The Art and Science of Rally Car Design: A Conversation with Christian Lao

Christian Lao, the chief designer for the WRC car Ford, is known for his passion and expertise in designing vehicles that can conquer even the most treacherous terrain. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with him and discuss the intricacies of rally car design.

Notice When You Just Get on Throttle

I have to admit, when I first got behind the wheel of this car, I was a bit hesitant. The initial impression was that it felt more front-wheel drive than rear-wheel drive, which is quite unusual for a rally car. However, as I soon discovered, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Nowadays, most drivers are trained to push their cars to the limit, and the goal is to avoid sliding as much as possible. This is because engineers and drivers alike want to minimize weight transfer during cornering, which can be achieved by lowering the center of gravity on the floor.

Weight Distribution: The Key to Success

For Lao, the main focus is on reducing weight transfer in the corner. He explains that the only way to cancel out this effect is by having the center of gravity as low as possible. To achieve this, designers try to minimize the ground clearance and make everything as light and low as possible in the car. This is a crucial aspect of rally car design, as it allows the vehicle to maintain traction and stability even on the most challenging terrain.

The Importance of Suspension Components

One aspect of the car that Lao believes people would be surprised at learning about is the performance of the damper in the suspension system. He notes that dampers take a tremendous amount of abuse during testing, especially when navigating rocky roads or other challenging surfaces. To illustrate his point, he shares stories of how some drivers have been in rallying for 15 years and still managed to withstand massive impacts without sustaining any damage.

Testing and Driver Feedback

Lao's team often takes designers on test drives to help them appreciate the stresses that the car is put through during testing. This allows designers to gain a deeper understanding of what their creations are capable of, and it also provides valuable feedback for future design improvements.

The Ultimate Tool for Drivers

According to Lao, once the car has been designed, it's up to the driver to unleash its full potential. He notes that most cars can be driven slowly and safely, but it's only when you push them to their limits that they truly come alive. In other words, the last 10% of performance is often the most difficult to extract from a car, and it requires a deep understanding of the vehicle's capabilities and limitations.

A Little Unconventional Question

During our conversation, I couldn't resist asking Lao about his personal experience with shopping for groceries in supermarkets. He revealed that he does indeed slide his trolley around corners like we do during rallying, albeit only to avoid bumping into things. However, he also acknowledged that it's not always the most elegant solution and sometimes requires a bit of finesse.

