Safety cars are one of the most important aspects of motorsport. They play a key role to ensure safety and smooth functioning of a race in the event of an untoward incident. So what exactly goes into the making of a safety car to make it track ready? We bring you an insight look into the BMW M2 Coupe, the official Safety Car for the 2016 MotoGP season. Read on.
Work on the 2016 Safety car began in October 2016 at the BMW M factory in Garching. It took a total of ten weeks to convert a standard production BMW M2 Coupe to the fully blown safety car. Each modification was done manually by a team of trained experts. First up the support mounts for the roll cage and six point harness along with the bracket for the fire extinguisher were welded into place. This was followed by the mounting of the bracket for the light bar ton the roof of the car.
The light bar comprises of LED lights and control electronics. The bracket that is used for the light bar is made up of light weight material that includes perforated sheet along with carbon fibre in the same colour of the car. The light bar is operated via a specially developed control panel located inside the car. There are various lighting combination programmes that can be chosen to operate the system. The front grille of the M2 gets blue LEDs while at the rear, the reversing lights are replaced by flashing red LED lights.
An adjustable rear spoiler was fitted on the boot. This spoiler is made from carbon fibre and reinforced plastic. This keeps the airflow in check that is disturbed by the light bar. The rear spoiler is inspired from the one on the M4 GTS. The front flap was designed glass fibre laminate and carbon fibre inlays.
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