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Vitaphone Racing

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Vitaphone Racing , or Vita4One , was a German racing team who participate in the FIA GT Championship . The team was actually Bartels Motor & Sport GmbH, but operated under the title of its main sponsor, Vitaphone GmbH. They have successfully raced the Maserati MC12 GT1 since 2005, becoming one of the most successful GT teams in the series with five FIA GT1 Teams' Championship and four FIA GT1 Drivers' Championship. Their chief drivers are Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini .

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68-572: The Vitaphone Racing team has enjoyed success in the FIA GT , GT1 class championship. In 2004 they initially campaigned a Saleen S7 -R, coming in fourth in the teams championship. Although racing under their own entrant name, the car was in actually run by Konrad Motorsport . In 2005 they switched to the Maserati MC12 and won the FIA GT teams championship ahead of JMB Racing (also racing

136-508: A GT car as "an open or closed automobile which has no more than one door on each side and a minimum of two seats situated one on each side of the longitudinal centre line of the car; these two seats must be crossed by the same transversal plane. This car must be able to be used perfectly legally on the open road, and adapted for racing on circuits or closed courses." All races in the FIA GT Championship were of endurance type ,

204-426: A shock wave . The presence of shock waves, along with the compressibility effects of high-flow velocity (see Reynolds number ) fluids, is the central difference between the supersonic and subsonic aerodynamics regimes. In aerodynamics, hypersonic speeds are speeds that are highly supersonic. In the 1970s, the term generally came to refer to speeds of Mach 5 (5 times the speed of sound) and above. The hypersonic regime

272-425: A solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics , and is an important domain of study in aeronautics . The term aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, the difference being that "gas dynamics" applies to the study of the motion of all gases, and is not limited to air. The formal study of aerodynamics began in

340-654: A world championship with rounds across the world. Cars which fit the GT1 class were eligible to race only in the FIA GT1 World Championship , as the ACO (organizer of the Le Mans 24 Hours ) banned the cars from the event and all of its associated series. This meant that the category that once was eligible to race not only in the FIA GT, Le Mans Series and numerous national championships, was now only able to run in

408-559: A "round robin" system. After the end of the 2004 season, the FIA renamed the classes GT1 and GT2, and somewhat liberalized the GT1 regulations, allowing "supercars". While this was made to accommodate the Saleen S7 , the biggest beneficiary was the purpose-built Maserati MC12 , which led the FIA to impose aerodynamic limitations on the Italian car. However, thanks to a weight penalty system,

476-840: A Maserati MC12) allowing Maserati to win the FIA GT Manufacturers Title. In 2006 Vitaphone Racing again won the FIA GT Teams Title, and their drivers Andrea Bertolini and Michael Bartels tied each other for the Drivers' Title. In 2007, they once again won both the Driver and Teams Championships, this time with Thomas Biagi the sole Drivers Champion, because the regular co-driver that year, Michael Bartels, missed races at Silverstone and Bucharest, with Mika Salo and Fabrizio Gollin taking his place at each of those rounds respectively. Also, Bartels did not receive

544-482: A continuum. Continuum flow fields are characterized by properties such as flow velocity , pressure , density , and temperature , which may be functions of position and time. These properties may be directly or indirectly measured in aerodynamics experiments or calculated starting with the equations for conservation of mass, momentum , and energy in air flows. Density, flow velocity, and an additional property, viscosity , are used to classify flow fields. Flow velocity

612-410: A flow field) enables the calculation of forces and moments acting on the object. In many aerodynamics problems, the forces of interest are the fundamental forces of flight: lift , drag , thrust , and weight . Of these, lift and drag are aerodynamic forces, i.e. forces due to air flow over a solid body. Calculation of these quantities is often founded upon the assumption that the flow field behaves as

680-438: A fluid, the speed of sound in that fluid can be considered the fastest speed that "information" can travel in the flow. This difference most obviously manifests itself in the case of a fluid striking an object. In front of that object, the fluid builds up a stagnation pressure as impact with the object brings the moving fluid to rest. In fluid traveling at subsonic speed, this pressure disturbance can propagate upstream, changing

