Saturday, February 12, 2011

IZOD INDYCAR AND GIL de FERRAN FEATURED IN NEW HP CAMPAIGN

HP Launches “Everybody On” Global Marketing Campaign

Commercial featuring Alicia Keys to debut during 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 9, 2011

HP today unveiled “Everybody On,” a global marketing campaign that celebrates how people around the world are using HP technology to pursue their personal and professional passions.

The launch – spanning music, fashion, community activism, business and more – is supported by an integrated marketing campaign featuring print, broadcast, online and social media. The campaign was created by HP’s Personal Systems Group and builds on the highly acclaimed “The Computer is Personal Again” campaign.

“Technology plays a vital role in how people explore, develop and enable their passions,” said Richard Gerstein, senior vice president, Strategy and Worldwide Marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP. “Five years ago the personal computer was the center of one’s connected life, while today people are at the center and their technology – across smartphones, tablets, PCs and cloud services – needs to provide seamless connectivity to what is important to them.”

The “Everybody On” campaign kicks off with a 60-second anthem TV spot featuring an instrumental version of Lou Reed’s iconic song “Walk on the Wild Side.” It showcases a broad range of solutions – from computers to mobile devices and printers – and how technology connects people to their passions.

At the center of the campaign is the “Everybody On” Digital Hub, where a variety of digital content will be hosted, including inspirational interviews about pursuing passions using HP technology. The digital hub will allow consumers to engage with passionate individuals and businesses from around the world, including IndyCar driver Gil de Ferran, social activist Aria Finger from DoSomething.org and “Project Runway” star Mondo Guerra.

HP and the 53rd GRAMMY® Awards

During the 53rd Annual GRAMMY® Awards telecast on Feb. 13, HP will unveil the first in a series of TV spots that highlight personal passions and the HP technology that enables them. The first spot will feature 13-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys sharing her passion for music and the importance of her audience hearing her songs exactly as she recorded them.

The commercial will feature HP notebook PCs with Beats Audio™, an award-winning technology solution exclusive to HP that was built in collaboration with artist and producer Dr. Dre and chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine to produce studio-quality sound on a computer.

This year the GRAMMY Awards telecast will feature the new HP TouchPad, the first HP webOS tablet, displaying what’s coming up next in the show in some CBS/GRAMMY on-air bumpers leading into commercial breaks.

As an official GRAMMY sponsor, HP also will support key GRAMMY Week events, including the MusiCares® Person of the Year tribute honoring Barbra Streisand, a title sponsorship of the exclusive Clive Davis and Recording Academy Pre-GRAMMY Gala and the official GRAMMY Celebration® after-party. Celebrities and guests at the GRAMMY Celebration after-party can experience Beats Audio at HP listening stations.

The global marketing campaign was developed in collaboration with agencies Creature, Designkitchen, Edelman, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, McCann Erickson, Omnicom Media Group and Publicis.

More information is available at www.hp.com/go/everybodyon.

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com/.

For Performance & Safety Reasons Customer Pours A BSS Seat Kit for their FSCCA Car

Building A Bead Seat


Part I -- Pouring the Seat
This is the first “Bead Seat” we’ve built. In the Cougar, we had a Momo carbon fiber seat and in the SRF, we had what they gave us. For this car, however, it's clear that for both performance reasons (better driver “feel” of the car) and safety reasons (the bead seat provides some “give” slowing down the energy transmission in a crash) we wanted a bead seat.

The bead seat kit consists of 3 basic parts...a vacuum bag, a bunch of plastic “beads” about the size of BB’s and a 2-part epoxy resin. We purchased a Pennon Composites B3-XL seat kit. What follows are the pictures we took during our seat construction.



Prepping the Chassis
The first step was to remove the stock “seat” (a plastic injection molded thing) and cover up the “sharp edges” of the cockpit...and provide some “ramping” for chassis floor tubes. Cover the sharp edges so you don’t puncture the seat vacuum bag. Ramp the chassis tubes so you don’t mold the seat to tightly to the chassis (so you can't remove it when it hardens).

The picture at right shows the duct tape used to hold Pennon’s “anti-puncture” plastic cover in place. The duct tape also covers specific sharp edges. The cardboard you see are the “ramps” over the chassis tubes and another leading up to the battery cover.


And here’s another shot of the same process...looking rearward.

In this picture, Robert (in the car) is asking John Church (outside the car) for instructions on how to get out of the car (note the “Formula Car Exit Instructions” in John’s hand).

Actually, they’re discussing the “fit” of the seat and how to distribute the beads before we put in the resin.

This process, adding and removing beads, moving them around and then trying the fit took about 10 attempts before Robert felt right in the car.

Forty five minutes after putting the resin in the bag and putting both the bag and Robert in the car, we now have our rough seat. You can see the taped up neck at the top of the seat. This is where the vacuum cleaner is connected to pull a vacuum on the seat while the seat consolidates (i.e. the resin sets-up around the beads). The vacuum is critical to ensure the removal of voids in the seat.

