaking drive byPanizzi had put his 306 Maxithird overall in the general classi-fication. His naturally aspirated,two-wheel-drive Peugeotweighed-in at just 973kg (as arule of thumb, teams estimatethe weight of individualwheel/tyre assemblies at 16.5-17kg).

Seat

Spor

t.inf

o