WP-271 Titanium in Motor Sport
Racing car recreated using advanced welding technology
Denny Hulme won for McLaren and Jackie Oliver brought
the Ti22 MKII in at second place in its first race only 1.2
seconds behind and it produced the fastest lap in the race
With the progressive development of racing
cars has come a need to embrace fusion welding
as an essential part of the manufacturing
process. Whilst dramatic improvements
in engine design have made a significant
contribution to track performance, reduction
in weight and aerodynamic refinements have
also been important. Safety conventions need
to be continuously revised to protect drivers in
the event of accidents.
Welding has played an increasingly important role
during production of body parts. Reduction in weight
has been achieved by using slender suspension and
steering components and replacing steel with lower
density titanium. Fabrication of titanium alloys
however requires skills orders of magnitude greater
than steel: they are difficult to form and challenging
to weld.
8 TUBE NEWS December 2017
During the mid-1960s the use of titanium was
seen as a crucial element in advancing racing car
development and led directly to major improvements
in performance of sports cars in North America.
The Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am)
was a sports car racing series introduced from 1966.
It was governed by rules under the FIA group 7
category with unrestricted engine capacity and few
other technical restrictions. The cars were as close as
any major international racing series ever got to have
an “anything goes” policy. As long as the car had two
seats, bodywork enclosing the wheels, and met basic
safety standards, it was acceptable. Maximum engine
displacement was unlimited, but the minimum
displacement was 2.5 litres.