Six phases of Ferrari 499P production, before Imola

The process of preparing the Ferrari 499P for racing includes six main steps. Let’s find out together in this article of ours.

After the race FIA WEC Championship The Ferrari 499Ps return to Italy where each car is carefully inspected and fine-tuned to prepare for the next test. At the racing partner’s headquarters AF CorseHybrid Hypercar preparation includes six main phases which, along with a lot of assembly and inspection, includes hot-up scanning and bodywork. A team effort where the data collected by engineers, the skills of mechanics and the help of modern instruments achieve the maximum synthesis.

Go back

A few hours before the checkered flag, the official 499Ps are ready to return to Italy: “The cars are flying – explained Batti Pregliasco, Team Manager of the Ferrari team – AF Corse – because it is important to speed up times to be able to start work in the workshop in the shortest possible time”.

At the headquarters of the racing partner AF Corse, the mechanics team, made up of around 40 people, deals with the various phases related to the preparation of the cars: “Hypercars are very high in terms of technology, as well as. complex – continued Pregliasco -: for this reason the staff is highly specialized and divided into well-defined areas of expertise”.

Confusion

Every Ferrari 499P has more 3 thousand shares, without taking into account the internal components of thermal and electric engines (the special analysis associated with the engine is carried out in the workshop in Maranello). Each of them is inspected before the car returns to World Endurance racing. “Our hypercars are designed to be able to complete even 9 thousand kilometers with the same equipment – explained Luca Massé, Technical Manager of AF Corse -, that is, over the distance of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This means that after a shorter race, 6, 8 or 10 hours, when 2 or 3 thousand kilometers have been completed, the cars return to our headquarters, they are checked and, in many cases, they are reassembled, with many of the same components “.

The biggest difference, however, is evident on the eve of the most anticipated race of the season, the one taking place at the La Sarthe circuit in France. “Before Le Mans – Mass is determined – We can change up to 70% of the parts “.

Phase six

The process of preparing the Ferrari 499P for racing includes six main phases: disassembly of component parts and check them, reassembly or assembly of the vehicle, Fire-Up, Set-Up and scanning. “The data collected by the engineers on the track is important for starting preparatory work in the workshop – Luca Massé analyzed -. Dismantling the car means getting to the point where we only have the chassis, while all the other parts are checked in a special department to do a targeted analysis.”

Once the checking phase is complete, the vehicles are assembled again: “This brings us to the Moto-Up time, which consists of a static check that involves starting the engine, the front transmission, the battery – Massé explained – check if the car is connected correctly. The setup follows, the first fine tuning of the 499P, which will end as soon as we get to the track, also taking into account the characteristics of the track and the weather”.

Finally, before leaving the racer’s headquarters, collect the bodies again, Hypercars numbers 50 and 51 they are subject to further modification, called “scanning”, which allows – through the use of technological tools – to verify the correct assembly of vehicles, following the criteria established by FIA.