Case Study: Aston Martin Racing improves GPS reliability with Spirent Communications

Tracking Down GPS Interference and Performance Issues for Aston Martin Racing

Aston Martin Racing faced intermittent GPS reliability issues with the official FIA telemetry unit in their race cars, which was critical for data analysis and compliance during the FIA World Endurance Championship. To resolve this and ensure robust performance for the 2016 season, Senior Analysis Engineer Alistair Grimshaw turned to their technical partner, Spirent Communications.

Spirent implemented a multi-faceted solution using their GSS6425 record-and-playback unit, a GPS simulator with SimGEN software, and the GSS100D interference detector. Their investigation revealed unexpected sources of interference, including team radios and a GPS jammer, and clarified the data logger's limitations. As a result, Aston Martin Racing's use of GPS is now much more robust; the team was trained on the Spirent detector and includes it in their race equipment to ensure reliable telemetry data for strategic decisions.

Aston Martin Racing

Alistair Grimshaw

Senior Analysis Engineer