Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about the motor industry along comes a new angle that you hadn’t previously thought of, your mind is sent reeling and a whole new set of questions arise.
Sam Borgman, technical director of Torque Developments International, gently led the audience into the subject of motorsport and the services that his company offer to the industry, as well as his involvement with the Academy of Motor Sport Sciences.
A brief description of performance car development over the years was given and then Sam introduced the item at the centre of all driving skills... the driver’s brain. It was shown how man and machine interact via the human senses and how the various parts of the brain respond to the inputs it is given. It was shown how engineers can control this experience and make driving safer by altering the characteristics of the chassis and engine such that the feed back arrives at more appropriate parts of the brain. A thought provoking insight into where this may lead to in the future was also given.
A thoroughly absorbing lecture, delivered in a highly professional and skilful manner by Sam, after which the audience were motivated (always a good sign!) into a lengthy questions and answers session. If this lecture comes to your MA make sure you don’t miss it!