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UNIT 5 BREAKING POINT

I Describing types of technical problem

1 In pairs, discuss the technical challenges of endurance car races like the Le Mans 24
Hours sports car race.
2 a ►5.1 Sabino, an engineer with a sports car racing team, is giving a talk to some of
his team’s sponsors at a test session. Read the talk and answer the following questions.
1 What saying emphasises the importance of reliability?
2 What expression refers to things that can cause failures?
3 What expression describes damage caused by normal use?

Sabino: A race is not just a test of speed, but the ultimate test of reliability. There's an old
saying, to finish first, first you must hnish. and it's especially true in endurance racing. You're
not just competing against rival teams, you're also fighting what you could call engineering
enemies, which can cause parts of the car to fail, things like heat, pressure, vibration, shocks,
abrasion - there's continual stress on almost all the components, all the nuts and bolts on the
car. The chassis, engine, gearbox and clutch, suspension, brakes, tyres, wings, cooling system -
they all have to cope with phenomenal levels of wear and tear.

b ► 5.1 In the talk, Sabino names five engineering enemies. Complete the following list.
Listen again and check your answers.
1 h = high temperatures
2 p = loads from expanding gases or liquids
3 v = continuous high-frequency movement or shaking
4 s = sudden impacts
5 a = damage to surfaces caused by friction

c In pairs, suggest which engineering enemies in Exercise 2b can be the most problematic
for each of the following car parts.
1 chassis 4 suspension 7 wings
2 engine 5 brakes 8 cooling system
3 gearbox and clutch 6 tyres 9 nuts and bolts

3a ►5.2 Read Sabino talking about some technical problems the team have had at the test
and mark the following statements True (T) or False (F).
1 Some liquid was lost from a pipe.
2 A car lost all its coolant with the engine still running.
3 A car’s engine stopped on the circuit.
4 Some tyres were damaged.
5 A wheel nut fell off a car on the circuit.
6 A car’s suspension was broken.

Sabino: Just to give you some examples of the types of technical problems we've had so far at
this test. On one of the cars, a nut worked loose on a radiator pipe, which resulted in coolant
liquid leaking out. That caused the engine to start overheating. Fortunately, the driver saw the
warning light come on, and he switched off before the system had run out of coolant. Then on the
other car we had a fuel feed problem; the engine cut out on one of the corners. That caused the
driver to spin off. We were fortunate, he didn’t hit anything. But when the car goes off the

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