Bill Ozinga wrote:
>Third, George Bowland, for developing the first of the snowmobile
>powered/CVT fly weight AM cars. Can't say it pushed the rules, as there
>aren't too many rules in the class, but certainly defined the future
>direction of the class.
I'd include Todd in that too. And don't forget the Active Ground Effects
that were ultimately banned.
But my nomination is for Todd Bowland and Ashley Dudding in Formula SAE
(nobody said it had to be SCCA autocrossing). Virginia Tech's first year
car was built on a shoestring ($1500 plus donated parts, IIRC) and caused
many changes to be made in the FSAE rulebook. Ok, so some of it was
scary, like a fuel tank outside the frame. But, a lot of the passing
rules during the autocross and endurance competitions came from that
first year. The car, 'Gerty', was ugly and crude, but was well setup and
fast especially in Todd's hands. I'm sure a quick purusal of the current
FSAE rules would bring up more thoughts.
In later years, the CVT appeared on Tech's FSAE car before it appeared on
the Bowland Boys Special. And so did the Active Ground Effects (which
never made it to competition, but Cornell did and it was banned the next
year).
Scott Mitchell
"One hot night down in New Orleans, It was so hot and wet
I could swear somebody was turning up the heat
and trying to make a roux out of me." - Mem Shannon
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