A Parting Thought

As our conversation came to a close, I couldn't help but feel grateful for Lao's insight and expertise. His passion for rally car design is evident, and his dedication to creating vehicles that can conquer even the most challenging terrain is truly admirable. Whether you're a seasoned racing enthusiast or just a casual fan of the sport, there's no denying the importance of effective car design in achieving success on the track.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enin 2005 as some of you might remember I took part in What was the most fun experience I've ever had in a motorc car it was the rally GB and we did it with Ford in a Fiesta ST and somehow don't ask me how we won our class at the beginning of the last day of the rally Malcolm Wilson team owner turned around to me and he said Chris if you finish this rally you can have a drive in a full Works WRC Focus I suspect he said that because he suspected we weren't going to finish the rally somehow we did finish the rally and now nearly two years later I'm faced with the following a focused WRC and Malcolm Wilson Malcolm please can I drive your car well I did promise you but really if you want to know I just didn't want my car damaged that's why I said you could drive one and look where I am now but no delighted to give you this opportunity uh just please don't damage this one either okay I W bye in the car okay here with m h and in this year's Focus WC car this redefines the meaning of the word weapon this thing does it is unbelievable it's about 3 in a break but God knows how much talk we're at Silverstone it's slippery it's gravel and we're doing big skids we're going to get a big slide little bit hand break and back on throttle keep on turning and back on throttle there you go fantastic M talk me through how how do I get the best out this week how do I get the best out of this car you're doing it now but okay like you said you just you just just having the feeling now so uh just need to be a little bit more needs but of course it's nice to slide around so just have fun and uh enjoy the ride but of course it's always nowadays fastest way is not to go so much sideways so you just want to keep it inside of the corner like now you go back on accelate out of it surely side way is fun though please yeah yeah sideways for me that would be the way to go but unfortunately it's not the fastest way but there's always sometimes when you can have a little bit fun and play with the car and then the spectators they just loving it so it's a funny thing to drive cuz you suspect you should drive it sideways everywhere but the fact is you actually need to be more accurate the car goes into the corners quite SL way but then the quick way out is just to keep your toe in and the traction generat this shocking surface is unbelievable that was small Scandinavian lck to get acrossways that's good F that's always a good one on Def turning there you go a I know that Formula 1 is the big kindy sport but really this is the sport where it's at two PLS in a focus doing skids on gravel what a joy the ride Comfort is just unbelievable this car rides better than an S-Class and we're on huge great big holes in the time get offline it's bit slippy was okay that was a big nice slide and then again you notice when you just get on throttle it was okay it's kind of the biggest mistake you can do that when you start sliding you get off the throttle then it's over yeah then it's over right now we're out of the car we we're in the car car with M hion earlier but I was gabbling a bit I was terrified because someone had told me the car was worth half a million quid um and I was trying my best not to look a complete fool in front of the professional here talk me through the way you drive this car because what I now feel having stepped out of it and thought about the process of driving it is it feels more front-wheel drive than it does rear wheel drive is that right or wrong yeah it's it's a right feeling because nowadays I think all the drivers they know that the fastest way to go is as neat as possible so you don't want to slide it so all the engineers and all the drivers they want to do the design and the setup so that it kind of aulls a little bit more from the front even though it doesn't but it that's the feeling you get Christian Lao here who is the chief designer for the WRC car Ford is that what your job title is uh technical director is same thing technical director sounds more important we'll call him technical director okay thank you um now good I presume your passion as much as anything is is weight distribution so let's start somewhere because I always hear that you're a bit clever at making things low in a car yeah okay passion is try to make the car go fast and uh reducing the the weight transfer in the corner is the main thing the only way you cancel that is by having the center of gravity on the floor so you try to putot it as low as possible and the fast the car will go around the corner and that's an absolute fact yeah that's an absolute fact yeah so you try to uh design it so that the grand clearance can be minimized and run as low as possible and then you try to make everything as light and as low as possible in the car what's the one aspect of the car that you think people would be surprised at to learn how important the performance of that component was probably probably the damper in the suspension system because they take so much abuse I mean when you come with us testing sometimes even I've been in rallying for 15 years and some sometimes you go to a rocky road in in in um in Spain or in Greece and they Rock step this big and you think and you go 100 miles now over that and you just ate it and it just Carries On Nothing falls apart it's just normal and um yeah when you think that's why on when we go testing we always take a designer to come on a test and we often give them a ride in the car so that they can appreciate what what the thing is going through it's pretty amazing it's an amazing thing isn't it well Christian thank you very much I'm I'm I've just driven the car and I'm just shocked by how competent it is and how how it helps the driver cuz I suppose that's the key thing for you you can only do so much can't you when when you finish the car it's up to the driver yeah yeah and so you provided the driver with the ultimate tool L it's uh it's it's easy to drive it slowly and I suspect to find the last bit of performance in the car it's very difficult indeed yeah no I think it's very much like they quite easy car to drive up to 89% and then the last 10% it's it's probably in the last five three 4% it's only low and Markus that it at the moment do you think you could design a special pair of testicles for drivers can you design those maybe with a variable stroke I never know I think I never know if they've got B big testicle or small brain it's probably a bit of both good there's one question I always wanted to ask a WRC driver but never had the courage to when you go shopping for your food in the supermarket and you have a trolley do you do you slide the trolley around the corners like we do do you slide I'm ashamed to say that yeah I do good good cuz otherwise then we're alone but as long as we like to know that you set the you set the trol up early and just drift it through the Apex and then and then straight but now I know you have to