Team Celebrates Industry Sponsorship Success
The racing team at the University of Birmingham officially unveiled their new engine dynomometer, a piece of equipment donated to them by Perkins Engines Company Ltd and the University of Birmingham, on Friday 30 January. The new dyno will allow the team to test their racing car engine while it is stationary and to try different configurations to maximise performance and economy prior to on-track testing and competitions. The racing team is made up of students studying various degree programmes within the University's College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. Each year they take part in a project to design and build a race car to compete in Formula Student racing competitions in the UK and abroad. The car must have performance acceleration, braking and handling characteristics while other factors such as aesthetics, driver comfort, safety and reliability are also taken into account. Alex Hall, team manager of the 2009 race team, says, 'We are very grateful for the donation from Perkins who have increased their level of sponsorship this year. As well as financial sponsorship they have given us help with project planning and resource management.' He continues, 'The new dyno is vital to our work - we could not reach our performance targets this year without the work we will be carrying out on the dyno.' Perkins' technical resources manager Andy Wheatcroft and Birmingham Engineering alumnus said: 'Perkins is delighted to donate this new dyno to the team.
