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Revised suspension and brakes for Formula E's second season

Formula E chassis manufacturer Spark Racing Technology will make changes to the car's suspension and braking systems for the electric single-seater series' second season

The French firm, which supplies identical cars to all of the teams in the championship, has been working to identify the main areas it wants to improve for the 2015-16 campaign.

Certain circuits - particularly those with chicanes featuring high kerbs - have proved punishing on the SRT_01E's suspension, leading to failures, while drivers have also complained about the feeling of the carbon brakes.

Spark technical director Theophile Gouzin said: "We're constantly improving the car's mechanical components in order to meet street circuit requirements.

"We already have an idea of which parts need further development such as upgrades to the car's suspension and braking system.

"Recently, we have been working on the brakes with a view to improving consistency on track."

Spark conducted a three-day test at the Magny-Cours short circuit (adjacent to the ex-F1 track), with World Touring Car Championship racer Gregoire Demoustier on driving duty.


"We tested different carbon geometry for the disc and the pad, and a ducting system around the disc to manage the temperature to improve the working of the whole system," Gouzin added.

"In the end I think we found something working better than we've had for the first season, so teams and drivers should be happy."

AUTOSPORT SAYS
Glenn Freeman, autosport.com editor (@glenn_autosport)

Ask a Formula E driver (in private) what he or she would like to see changed on the current Spark-Renault SRT_01E, and the brakes will almost certainly come up first.

The carbon system used in the series' first season is effectively too good for the speed of the cars, meaning that drivers have struggled to get them into working temperature range.

The resulting lack of feel has sapped confidence from some drivers, and also affected the performance of the brakes, causing more errors and leading to lock-ups.

Some drivers have gone as far as stating that Spark should have used steel brakes on the car, but if the French manufacturer has fixed the problems with the carbon system, that will surely suffice.

As for the suspension, the problems suffered this year - including some high-profile in-race failures - have mainly been a result of the overall car package coming in over the target weight due to time constraints last summer.

That has put more load through the suspension - particularly through chicanes - than expected, and the current system has often cried enough after one too many impacts on kerbs.

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