Modern driving gloves
A driving glove is a hand covering, typically constructed of very thin, soft leather. It is used to give a driver better control of the vehicle by enhancing grip of the steering wheel and gear stick.
A driving glove is a hand covering, typically constructed of very thin, soft leather. It is used to give a driver better control of the vehicle by enhancing grip of the steering wheel and gear stick.
The driving glove made its appearance during the 1890s. Steering wheels at the time were generally made from uncovered metal or wood. Internal heating in cars was not available since all cars were convertibles, and an uncovered metal steering wheel would be cold on the hands during winter and potentially slick with sweat in summer. For wooden steering wheels, gloves could protect the driver's hands from splinters. [1]
The used gloves looked like gauntlet gloves and were usually lined, meaning they had an inner layer of wool, fur, or lambskin. It was not that important in the early days to have great sensitivity and contact with the steering wheel, but rather a firm grip to drive in a straight line due to the lack of power steering.
Early racing cars used steering wheels taken directly from road cars. These wheels were normally made from wood, necessitating the use and development of driving gloves. [2] Racing driving gloves have developed over time, from Silver Arrows through to Grand Prix and modern gloves.
Driving gloves fulfill at least two functions: grip and protection. Although maximum tactility is an obvious starting point for driving gloves, any glove can be marked as a driver's glove, and can improve the grip on the steering wheel. Some owners of classic cars still wear driving gloves in order to protect the vintage wooden or ivory steering wheel.
True driving gloves can be identified by the fact that they offer tactile advantages to drivers handling a car near the limits of adhesion. Made of soft leather, drivers gloves are unlined with external seams, which makes them seamless inside so as not to interfere with the sensitivity of the drivers touch on the steering wheel, and subsequently information from where the tire contacts the road.
Driving gloves feature open knuckles and back for maximum flexibility; ventilation to reduce stress on the soft, thin leather; holes punched in fingers and palms for ventilation; short cuffs so as not to restrict movement; and a stud fastener closure on the back for proper fit around the wrist and unobstructed view of the drivers chronograph.
Racing gloves are specifically designed for increased grip and performance and protection against heat and flame for drivers in automobile competitions. [3] Racing gloves must have cuffs to provide thermal shielding in conjunction with racing driver's suits. They are made of Nomex.
Because leather shrinks considerably when exposed to flame, the glove's leather is usually limited only to the tactile areas of the hand. There is usually no leather on the cuff, on the back of the hand, or between the fingers (also called fourchettes). The racing glove is supposed to be tight either at the wrist or at the extremity of the cuff. [4]
The leather is meant to be used as an additional layer of material. The seams for attaching the leather have to be separate from the structural seams of the glove. The thickness of the leather is preferably as thin as possible. [5]
Drivers of single-seater cars in races with standing starts must wear gloves in a high-visibility color, which contrasts with the predominant color of the car, so that the driver can clearly draw the attention of the race starter in case of difficulties. [6]
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motorsport circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher ranks of motorsports, with most drivers of the Formula One—including Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Ayrton Senna, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen, and Fernando Alonso—having begun their careers in karting.
To improve motorcycle safety, many countries mandate the wearing of personal protective equipment such as protective clothing and helmets. Protective clothing may include certain types of jackets, gloves, boots, and pants. Jackets meant for motorcyclists are typically made of leather or specialized man-made fabrics like cordura or Kevlar. These jackets typically include padding on the elbow, spine, and shoulder regions. This was once quite bulky, but modern technology and materials have made it unobtrusive. Gloves are generally made of leather or Kevlar and some include carbon fiber knuckle protection. Boots, especially those for sport riding, include reinforcement and plastic caps on the ankle and toe areas. Pants are usually leather, cordura, or Kevlar. Except for helmets, none of these items are required by law in any state in the USA, or in any part of the UK but are recommended by many of those who ride.
A glove is a garment covering the hand, with separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. Gloves extending past the wrist are called gauntlets. Gloves protect and comfort hands against cold or heat, damage by friction, abrasion or chemicals, and disease; or in turn to provide a guard for what a bare hand should not touch.