748-457: A full race distance lasting a minimum of 500 km or a maximum of three hours, with the exception of the Spa 24 Hours , Istanbul 2 hours and the exhibition Mil Milhas Brasileiras , which is run over a thousand miles (1609 km) and was planned to be a round of the championship in 2007. However, with the release of the 2007 FIA GT Championship schedule and rules, the FIA GT series becomes more of

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816-414: A fundamental relationship between pressure, density, and flow velocity for incompressible flow known today as Bernoulli's principle , which provides one method for calculating aerodynamic lift. In 1757, Leonhard Euler published the more general Euler equations which could be applied to both compressible and incompressible flows. The Euler equations were extended to incorporate the effects of viscosity in

884-436: A minimum quantity of 25 examples to qualify. Both types may undergo significant modifications from the road car they are based on, but GT1 allows the use of exotic materials, better aerodynamics , larger brakes , wider tyres and larger engine admission restrictors. For the 2006 season, the FIA created a new class called GT3. GT3 cars are even closer to their production counterparts and are very simply racetrack prepared with

952-410: A range of flow velocities just below and above the local speed of sound (generally taken as Mach 0.8–1.2). It is defined as the range of speeds between the critical Mach number , when some parts of the airflow over an aircraft become supersonic , and a higher speed, typically near Mach 1.2 , when all of the airflow is supersonic. Between these speeds, some of the airflow is supersonic, while some of

1020-521: A rational basis for the development of heavier-than-air flight and a number of other technologies. Recent work in aerodynamics has focused on issues related to compressible flow , turbulence , and boundary layers and has become increasingly computational in nature. Modern aerodynamics only dates back to the seventeenth century, but aerodynamic forces have been harnessed by humans for thousands of years in sailboats and windmills, and images and stories of flight appear throughout recorded history, such as

1088-432: A sprint race event, with all races being a maximum of 2 hours with the exception of the Spa 24 Hours . In 1997, due to increasing interest from manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz , Porsche and Panoz , the FIA took over control of the expanding BPR Global GT Series , standardizing the race-length at 500 km instead of the usual four hours, liberalizing the technical regulations and leaving commercial exploitation in

1156-418: Is a flow in which density is constant in both time and space. Although all real fluids are compressible, a flow is often approximated as incompressible if the effect of the density changes cause only small changes to the calculated results. This is more likely to be true when the flow speeds are significantly lower than the speed of sound. Effects of compressibility are more significant at speeds close to or above

1224-448: Is a solution in one dimension to both the momentum and energy conservation equations. The ideal gas law or another such equation of state is often used in conjunction with these equations to form a determined system that allows the solution for the unknown variables. Aerodynamic problems are classified by the flow environment or properties of the flow, including flow speed , compressibility , and viscosity . External aerodynamics

1292-416: Is a subset of the supersonic regime. Hypersonic flow is characterized by high temperature flow behind a shock wave, viscous interaction, and chemical dissociation of gas. The incompressible and compressible flow regimes produce many associated phenomena, such as boundary layers and turbulence. The concept of a boundary layer is important in many problems in aerodynamics. The viscosity and fluid friction in

1360-503: Is associated with the frictional forces in a flow. In some flow fields, viscous effects are very small, and approximate solutions may safely neglect viscous effects. These approximations are called inviscid flows. Flows for which viscosity is not neglected are called viscous flows. Finally, aerodynamic problems may also be classified by the flow environment. External aerodynamics is the study of flow around solid objects of various shapes (e.g. around an airplane wing), while internal aerodynamics

1428-407: Is called laminar flow . Aerodynamics is a significant element of vehicle design , including road cars and trucks where the main goal is to reduce the vehicle drag coefficient , and racing cars , where in addition to reducing drag the goal is also to increase the overall level of downforce . Aerodynamics is also important in the prediction of forces and moments acting on sailing vessels . It

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1496-409: Is called potential flow and allows the differential equations that describe the flow to be a simplified version of the equations of fluid dynamics , thus making available to the aerodynamicist a range of quick and easy solutions. In solving a subsonic problem, one decision to be made by the aerodynamicist is whether to incorporate the effects of compressibility. Compressibility is a description of

1564-497: Is the study of flow around solid objects of various shapes. Evaluating the lift and drag on an airplane or the shock waves that form in front of the nose of a rocket are examples of external aerodynamics. Internal aerodynamics is the study of flow through passages in solid objects. For instance, internal aerodynamics encompasses the study of the airflow through a jet engine or through an air conditioning pipe. Aerodynamic problems can also be classified according to whether

