A WEIRD JARGON THAT EVEN NEW RACING FANS CANNOT UNDERSTAND!
By Jericho Wilyan
First of all, welcome to our blog! From now on, every Tuesday I will be writing a blog about engineering terms. The topics may not always relate with Formula Student but aren’t we all here for learning!
So, this week we kick start our blog with Scrutineering!
Now we all have been hearing this term since the first time we follow motorsports. I heard the term scrutineering when I was still 10 years old and back then I was puzzled by it. So, what is scrutineering and why it is important for not only the car but also the drivers.
According to the dictionary, the term scrutinise means to “examine very carefully” and in our sport, it’s doing exactly what it means, to examine if the cars and the drivers comply with the rules and regulations that have been set by the event. Furthermore, the goal of scrutineering is to ensure that the car is safe to compete and to ensure fair play.
But now you may be wondering, what is happening during the scrutineering? So, here is what usually happens
- Making sure that the car complies with the technical regulations
Usually, the car is checked by a team of scrutineers (sometimes known as race officials) to ensure that the car meets the technical regulations. The first thing that the scrutineers check is the safety of the car. The driver’s harness, warning lights, and extinguisher need to be rules compliant. Moreover, The scrutineers also partially remove some bits of the bodyworks to inspect the car thoroughly. Afterwards, they thoroughly examine the dimensions, power unit, the weight, and the wheelbase of the car to make sure that it complies with the rules.
- Checking if the drivers are eligible to participate
Not only the safety of the cars needs to be checked, but also that of the drivers! The drivers will need to present a valid driving license (also their racing license when applied) and every piece of equipment that they use in the competition. For example, equipment such as helmets and racing overalls need to conform to the competition regulations.
THE CAR IS ALSO SCRUTINISED AFTER EACH SESSION
After each session, the car is also scrutinised by the race officials. The car will be put in parc fermé and will be put under scrutinisation to make sure that the team did not cheat or made any other modification before and/or after the session. Things that the race officials check are the car’s weight, fluids such as fuel and oil level, and the electronics.
preserver-spaces=”true”>WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CAR OR THE DRIVERS CANNOT PASS THE SCRUTINEERING?
Well, it is quite simple; they cannot compete in the competition. For the reason that, if either the car or the driver doesn’t comply with the rules, not only they are endangering themselves but also others. We don’t want to see a car falling apart during a competition, right?
I also find a good video by FIA WEC to give you the idea of what happens during the scrutineering click it to watch!
So, after reading this you now have a better understanding of scrutineering is and what happens during the scrutineering. In one of the paragraph, you may notice a term parc fermé.
It sounds very French, isn’t it? Also, it seems awfully familiar to us, but do you know what it is? Stay tuned next week where I will be talking about parc fermé! Until then stay safe and be healthy!
References:
https://www.lemans.org/en/news/scrutineering-how-it-works/6466
https://www.fiawec.com/en/news/what-is-scrutineering/5152
https://www.motorsportuk.org/volunteers/scrutineering/
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/scrutinize
