Word: hayashi
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...students have participated. Necessity has sometimes forced them to come up with innovative solutions: For example, the team decided that instead of using a bell housing (which contains the car's clutch) made of expensive magnesium, students designed and built a lightweight substitute made of cheap, sturdy iron. Hayashi won't disclose the car's total development costs, but he says it will cost some $785,000 just to compete at Le Mans. Funds have come from Tokai University, sponsors, and from Hayashi's own pocket. Additional cash is trickling in from a donation drive backed by the governor...
...project is the brainchild of Tokai University Professor Yoshimasa Hayashi, a former top automotive engineer with Nissan Motor and author of the Japanese book To Make the World's Best Race Car. In 2001, Hayashi decided to spice up the school's drab curricula with a little real-world engineering project: a competitive endurance racer, designed and built by his students. "Studying a race car is a great way to learn a variety of advanced technologies," says Hayashi. "And, of course, it's appealing to young students...
...Hayashi gave a team of 17 the assignment to build a car that was durable yet powerful and highly maneuverable - at the same time instilling in his charges a sense of teamwork, responsibility and commitment. Of course, college students couldn't create such a sophisticated machine from scratch. Much of the work has focused on fine-tuning components purchased elsewhere, such as the chassis, which is manufactured by Courage-Oreca of France but has been highly modified to fit the students' specifications. The car is powered by a four-liter V8 turbocharged engine - meant to be compact, and costing half...
...that the car, dubbed the TOP03 (Tokai Original Prototype 03), is completed, Hayashi's team is ready to begin testing, as well as learning how to manage a racing campaign in time for Le Mans. While Hayashi plans to hire some professional pit crewmen at the circuit, during the competition students will handle most of the track communication, data analysis and race coordination, with Hayashi serving as coach. They'll have professional help behind the wheel: Three experienced drivers, led by Toshio Suzuki, winner of the 1992 Daytona 24-hour race, have signed...
...Hayashi reckons the TOP03 has a top speed of 193mph, fast enough to spar in the LM P1 class with well-financed factory teams from Audi of Germany and France's Peugeot. The immediate goal is to complete the race, but Hayashi is already aiming at a podium finish at Le Mans within three years. At the same time, he hopes his students will learn more than engineering. "To win, the team is the most important," Hayashi says. "However advanced your machine may be, it's the people who bring out the best. I hope they will cherish each moment...