1632-415: Is the study of flow through passages inside solid objects (e.g. through a jet engine). Unlike liquids and solids, gases are composed of discrete molecules which occupy only a small fraction of the volume filled by the gas. On a molecular level, flow fields are made up of the collisions of many individual of gas molecules between themselves and with solid surfaces. However, in most aerodynamics applications,

1700-426: Is used because gas flows with a Mach number below that value demonstrate changes in density of less than 5%. Furthermore, that maximum 5% density change occurs at the stagnation point (the point on the object where flow speed is zero), while the density changes around the rest of the object will be significantly lower. Transonic, supersonic, and hypersonic flows are all compressible flows. The term Transonic refers to

1768-418: Is used in the design of mechanical components such as hard drive heads. Structural engineers resort to aerodynamics, and particularly aeroelasticity , when calculating wind loads in the design of large buildings, bridges , and wind turbines . The aerodynamics of internal passages is important in heating/ventilation , gas piping , and in automotive engines where detailed flow patterns strongly affect

1836-468: Is used to classify flows according to speed regime. Subsonic flows are flow fields in which the air speed field is always below the local speed of sound. Transonic flows include both regions of subsonic flow and regions in which the local flow speed is greater than the local speed of sound. Supersonic flows are defined to be flows in which the flow speed is greater than the speed of sound everywhere. A fourth classification, hypersonic flow, refers to flows where

1904-469: The 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008 , as the Maserati MC12 was not eligible as a GT1 car under ACO 's technical regulations. In 2009 they won their fifth consecutive Teams' Championship, with Bartels and Bertolini being Drivers' Champions for the third time. They have continued their GT programme in 2010, entering two updated Maserati MC12 to contest the new FIA GT1 World Championship . They became

1972-490: The Ancient Greek legend of Icarus and Daedalus . Fundamental concepts of continuum , drag , and pressure gradients appear in the work of Aristotle and Archimedes . In 1726, Sir Isaac Newton became the first person to develop a theory of air resistance, making him one of the first aerodynamicists. Dutch - Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli followed in 1738 with Hydrodynamica in which he described

2040-866: The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe , but throughout the years has visited other continents including Asia and South America . At the end of 2009, the championship was replaced by the FIA GT1 World Championship , which morphed into the FIA GT Series for 2013. FIA currently defines several categories of GT cars with the top two specifications being GT1, or Grand Touring Cars , and GT2, or Series Grand Touring Cars . Each category has an annual driver champion, team champion, and manufacturer champion. Both categories are based on production road car designs, which must be produced in

2108-636: The N-GT class in 2000. While the manufacturer field in the main class blossomed, the new category became swamped with Porsches and Ferraris, but lower running costs meant both classes enjoyed a balanced number of entries. In order to boost the championship's status, the SRO added the 24 Hours of Spa , previously a touring car race , to the calendar, where it became the series' most important race. The FIA also banned official manufacturer involvement, although certain teams had preferential treatment, with Porsche establishing

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2176-416: The flow speed is below, near or above the speed of sound . A problem is called subsonic if all the speeds in the problem are less than the speed of sound, transonic if speeds both below and above the speed of sound are present (normally when the characteristic speed is approximately the speed of sound), supersonic when the characteristic flow speed is greater than the speed of sound, and hypersonic when

2244-636: The 2011 season was the last time GT1 cars contested in international motorsport. The 2012 FIA GT1 season was contested with GT3 cars (yet retaining GT1 in series' title), but the series was finally cancelled after the year had concluded, being replaced by the FIA GT Series. In 2010 the GT2 class was planned to have a separate championship having rounds held only in Europe , known as the FIA GT2 European Championship, but this series

2312-470: The GT2 class. Mercedes completely dominated the new category and the other manufacturers pulled out after the end of the 1998 season. This left Chrysler's Viper to become the dominating car in the series, with the aging Porsche 993 GT2 and the Lister Storm providing a certain degree of competition. However, there was no lower inexpensive category for amateur drivers, and this led to the creation of

