Simon Finnis is the LMP3 Chief Engineer at United Autosports, heading up the department in ELMS and Michelin Le Mans Cup.
Q: What other categories have you worked in?
Simon Finnis: “Well, I think it was more black-and-white when I started a long time ago. So, I started racing as a very enthusiastic mechanic in 1980, this was the first time I ever looked after a car at a racetrack. And ever since then, that's all I've ever done.”
Q: What is your role within the United Auto sports team? And what does it consist of?
SF: “Okay, so chief engineer is my job title. I oversee the fleet of cars that we have at United Autosports. We've got six of the current cars, we've got five racing this weekend, one in America, and we've still got a couple of the older cars. So essentially, I'm responsible for all of those and pretty much everything to do with that.
“So involved with the engineering side of things is the performance, which is very important, but also the maintenance and the life of the components. It's very important to us that we keep all the cars the same as well, that we work very hard to be used one the United Autosports car, and that's a good platform to work from.”
Q: Can you explain what a typical day is for you during a race weekend?
SF: “Today is a good example. So, we’ve been on track, we've had two sessions today. I oversee the number two car as my main role. But prior to that, we'll have a meeting with all the other engineers, and we'll try and work as a group. For instance, Wayne Boyd also drives the no23 car in MLMC, as well as the n°2 car in ELMS. So, it's important that he's happy that both cars are the same. And sometimes, you know, we could work together on the two cars to actually produce a good end result. So, it's just trying to work as a team, which is very important.”
Q: How much data do you share between the crews, both on the engineering and driver side?
SF: “Everything really, it's extremely important, and it's one of our strengths that we've got so many drivers. The engineers will all work together as for a common goal. So essentially, we try and start the same with all the cars, sometimes there are small differences, then it makes it much easier to share the data because stuff is like for like. So, all the data is available.
“We have a group of data engineers that make sure it gets put on, we have a server in the back of the garage. All the video is uploaded very quickly, so they can look at it in the session and work generally with their pro driver in the MLMC. So, it's all available for them so that they can make good progress during the session.
Q: What is the best thing you like about working in the European Le Mans Series?
SF: “For me, I like the variety, I like the fact that there are different categories, and I like the fact in LMP there are different manufacturers involved. It would be nice if there were a few more, I know that there can be four or five but there's only two here, but I really like that as a concept. You compete against different manufacturers. I think that's good for young engineers coming through as well to help them compete and learn their skills.”
