As Team USA celebrated its first medal for 62 years in the Two Man Bobsled, it’s a safe bet no one minded that a German automaker pitched in to help make the party possible.
Pilot Steven Holcomb and partner Steve Langton broke the long, icy dry spell with a bronze medal at Sochi this week in a vessel designed by the team and BMW.
Following the 2010 games in Vancouver, Team USA looked for a complete redesign and an all new two-man bobsled.
Interviewed while preparing to take part in the Four Man Bobsled competition, Holcomb told Crave Online the process of designing the Two Man sled with BMW started years ago.
“The process to design the new sled began in October, 2011,” Holcomb said. “We started by taking a look at the course we’d be running in Sochi with BMW.”
Once in the design process, BMW applied the same process in building the sled that its engineers would use to create a car. The automaker puts its Efficient Dynamics program in effect, applying lightweight materials like carbon fiber to shed weight and provide balance.
“By March of 2012, we had a prototype,” Holcomb added. “Then it was a process of testing until we had as a race-able prototype by January, 2013.”
Holcomb and Langton were involved throughout the design process, providing their first hand experience of racing a bobsled and letting BMW’s designers know what they needed.
“By February of 2013, we saw the actual constructed track we’d be racing in Sochi,” Holcomb said. “Unfortunately, we don’t get access to just that track. Olympic qualifying happens on eight different track at eight separate events. So, we needed a sled that would excel in different track conditions.”
Once BMW’s engineers understood what the two man team faced, the redesign became a question of reconsidering the complete vehicle system — including structure, aerodynamics, steering and ergonomics.
“We used a lot of computer modeling and wind tunnel testing before we took the bobsled out there.”
Sochi has been marked by unusual winter weather conditions, with some outdoor events taking place in a climate more suited to spring. But, Holcomb said the team was prepared for that.
“Overall, conditions here were pretty good. But, we anticipated they might change, so the bobsled was designed to be ready no matter what. In testing, we determined the sled would be able to function well even in conditions of 60 or 70 degrees.”
Once all of that engineering is over, all that’s left to Holcomb and Team USA is a bronze medal in a sport that’s provided decades of frustration and futility. Holcomb was obviously charged up over the chance to stand on the podium with his teammate.
“It’s overwhelming. I’m going home an Olympic medalist.”
