pitot tubes on race cars

[Richard J Lebens]

Are you sure those aren't antennas?

--- Louis-Alain_Richard at computerhorizons.com wrote:
> >From the position of the tube, I guess its for measuring the actual 
> undisturbed air speed. The reason must be linked to the "flying
> Mercedes" 
> of  LeMans 1998.
> These cars took off because, after getting closer from behind to
> another 
> slower car, their front downforce was impaired to the point of being
> nil.
> I guess the driver wants to know when the air speed is way slower
> than 
> road speed.
> 
> 
> Louis-Alain
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Out of curiosity, anyone know why a number of the prototype ALMS cars
> 
> sported pitot tubes?  I've seen the same thing on pictures of F1
> cars.
> 
> Sorta visible here if you click on the image for the larger version:
> http://frank.mercea.net/zoph/photo.php?album_id=20&_off=8
> 
> (right in front of the headrest hump)
> 
> Oh, and much better visibility here:
> http://frank.mercea.net/photos/cars/CRW_4399.jpg
> 
> 
> Generally in aircraft they provide:
> -speed indication
> -vacuum (or pressure) for driving the gyros in an emergency
> 
> Neither seems terribly useful in a racecar with four perfectly good 
> wheels to measure speed from(and an accelerometer to tell when 
> there's wheelslip, for example).  If you need an artificial horizon 
> gyro in a racecar, you're doing something wrong :-)
> 
> Only other thing I can think of is for measuring aerodynamics, but 
> would one fixed point be all that useful?  Maybe a reference pressure
> 
> for other ports along the car?(if so, they're well hidden!)
> 
> So I give up.  What's it for?  Google turned up nothing useful.
> 
> Brett
> 
> 
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