2380-412: The air is approximated as being significant only in this thin layer. This assumption makes the description of such aerodynamics much more tractable mathematically. In aerodynamics, turbulence is characterized by chaotic property changes in the flow. These include low momentum diffusion, high momentum convection, and rapid variation of pressure and flow velocity in space and time. Flow that is not turbulent

2448-568: The airflow is not supersonic. Supersonic aerodynamic problems are those involving flow speeds greater than the speed of sound. Calculating the lift on the Concorde during cruise can be an example of a supersonic aerodynamic problem. Supersonic flow behaves very differently from subsonic flow. Fluids react to differences in pressure; pressure changes are how a fluid is "told" to respond to its environment. Therefore, since sound is, in fact, an infinitesimal pressure difference propagating through

2516-580: The amount of change of density in the flow. When the effects of compressibility on the solution are small, the assumption that density is constant may be made. The problem is then an incompressible low-speed aerodynamics problem. When the density is allowed to vary, the flow is called compressible. In air, compressibility effects are usually ignored when the Mach number in the flow does not exceed 0.3 (about 335 feet (102 m) per second or 228 miles (366 km) per hour at 60 °F (16 °C)). Above Mach 0.3,

2584-690: The choice between statistical mechanics and the continuous formulation of aerodynamics. The assumption of a fluid continuum allows problems in aerodynamics to be solved using fluid dynamics conservation laws . Three conservation principles are used: Together, these equations are known as the Navier–Stokes equations , although some authors define the term to only include the momentum equation(s). The Navier–Stokes equations have no known analytical solution and are solved in modern aerodynamics using computational techniques . Because computational methods using high speed computers were not historically available and

2652-462: The continuum assumption is reasonable. The continuum assumption is less valid for extremely low-density flows, such as those encountered by vehicles at very high altitudes (e.g. 300,000 ft/90 km) or satellites in Low Earth orbit . In those cases, statistical mechanics is a more accurate method of solving the problem than is continuum aerodynamics. The Knudsen number can be used to guide

2720-463: The desire to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of current aircraft and propulsion systems, continues to motivate new research in aerodynamics, while work continues to be done on important problems in basic aerodynamic theory related to flow turbulence and the existence and uniqueness of analytical solutions to the Navier–Stokes equations. Understanding the motion of air around an object (often called

2788-437: The discrete molecular nature of gases is ignored, and the flow field is assumed to behave as a continuum . This assumption allows fluid properties such as density and flow velocity to be defined everywhere within the flow. The validity of the continuum assumption is dependent on the density of the gas and the application in question. For the continuum assumption to be valid, the mean free path length must be much smaller than

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2856-506: The essentials (rollcages for safety, stripped interiors, race spec fuel tanks, etc.). All cars are performance balanced together via different weights, restrictors, tyre pressures etc. Prestigious motorsports makes such as Aston Martin , Chevrolet , Dodge , Lamborghini , Ascari and Maserati take part in FIA GT3 European Championship , a support series in some rounds of the main championship. The FIA defines

2924-455: The fight for the championship is protected from more domineering cars. The level of competition remains tight, with gentlemen drivers managing to fight for the wins with professional drivers, some of them with Formula One experience. Following the 2009 season, the SRO announced that the FIA GT Championship's two categories, GT1 and GT2, would break off into separate series. The GT1 category became

2992-603: The first flights, Frederick W. Lanchester , Martin Kutta , and Nikolai Zhukovsky independently created theories that connected circulation of a fluid flow to lift. Kutta and Zhukovsky went on to develop a two-dimensional wing theory. Expanding upon the work of Lanchester, Ludwig Prandtl is credited with developing the mathematics behind thin-airfoil and lifting-line theories as well as work with boundary layers . As aircraft speed increased designers began to encounter challenges associated with air compressibility at speeds near

3060-453: The first half of the 1800s, resulting in the Navier–Stokes equations . The Navier–Stokes equations are the most general governing equations of fluid flow but are difficult to solve for the flow around all but the simplest of shapes. In 1799, Sir George Cayley became the first person to identify the four aerodynamic forces of flight ( weight , lift , drag , and thrust ), as well as the relationships between them, and in doing so outlined

3128-477: The flow pattern ahead of the object and giving the impression that the fluid "knows" the object is there by seemingly adjusting its movement and is flowing around it. In a supersonic flow, however, the pressure disturbance cannot propagate upstream. Thus, when the fluid finally reaches the object it strikes it and the fluid is forced to change its properties – temperature , density , pressure , and Mach number —in an extremely violent and irreversible fashion called

