• car model
• Ferrari
• g-g-v
• ggv
• lap time simulation LTS
• lap time simulator
• quasi-steady-state
• simulazione giro
• steady-state
• track model
• vehicle
• veicolo

In car races, simulation tools play a key role in preparing a competition, regardless of its category. One of the most used by race engineers is the lap time simulation (LTS), which simulates a whole lap receiving input from the car setup and the circuit track.
The LTS goal is to find the setup which minimize the lap time on a fixed track. In literature this is a well known problem and it is achieved making use of the g-g-v diagram, or performance envelope of the vehicle.
This work, developed in collaboration with the Vehicle Performance and Simulation Department of Ferrari-Competizioni GT, aims at creating a LTS starting from a different approach than those usually found in literature. In order to achieve this goal, the best estimate of the tyres adhesion forces is necessary. Indeed, it is well known that a race car is always driven on the limits of adhesion.
An algorithm to compute the maximum tyre forces has been implemented by using “fmincon” of Matlab. This one, together with the steady-state vehicle model, allows to perform a lap time simulation without making use of the g-g-v diagram. Now all the most relevant aspects that affect vehicle behavior and dynamics can be computed for each point of the racetrack.
The software was totally developed by using Maltab functions and scripts.