Braking issues on the Lotus Renault R31
During this second day of testing in Jerez, Lotus Renault GP team driver Vitaly Petrov, who completed 65 laps, seemed uncomfortable at the wheel of the R31 during braking phases.
The new single-seater from Enstone seems to lack balance, and this issue is reportedly due to the adaptation of the KERS (or in French SREC, kinetic energy recovery system) during braking. The system makes its big comeback in the premier discipline for this 2011 season, and the Russian driver had to start getting accustomed to it in real driving conditions.
The search for solutions to this problem has been the main goal of the team led by the Frenchman Eric Boullier. He declared today that this new day of testing was not the easiest due to some minor technical issues. However, the team principal was reassuring by adding that efforts on the KERS and braking have been productive and that the team was starting to make the most of the KERS.
Vitaly Petrov also expressed optimism at the end of this testing day, stating that the team found good solutions for the brakes, although he added that it was difficult to find the right settings with the KERS. The Russian driver even specified that during braking phases, the rear of the car immediately locked up.
It is still useful to remember that in 2009, during the first season with KERS, similar problems were encountered by teams using this system. Effective solutions were then found to address the various inconveniences caused by the use of the energy recovery system.