3196-458: The flow speed is much greater than the speed of sound. Aerodynamicists disagree on the precise definition of hypersonic flow. Compressible flow accounts for varying density within the flow. Subsonic flows are often idealized as incompressible, i.e. the density is assumed to be constant. Transonic and supersonic flows are compressible, and calculations that neglect the changes of density in these flow fields will yield inaccurate results. Viscosity

3264-570: The flow speed is much greater than the speed of sound. Aerodynamicists disagree over the precise definition of hypersonic flow; a rough definition considers flows with Mach numbers above 5 to be hypersonic. The influence of viscosity on the flow dictates a third classification. Some problems may encounter only very small viscous effects, in which case viscosity can be considered to be negligible. The approximations to these problems are called inviscid flows . Flows for which viscosity cannot be neglected are called viscous flows. An incompressible flow

3332-405: The hands of one of BPR's founders, Stéphane Ratel, who managed to get TV support from the pan-European TV station Eurosport . The new manufacturers built "homologation specials", racing-bred cars that took full advantage of the new rules, to build quasi-prototypes with very limited production runs of 25 cars. Chrysler , Lister and Marcos, not wanting to accompany the cost escalation, moved down to

3400-465: The high computational cost of solving these complex equations now that they are available, simplifications of the Navier–Stokes equations have been and continue to be employed. The Euler equations are a set of similar conservation equations which neglect viscosity and may be used in cases where the effect of viscosity is expected to be small. Further simplifications lead to Laplace's equation and potential flow theory. Additionally, Bernoulli's equation

3468-636: The inaugural GT1 World Champions at the 2010 FIA GT1 San Luis round winning both Drivers and Teams Championships with Bartels and Bertolini taking the Drivers Championship. For the 2011 season, Vitaphone withdrew from the GT1 World Championship and will compete in the new Blancpain Endurance Series with 2 Ferrari 458 , one of which will be driven by team owner Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini . In 2012

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3536-433: The length scale of the application in question. For example, many aerodynamics applications deal with aircraft flying in atmospheric conditions, where the mean free path length is on the order of micrometers and where the body is orders of magnitude larger. In these cases, the length scale of the aircraft ranges from a few meters to a few tens of meters, which is much larger than the mean free path length. For such applications,

3604-468: The modern sense in the eighteenth century, although observations of fundamental concepts such as aerodynamic drag were recorded much earlier. Most of the early efforts in aerodynamics were directed toward achieving heavier-than-air flight , which was first demonstrated by Otto Lilienthal in 1891. Since then, the use of aerodynamics through mathematical analysis, empirical approximations, wind tunnel experimentation, and computer simulations has formed

3672-577: The new World Championship. A few GT1 were entered in the LMGT1 class at the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans . The GT1 cars continued to race in the World Championship in 2010 and 2011, but in 2012 the series switched exclusively to GT3 machinery due to shrinking car counts and the fact that most of the cars were ageing and no one was willing to build new models. This meant that the San Luis round of

3740-532: The past four seasons. Richard Westbrook of Prospeed Competition won the GT2 Drivers' Championship. Chris Niarchos won the Citation Cup while Ferrari won the returning Manufacturers' Championship for the GT2 category. Aerodynamics Aerodynamics ( Ancient Greek : ἀήρ aero (air) + Ancient Greek : δυναμική (dynamics)) is the study of the motion of air , particularly when affected by

3808-403: The path toward achieving heavier-than-air flight for the next century. In 1871, Francis Herbert Wenham constructed the first wind tunnel , allowing precise measurements of aerodynamic forces. Drag theories were developed by Jean le Rond d'Alembert , Gustav Kirchhoff , and Lord Rayleigh . In 1889, Charles Renard , a French aeronautical engineer, became the first person to reasonably predict

3876-579: The performance of the engine. Urban aerodynamics are studied by town planners and designers seeking to improve amenity in outdoor spaces, or in creating urban microclimates to reduce the effects of urban pollution. The field of environmental aerodynamics describes ways in which atmospheric circulation and flight mechanics affect ecosystems. Aerodynamic equations are used in numerical weather prediction . Sports in which aerodynamics are of crucial importance include soccer , table tennis , cricket , baseball , and golf , in which most players can control