And here is the rough seat removed from the car. One good things about the large size of the FSCCA cockpit is that you can remove the seat in a single piece rather than having to split it in two (like on a Zetec car).


And finally, here’s the seat with most or the “rough stuff” trimmed away.

Robert came up during early March and put some more work into the seat. Here's how he cut out the holes for the seat belts. He's got the seat at his house now, and I look forward to a finished covered seat in the next week or so.

Part II -- Finishing the Seat
Robert took the seat home and covered it there. The photo's below show the seat prior to him covering it and how it looks covered and in place.


Finishing the Seat
The first thing Robert did was to put some reinforcement in place around the seat belt openings and on the thinner sides of the seat

This shot shows those reinforcements. Robert used some carbon fiber left over from our World Challenge days.


Then, using contact adhesive, Robert applied the fabric to the seat. He also added some foam padding to some low spots.

And here's the seat in the car with the seat belts installed. In this picture you can also see one of the neat cockpit sides we got from Comprent. These installed easily (we used 10-32 nut-serts) and are a nice safety addition to the car.

We've got one more step...and that is to coat the back side of the seat with truck liquid bed-liner material to help keep everything consolidated.

While he had the carbon fiber out, Robert made up this neat little cover to go over the data logger and its wiring (which is installed on the floor, just in front of the front roll hoop). The idea is to protect the equipment and keep the driver from getting his feet tangled in the wiring. You can just see the edge of this cover in the picture above. I know Robert made a mold so I'm sure you could bribe him into making one for you.


Tuesday, February 08, 2011

James Winslow Ready for 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Winslow Raring to Go in 2011

Indianapolis, IN, 8th February 2011 - James Winslow is eager to get back into the race seat after a long winter of preparation, and he believes that his fitness will be a key factor in 2011.

The young Briton has spent the close season working extensively on his physical condition, which he considers a vital attribute and one which will benefit him greatly as he aims to deliver the best possible performance throughout the year.

"It has been a long winter, and I can't wait to get back into a car. I have been training harder than I have done before, and I am confident this will help me both physically and mentally in 2011" said Winslow.

Winslow is also buoyed by a link-up with a new marketing company who will look after Winslow, and his James Winslow Racing setup, a relationship which both parties hope will reap great rewards.

Negotiations for 2011 are ongoing, and Winslow is confident something will be settled soon, allowing him to refine his preparations for the upcoming campaign.

Of the negotiations, Winslow said "Discussions are ongoing for a race seat. I am hoping that something will be announced very soon", adding that "I am always looking out for corporate partners to work with, and any interested parties should feel free to get in touch with me".

The desire to further progress this year comes on the back of a strong rookie year in the Firestone Indy Lights. Winslow's running in the Indy Lights comprised a part-season, in which he delivered good performances, but often luck worked against him.



"2010 started well. We qualified fifth at St. Petersburg with no testing, but a heavy storm in the race caught us out. Despite this we still recorded a strong 7th place finish on our debut. Long Beach was going so well, I moved from the back of the pack after a gearbox failure in qualifying forced me to the rear of the grid, and I was in position for a podium, but the steering wheel came off on the last lap. When we went to Toronto, I was on the fastest pace again, but through no fault of my own I was taken out of the race" said Winslow, whose season highlight in the Indy Lights was at Watkins Glen.

"Watkins Glen stands out for me. It was a really good drive, and I finished fifth after working my way through the field. I was presented with the "Hard Charger" award for that performance", added Winslow.

"Overall I am pleased with how I performed, but there are factors which are out of your control, and these did work against us a a team more often than not", stated Winslow.

"I guess after 3 years of winning back-to-back titles, the luck element needed to balance itself up'" Winslow joked before making clear his desire for 2011 "I'm ready for luck to not be a factor this season. It's time to let our speed do the talking".

For more information, photos and live updates you can follow James on Facebook (www.facebook.com/winslowrace or by searching for "James Winslow Racing"), on Twitter (www.twitter.com/winslowrace).

A new-for-2011 James Winslow Racing website is almost live. The new design, with all the latest news will soon be online at www.jameswinslow.com

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E&OE


Photos & Images
Main Image caption: James Winslow is raring to go in 2011
Additional Image Caption: James Winslow in Action for Sam Schmidt Motorsports in the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights

High resolution images available from:
http://www.motorsportrelease.com/2011/02/Winslow Raring to Go in 2011/images/HighRes/

About James
James Winslow is one of Britain's most talented racing drivers, having vast experience in many series the world over. James has enjoyed success in many series, having claimed Championship titles in Asian Formula 3, Formula Renault V6 and Australian Formula 3. He has represented Team Great Britain in the A1GP series, in addition to being a well liked and respected driving coach.

Contact James
E-Mail: winslowrace@yahoo.co.uk / rd.consultusa@gmail.com
Cell: +1 317 442 1229
Web: www.jameswinslow.com
Facebook Profile: www.facebook.com/winslowrace
Twitter: www.twitter.com/winslowrace