The suspension team have been working hard over the past term and are keeping the momentum going through into the New Year with the first components emerging in the workshop having been manufactured.

Having only two team members working on the suspension this year has meant a lot of time has been taken up by research and design work early on. The two of us have gone on to break down the components between us and give feedback on each other’s designs interlinking with the chassis team and the driver controls team to determine mounting points and geometry. 

Independent unequal length double a-arm suspension has been designed for the new build, focusing on weight reduction where there is potential for a lot of improvement over previous teams steel designs.

After a relatively successful year for Mobil 1 Team Sussex, the new team were eager to get underway. The first challenge was finding the funds to produce another new car. Fortunately, Mobil 1 committed to continued investment in the team, and, together with extra, much appreciated funding from the University, the 09/10 group could begin the hard slog towards FS2010 next July.

Having the car and team from last year available was a huge help in getting started with the build. As a result, sub-teams could now see exactly what was required of them, and had a base to start from and improve upon.

The main aim of the design is to reduce weight. The previous car was one of the heaviest, at 320kg. Setting a reduction target of 100kg is a significant challenge, but one we will strive to achieve.

The Nosecone Club  is up and running again. This gives supporters of Mobil 1 Team Sussex the opportunity to go racing for as little as £10, whilst also providing crucial funds for the team, and our charity, Help for Heroes.

Richard Noble OBE has pledged his continuing support for Mobil 1 Team Sussex in his role as Team Patron. He is currently directing the Bloodhound SSC project, developing a car to reach 1000mph. More info can be found here.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter, where we will keep you updated on the progress of the project. Check the website regularly for more in depth updates, and a new team profile page, which will be live very soon.

Well the competition came and has now gone.  The team were stricken with a host of problems but everyone worked hard through the late hours to get the car ready each day.  Two driveshafts and a few gaskets later at 3pm on the Sunday, having missed the dynamic events on the Saturday, the team finally passed the brake test which had caused so many problems over the last two days. 

We then waited around for 4pm when we could start queueing for the Endurance event.  Being 2nd from last in the queue meant we had a wait on our hands and finally got on track at 5.35pm, just before the 6pm curfue.  Pierpaolo and Alejandro got their chance to show what our car was made of and did a really good job of it, the car was fast and impressive to watch and the crowds and commentators were loving it.  Unfortunately the curfue came and as we had a few laps still to complete, we were disqualified, but the car had raced and as a team we should be very proud of what we achieved. 

It's now time to hand the team over to the next group, who are starting their sponsorship campaign now and beginning initial designs, looking to improve on this year's car.  So the final post from me is a thank you to all the team, friends, family, supporters and sponsors.  It has been a really good year, lots of hard work and stress but seeing the car out on track after a punishing weekend of problems made it all worth while.  Keep checking on the team who will be back next year to show what we're really capable of.

Cheers,

 Adam Wilton