3944-485: The point where entire aircraft can be designed using computer software, with wind-tunnel tests followed by flight tests to confirm the computer predictions. Understanding of supersonic and hypersonic aerodynamics has matured since the 1960s, and the goals of aerodynamicists have shifted from the behaviour of fluid flow to the engineering of a vehicle such that it interacts predictably with the fluid flow. Designing aircraft for supersonic and hypersonic conditions, as well as

4012-559: The points for finishing 6th at Zhuhai, as he did not complete the required 35 minutes of time in the car. 2008 would be another successful year for the team, with Bartels and Bertolini repeating their success of 2006, and also winning the Spa 24 Hours alongside fellow Vitaphone drivers Miguel Ramos and Alexandre Negrão . Vitaphone also claimed the Teams' Championship for the fourth consecutive year. They also entered an Aston Martin DBR9 at

4080-459: The power needed for sustained flight. Otto Lilienthal , the first person to become highly successful with glider flights, was also the first to propose thin, curved airfoils that would produce high lift and low drag. Building on these developments as well as research carried out in their own wind tunnel, the Wright brothers flew the first powered airplane on December 17, 1903. During the time of

4148-421: The problem flow should be described using compressible aerodynamics. According to the theory of aerodynamics, a flow is considered to be compressible if the density changes along a streamline . This means that – unlike incompressible flow – changes in density are considered. In general, this is the case where the Mach number in part or all of the flow exceeds 0.3. The Mach 0.3 value is rather arbitrary, but it

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4216-450: The speed of sound. The Mach number is used to evaluate whether the incompressibility can be assumed, otherwise the effects of compressibility must be included. Subsonic (or low-speed) aerodynamics describes fluid motion in flows which are much lower than the speed of sound everywhere in the flow. There are several branches of subsonic flow but one special case arises when the flow is inviscid , incompressible and irrotational . This case

4284-459: The speed of sound. The differences in airflow under such conditions lead to problems in aircraft control, increased drag due to shock waves , and the threat of structural failure due to aeroelastic flutter . The ratio of the flow speed to the speed of sound was named the Mach number after Ernst Mach who was one of the first to investigate the properties of the supersonic flow. Macquorn Rankine and Pierre Henri Hugoniot independently developed

4352-624: The team (as Vita4One) entered the FIA GT1 World Championship again in a BMW Z4 . In the following years he competed in championships such as ADAC GT Masters , Blancpain GT Series and British GT , without notable success. His last appearance was in 2014. FIA GT The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of

4420-446: The theory for flow properties before and after a shock wave , while Jakob Ackeret led the initial work of calculating the lift and drag of supersonic airfoils. Theodore von Kármán and Hugh Latimer Dryden introduced the term transonic to describe flow speeds between the critical Mach number and Mach 1 where drag increases rapidly. This rapid increase in drag led aerodynamicists and aviators to disagree on whether supersonic flight

4488-490: Was achievable until the sound barrier was broken in 1947 using the Bell X-1 aircraft. By the time the sound barrier was broken, aerodynamicists' understanding of the subsonic and low supersonic flow had matured. The Cold War prompted the design of an ever-evolving line of high-performance aircraft. Computational fluid dynamics began as an effort to solve for flow properties around complex objects and has rapidly grown to

4556-598: Was also planned to be in the series, but this was quickly folded as the interest level wasn't high). However, this series is not an FIA-sanctioned championship. In 2012 the series abandoned the GT4 class and moved to GT3 exclusively. As of the end of the 2009 season , Vitaphone Racing Team have won their fifth consecutive Teams' Championship in the GT1 category, while AF Corse earned their fourth consecutive title. Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini , both driving for Vitaphone, earned their third Drivers' Championship titles in

4624-569: Was cancelled. A lone GT2 event was held in 2010 at the Spa 24 Hours with the winners being awarded the FIA GT2 European Cup. This was the last time GT2-spec cars contested in SRO-sanctioned series. A new Blancpain Endurance Series was announced for 2011 which re-established some of the endurance format of the former FIA GT Championship, although this series only utilised the FIA's GT3, GT4, and Supersports categories (GT2

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