The Tyrrell P34, commonly known as the "six-wheeler", was a Formula One (F1) race car designed by Derek Gardner, Tyrrell's chief designer. The car used four specially manufactured 10-inch diameter (254 mm) wheels and tyres at the front, with two ordinary-sized wheels at the back. Along with the Brabham BT46B "fancar" developed in 1978, the six-wheeled Tyrrell was one of the most radical entries ever to succeed in F1 competition and has been called the most recognisable design in the history of world motorsports.
A steering wheel is a type of steering control in vehicles.
Automobile handling and vehicle handling are descriptions of the way a wheeled vehicle responds and reacts to the inputs of a driver, as well as how it moves along a track or road. It is commonly judged by how a vehicle performs particularly during cornering, acceleration, and braking as well as on the vehicle's directional stability when moving in steady state condition.
Simulated racing or racing simulation, commonly known as simply sim racing, are the collective terms for racing game software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings. To be competitive in sim racing, a driver must understand all aspects of car handling that make real-world racing so difficult, such as threshold braking, how to maintain control of a car as the tires lose traction, and how properly to enter and exit a turn without sacrificing speed. It is this level of difficulty that distinguishes sim racing from arcade racing-style driving games where real-world variables are taken out of the equation and the principal objective is to create a sense of speed as opposed to a sense of realism.
Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers, with loss of traction, while maintaining control and driving the car through the entirety of a corner. The technique causes the rear slip angle to exceed the front slip angle to such an extent that often the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn. Drifting is traditionally done by clutch kicking, then intentionally oversteering and countersteering. This sense of drift is not to be confused with the four wheel drift, a classic cornering technique established in Grand Prix and sports car racing.
A gauntlet is a type of glove that protects the hand and wrist of a combatant. Gauntlets were used particularly in Europe between the early fourteenth century and the early modern period and were often constructed of hardened leather or metal plates.
Cycling gloves are gloves designed for cycling. They may provide warmth, comfort and protection.
The Mercedes-Benz C216 is the last generation for the grand tourer with name Mercedes-Benz CL-Class. It replaced the C215 platform. In 2014 it was replaced by the C217 S-Class Coupe.
Weightlifting gloves are gloves worn by weightlifters. These gloves provide extra grip strength to the wearer by mitigating friction from the bar and to reduce the potential for injury.
A tuilik is an Inuit watertight jacket, used when paddling a kayak. It is sealed at the face, at the wrists and around the cockpit coaming. In this way the paddler can capsize and come back upright without getting wet, and without getting any water into the kayak.
A wheelspin occurs when the force delivered to the tire tread exceeds that of available tread-to-surface friction and one or more tires lose traction. This leads the wheels to "spin" and causes the driver to lose control over the tires that no longer have grip on the road surface. Wheelspin can also be done intentionally such as in drifting or doing a burnout.
The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is a front mid-engine, 2-seater, limited production grand tourer developed by the Mercedes-AMG division of German automotive manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, with the assistance of David Coulthard. The car is the successor to the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and was described by Mercedes-Benz as a spiritual successor to the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, mainly because it was inspired by the latter. SLS stands for "Super Leicht Sport".
The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the long-term Formula One feeder series GP2. The series' original founders were Flavio Briatore and current managing director Bruno Michel.
The Abarth 124 Spider is a performance version of the Fiat 124 Spider (2016) manufactured by Mazda for FCA under the Abarth marque. It was introduced at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, along with the racing car Abarth 124 Spider Rally. Final assembly of the car takes place in the Officine Abarth in Turin, Italy, where the model specific parts are installed on the Japanese built roadster.
A racing suit or racing overalls, often referred to as a fire suit due to its fire retardant properties, is clothing such as overalls worn in various forms of auto racing by racing drivers, crew members who work on the vehicles during races, track safety workers or marshals, and in some series commentators at the event.
The Mazda MX-5 (NA) is the first generation of the Mazda MX-5 manufactured from 1989 to 1997. Inspired by the post-war era British sports cars, the MX-5 rejuvenated interest in roadsters after the demise of cars such as the MG B and Triumph Spitfire. Since its debut, the MX-5 has won numerous automotive awards and has become the world's best selling sports car.
