World-Leaders Sun and McLaren Team Up for Their 12th F1 Season Together
12 March 1999
World-Leaders Sun and McLaren Team Up for Their 12th F1 Season Together
PALO ALTO, Calif., March 11 -- Sun Microsystems
entered its 12th season of Formula One motor racing with World
Champions West McLaren Mercedes at the opening race on Sunday March 7, 1999
(Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia) reinforcing its position as a key
Technology Partner and major sponsor of the 1998 World Championship winning
team.
Throughout its 32 year-long racing history, UK-based McLaren has proved to
be one of the most successful Formula One teams of all time, with 116 Grands
Prix wins -- closest rivals Ferrari with 119 wins and Williams 99 -- racing in
a total of 476 Grands Prix to date. Formula One is the most popular annual
sporting events in the world and one of the most technologically dependent.
The Sun/McLaren relationship began in 1987, with Sun achieving its current
"Technology Partner" supplier status in 1993, a world-wide partnership in
which each company benefits from access to the other's latest technological
developments, and includes high-level service support from Enterprise
Services. Sun's involvement continues to be crucial to the team's success
today, with the provision of advanced computing technology with the
performance necessary to maintain continued development of leading-edge
technology.
McLaren uses a network of powerful desktop workstations and servers
exclusively for CAD, computational analysis information and trackside
performance monitoring. At both its Woking-based UK headquarters and at the
race track, Sun equipment is used to design, monitor and update the cars,
specifically in areas such as airflow analysis and telemetry reading.
In preparation for the 1999 season, McLaren has "Java(TM) technology
enabled" its Pitwall system used in the control and management of the race
strategy and the cars' performance during each race. Sun's Java programming
language will be used to translate the intricate and vital lap-by-lap data
transmitted by the cars, providing the Pitwall team with a new graphical
facility for a more effective and efficient display of information. McLaren
rely on the speed and reliability of Sun in such a mission critical
environment and Java technology's flexible nature provides the team with the
added advantages of being able to run the software on any platform running the
Java programming language and to monitor the cars' performance remotely from
the factory whilst they are on the track.
In addition to the race team Sun technology is also used to power
McLaren's website (http://www.mclaren.co.uk). Sun Enterprise(TM) servers and Solaris
Operating Environment(TM) software comprise the engine that drives this
increasingly popular site, or viewed another way, Sun is the dot in
McLaren.co.uk. Because Sun is the dot in .com, its technologies, products and
services power the net, allowing organizations like McLaren to achieve a
competitive advantage everyday.
Commenting on the continuing partnership, Ron Dennis, Group Managing
Director of TAG McLaren, says: "The evolution and competitive nature of grand
prix cars and their design is always pushing man and machine to greater
limits. Sun is helping us with mission critical hardware and software,
enabling our designers and engineers to come up with more complex and
sophisticated ideas. The world of IT is in many ways like Formula One, with
ever increasing pressure put upon reliability, performance and timeliness,
along with fierce competition. The technology partnership between McLaren
International and Sun is at the core of our success and we look forward
together to a fruitful 1999 and beyond."
"McLaren is a recognized world leader in a sport which is renowned for
innovation and a reliance on leading edge technology to stay ahead of the
competition," said John Loiacono, Vice President of Brand Marketing for Sun
Microsystems, Inc. "McLaren's continuing partnership with Sun is a great
technical showcase of the abilities of Sun on a truly global stage. We look
forward to another great year and wish them repeated success in 1999."
McLaren International is located in Woking, England, with expertise
supplied by a 325 strong team of designers, engineers and skilled staff,
complemented by advanced Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM)
facilities.
1999 Formula One World Championship Calendar
DATE COUNTRY CITY/TOWN CIRCUIT
07/03/99 Australia Melbourne Albert Park
11/04/99 Brazil Sao Paulo Circuito Carlos Pace
02/05/99 San Marino Imola Circuit 'Enzo e Dino Ferrari'
16/05/99 Monaco Monte Carlo Monte Carlo
30/05/99 Spain Barcelona Circuit de Catalunya
13/06/99 Canada Montreal Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
27/06/99 France Magny Cours Circuit de Nevers
11/07/99 Britain Silverstone Silverstone Circuit
25/07/99 Austria Speilberg A-1 Ring
01/08/99 Germany Hockenheim Hockenheim-Ring
15/08/99 Hungary Budapest Hungaroring
29/08/99 Belgium Spa Francorchamps Circuit de Spa Francorchamps
12/09/99 Italy Monza Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
26/09/99 Europe Europe Nurburgring
17/10/99 Malaysia Kuala Lumpar Sepang GP Circuit
31/10/99 Japan Suzuka Suzuka International Racing
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The
Computer(TM)," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc., to its position as a
leading provider of high quality hardware, software and services for
establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the
Internet. With more than $10.5 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in
more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com.
NOTE: Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Java, Solaris Operating
Environment, Sun Enterprise and "The Network Is The Computer" are trademarks
or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and in
other countries.