straighten it up early yeah you straighten it up early but then again it's quite nice to do donuts with the trolley as well so I'll do that one as well but it's been an honor thank you very much best of luck for the rest of the scene all right cheersin 2005 as some of you might remember I took part in What was the most fun experience I've ever had in a motorc car it was the rally GB and we did it with Ford in a Fiesta ST and somehow don't ask me how we won our class at the beginning of the last day of the rally Malcolm Wilson team owner turned around to me and he said Chris if you finish this rally you can have a drive in a full Works WRC Focus I suspect he said that because he suspected we weren't going to finish the rally somehow we did finish the rally and now nearly two years later I'm faced with the following a focused WRC and Malcolm Wilson Malcolm please can I drive your car well I did promise you but really if you want to know I just didn't want my car damaged that's why I said you could drive one and look where I am now but no delighted to give you this opportunity uh just please don't damage this one either okay I W bye in the car okay here with m h and in this year's Focus WC car this redefines the meaning of the word weapon this thing does it is unbelievable it's about 3 in a break but God knows how much talk we're at Silverstone it's slippery it's gravel and we're doing big skids we're going to get a big slide little bit hand break and back on throttle keep on turning and back on throttle there you go fantastic M talk me through how how do I get the best out this week how do I get the best out of this car you're doing it now but okay like you said you just you just just having the feeling now so uh just need to be a little bit more needs but of course it's nice to slide around so just have fun and uh enjoy the ride but of course it's always nowadays fastest way is not to go so much sideways so you just want to keep it inside of the corner like now you go back on accelate out of it surely side way is fun though please yeah yeah sideways for me that would be the way to go but unfortunately it's not the fastest way but there's always sometimes when you can have a little bit fun and play with the car and then the spectators they just loving it so it's a funny thing to drive cuz you suspect you should drive it sideways everywhere but the fact is you actually need to be more accurate the car goes into the corners quite SL way but then the quick way out is just to keep your toe in and the traction generat this shocking surface is unbelievable that was small Scandinavian lck to get acrossways that's good F that's always a good one on Def turning there you go a I know that Formula 1 is the big kindy sport but really this is the sport where it's at two PLS in a focus doing skids on gravel what a joy the ride Comfort is just unbelievable this car rides better than an S-Class and we're on huge great big holes in the time get offline it's bit slippy was okay that was a big nice slide and then again you notice when you just get on throttle it was okay it's kind of the biggest mistake you can do that when you start sliding you get off the throttle then it's over yeah then it's over right now we're out of the car we we're in the car car with M hion earlier but I was gabbling a bit I was terrified because someone had told me the car was worth half a million quid um and I was trying my best not to look a complete fool in front of the professional here talk me through the way you drive this car because what I now feel having stepped out of it and thought about the process of driving it is it feels more front-wheel drive than it does rear wheel drive is that right or wrong yeah it's it's a right feeling because nowadays I think all the drivers they know that the fastest way to go is as neat as possible so you don't want to slide it so all the engineers and all the drivers they want to do the design and the setup so that it kind of aulls a little bit more from the front even though it doesn't but it that's the feeling you get Christian Lao here who is the chief designer for the WRC car Ford is that what your job title is uh technical director is same thing technical director sounds more important we'll call him technical director okay thank you um now good I presume your passion as much as anything is is weight distribution so let's start somewhere because I always hear that you're a bit clever at making things low in a car yeah okay passion is try to make the car go fast and uh reducing the the weight transfer in the corner is the main thing the only way you cancel that is by having the center of gravity on the floor so you try to putot it as low as possible and the fast the car will go around the corner and that's an absolute fact yeah that's an absolute fact yeah so you try to uh design it so that the grand clearance can be minimized and run as low as possible and then you try to make everything as light and as low as possible in the car what's the one aspect of the car that you think people would be surprised at to learn how important the performance of that component was probably probably the damper in the suspension system because they take so much abuse I mean when you come with us testing sometimes even I've been in rallying for 15 years and some sometimes you go to a rocky road in in in um in Spain or in Greece and they Rock step this big and you think and you go 100 miles now over that and you just ate it and it just Carries On Nothing falls apart it's just normal and um yeah when you think that's why on when we go testing we always take a designer to come on a test and we often give them a ride in the car so that they can appreciate what what the thing is going through it's pretty amazing it's an amazing thing isn't it well Christian thank you very much I'm I'm I've just driven the car and I'm just shocked by how competent it is and how how it helps the driver cuz I suppose that's the key thing for you you can only do so much can't you when when you finish the car it's up to the driver yeah yeah and so you provided the driver with the ultimate tool L it's uh it's it's easy to drive it slowly and I suspect to find the last bit of performance in the car it's very difficult indeed yeah no I think it's very much like they quite easy car to drive up to 89% and then the last 10% it's it's probably in the last five three 4% it's only low and Markus that it at the moment do you think you could design a special pair of testicles for drivers can you design those maybe with a variable stroke I never know I think I never know if they've got B big testicle or small brain it's probably a bit of both good there's one question I always wanted to ask a WRC driver but never had the courage to when you go shopping for your food in the supermarket and you have a trolley do you do you slide the trolley around the corners like we do do you slide I'm ashamed to say that yeah I do good good cuz otherwise then we're alone but as long as we like to know that you set the you set the trol up early and just drift it through the Apex and then and then straight but now I know you have to straighten it up early yeah you straighten it up early but then again it's quite nice to do donuts with the trolley as well so I'll do that one as well but it's been an honor thank you very much best of luck for the rest of the scene all right cheers\n"