1:12.725

The Bikernieki track record. Set with a steering system that tried to fight us on the fastest corner of the lap.

We were not racing at Bikernieki. We were invited as special guests for a single purpose: attempt the circuit lap record. The window was narrow. A few trial runs, then the timed attempt. No second chances, no coming back the next day.

Preparation started in the simulator. We built a model of Bikernieki using a track scan made by enthusiasts and available online. The model turned out to be surprisingly accurate. In the simulator we were, as usual, faster than what the real car would deliver. But the margins and the approach translated. We knew where the time was and where the risks were.

Steer-Bump

The Kalana runs a steering geometry we call Steer-Bump. In a conventional suspension, the pushrod is mounted to the lower wishbone. We mount it to the upright. This couples ride height to steering input — the corner-inside wheel rises, the outside drops. The effect scales with steering angle: large in slow corners, negligible at speed. In slow and medium-speed turns, it loads the rear tyres harder on corner exit — better traction, better acceleration out of the bend.

The tradeoff is load through the front end. The steering forces are higher, and the electronic power steering has to work harder. On a smooth track, this is not a problem. On a bumpy track, the transient loads spike unpredictably.

Bikernieki is a bumpy track.

The Problem

During the trial runs, it happened. A fast right-hand corner — one of the highest-speed sections of the track. The car hit a bumpy patch mid-corner, the transient load through the steering column spiked, and the electronic power steering cut out. For a fraction of a second.

A fraction of a second is a long time at that speed. Without power assistance, the steering loads through the Steer-Bump geometry are enormous. The wheel becomes impossible to hold. The car drifted off its line. It did not crash. But it was close enough to concentrate the mind.

There was no time to fix the power steering itself. The protection was doing what it was designed to do — cutting torque to protect the motor from overload. Recalibrating thresholds or redesigning the load path was not happening in a paddock in Riga with an hour before the timed run.

What we could do was soften the car. We swapped the springs for a softer set and adjusted the damper settings to match. The car had been bouncing badly over the bumps, and reducing the peak loads would keep the tyres in contact with the surface and lower the spikes feeding through the steering column.

The Attempt

The approach was simple. Drive the lap at full commitment everywhere except that one corner. Carry slightly less speed through the bumpy section. Keep the loads below the threshold. Accept the time loss there and make it up everywhere else.

It was enough.

1:12.725. The new Bikernieki Circuit track record.

What Bikernieki Proved

The Steer-Bump geometry works. It is a measurable advantage in slow and medium-speed corners. But the electronic power steering was not robust enough for a rough circuit. Pikes Peak is rougher than Bikernieki. The corners are tighter and the bumps are worse. The Pikes Peak car will run hydraulic power steering.

The record stands. The problem Bikernieki exposed shaped the direction for the next car.