This idyllic old tunnel is being torn hard

torn torn

This idyllic-looking old tunnel is home to cutting-edge technology.

The hole in the wall you're looking at isn't your local Febo, but the entrance to the Catesby Tunnel in Northamptonshire. As the year on top suggests, it is already an old owner. Trains once passed through, but the last time they did, you were just a twinkle in your father's eye. Now, however, the ancient structure harbors a cutting-edge secret.

A hypermodern secret with a kind of 'down-to-earth'. touch. Basically, the tunnel should serve as a “non-wind tunnel”. Now you will say, a “non-wind tunnel”, so that's just “a tunnel”. And in principle you are right, but it is a bit more complicated than that.

Wind tunnels and Wunibald Kamm

KammKamm

The world's first wind tunnel built to develop the aerodynamics of automobiles was built near Stuttgart in 1930. The unit is still in use today. In 1938 the BMW 328 Kamm Coupé showed how much influence good aero can have. The fat BMW was much more economical than its normal brother. The Kamm coupé was named after Wunibald Kamm, who etched his name into automotive history through the well-known “Kamm-tail”.

A disadvantage of wind tunnels, however, is that it consumes an enormous amount of energy to generate the wind and that (partly) because of this they are very expensive to use. A day of wind tunneling can easily cost you a lot of money these days. In fact, it would be more convenient if you had a wind tunnel in which you let the car move, instead of the wind. The ‘tunnel aspect’ especially to create equal conditions and to shield the test object from the elements.

Ganassi

This idea is not entirely new. In 2003 Chip Ganassi's IndyCar team bought an abandoned tunnel in Pennsylvania, which has reportedly been tested by F1 teams since then. However, this tunnel in Northamptonshire is the project of the company Totalsim. They also work a lot with race teams, but also, for example, with Olympic Athletes to optimize aerodynamics.

In 2013, the company found this beautiful tunnel, which had been out of use for six decades at the time. Important requirements were that the tunnel had to be flat and straight. This unit has an almost constant angle of inclination of 0.006% and with a length of more than 2.5 kilometers also meets the other requirement. Initially, however, no one knew who actually owned it.

tunneltunnel

After that was sorted out, the renovation started. Of course, there will be very tight asphalt in the tunnel. In addition, there are plans to install fans that can simulate crosswinds. At the end, a solution is available to allow the cars to run. Twenty million pounds has been spent on the project to date. Money that of course has to be earned back.

Fortunately, the tunnel is a stone's throw from Motorsport Valley, the part of the United Kingdom where numerous racing teams are based. In addition to racing teams, however, various sports teams, TV makers and record fighters have already expressed an interest in doing something with the tunnel. All in all a nice piece of ‘rethinking’ So. Which tunnel have you ever torn through the hardest?


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