2009 Vehicle Construction Update

Well we thought it was about time that we responded to the rumours going around about just what BYR is going to turn up to Murray Bridge with. Construction has been under way since February, as we work silently on our creation into the early hours of every Saturday morning out in shed, or as we like to call it the "Dream Factory". However for the time being our new Carbon Fibre weapon goes under the name of BY-Haven't though of a Name Yet. Here's the report put together by BYR Technical Director Daryl King.

Pictures: The raw composite materials and the cross member jig.

Construction of BYR’s new vehicle is now in full swing. Having conducted detailed testing and analysis on last year’s vehicle we have determined some key goals and objectives for our 2009 vehicle. The team is currently prototyping a number of key innovations that will hopefully deliver a vehicle that can be a strong contender at Murray Bridge.Modifications are to largely centred on the reliability and durability of the vehicles canopy that was a key weakness of the 2008 vehicle. A more effective demisting system has also been a top priority with significant effort going in to testing prototype systems. Increased breaking capacity has also been increased with newly designed hubs that will deliver 40% more breaking power.

Early construction work on the canopy has seen materials testing conducted on various combinations of canopy materials and techniques. Complementing the new materials and construction techniques will be small aerodynamic tweaks. The flow of air over and around the rear of the vehicle will change as well as the profile of the external roll bar.
Technical modifications are likely to result in improvements to the chassis, steering and drive system. Improvements will include the use of more composites in some areas of each system as well as the refinement of these systems in order to produce small efficiency gains.
The vehicle is likely to be significantly heavier than previous vehicles, but with more vehicles on the track than ever before the resulted strength is more than warranted. Stay tuned for further updates on the progress of BYR’s new vehicle.

Daryl King
Technical Director Bendigo Youth Racing onstruction