Beaten
warrior. Reynard would just assume forget this weekend. The
new 2KQ has been dogged by many niggling issues. The most prominent
of which is a lack of torsional stiffness. This leads to set-up difficulties
as the car lacks "repeatability". That is, over a given lap, due
to chassis flex, the car behaves differently through a certain section
than it did the previous lap.
Much
has been said about the 2K's unique quick change transmission. At
this time it looks like an overly complex solution. Componentization
is
the next step in chassis packaging, but this new technology isn't lending
itself to be reliable at this time. It seems the 2KQ staff has bitten
off more than they can chew with their design brief. 
The
composite rear end sub-assmbley. Two men can easily lift it as I
witnessed the Johansson group split the car for an engine change.
From a manufacturing standpoint this piece looks like a tolerance nightmare.
But I think the packaging and weight benefits would be worth its pursuance. 
It
seems hours of Computational Fluid Dynamics have come to the same, or near
same, solution that Electromotive had with their early 90s Nissan GTP turbo
inlets. By eliminating the airbox and utilizing these scoops for
engine induction, the 2KQ has reduced frontal area and improved airflow
to the rear wing. 
The
splitter, looking at the underside. Very flat with a spanular 'kick'
that feeds into the side pods. The 2KQ makes its top side downforce
by slowing the air down with its blunt body work and giving that slow air
a surface to act upon. The question had arisen as to how front end
downforce would be tuned out of the chassis. It seems the current
solution is to trim off sections of splitter (shown here). It has
also been reported that the Reynard's splitter suffers from extreme flexing
at maximum downforce. Apparently it is so bad that the ends touch
the ground (note high proportion of grind marks towards the outer ends
of the splitter). This has been temporarily remedied by attaching
stays from the outboard splitter to the center chassis section. 
The
Johansson car also sported a duckbill extension not seen during the test
days. The wing mount attaches to a composite structural beam that
is bonded to the bodywork. I noted what appeared to be an ad hoc
aluminum
reinforcement on the wing mount. In light of George Robinson's
2KQ testing accident at the Texas Motor Speedway I would think this prudent.
One thing that caught my eye was the unusally large slot between the flap and main wing element. Typically this slot is around 1 to 2% the main plane chord dimension and in this case it definetly appears larger.
