Local Tire Business Wheels Lakehead's Formula-1 SAE Team to International Competition

(February 11, 2009 - Thunder Bay, ON) Members of Lakehead University's Formula-1 Society of Automotive Engineers (LUFSAE) team have spent almost three years working on their prototype race car. Their dream of racing against over 100 other schools in Michigan this May just got one step closer.

Fountain Tire has donated two sets of tires specifically designed for FSAE applications to the team: one set of Goodyear Dry FSAE racing tires, and one set of Goodyear Full-Wet racing tires. With a new compound and a computer-optimized mold shape for maximum footprint efficiency, this model of tire was run in 2006 by several universities with outstanding results

Brandon Porter, Project Manager of the LUFSAE says, "The value of these eight tires is approximately $1380 in total, so that represents a huge gain for us. The tires are proven by many FSAE teams to have outstanding performance, above many of the leading brand names in the industry for this application."

The donation was initiated in 2007. According to Porter, "Darcy Hunter, Manager of Fountain Tire showed a great deal of interest in the project from day one. He told us once we were ready for the tires he would get them ordered and have them mounted on wheels for us. Coming back to Lakehead in September 2008, we were ready to install the tires. I approached Darcy again, and he made good on his promise. We now have all 8 tires ready to go."

The concept behind Formula SAE is that a fictional manufacturing company has contracted a design team to develop a small Formula-style race car. The prototype race car is to be evaluated for its potential as a production item. Each student team designs, builds, and tests a prototype based on a series of rules, the purpose of which is to ensure onsite event operations and promote clever problem solving.

LUFSAE, comprising students from the faculties of Business and Engineering, is registered for the 2009 FSAE Michigan Competition held at the Michigan International speedway, May 13-16, 2009. With sold out registration, competitors for this event come from all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Venezuela, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Turkey, and Brazil.

Those interested in becoming part of the LUFSAE team through sponsorship and donation opportunities, please visit their website at www.LUFSAE.com or contact the team through e-mail at lufsae@lakeheadu.ca.

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Media: Brandon Porter is available for media interview. For more information please contact Lisa Pelot, Communications Officer, at 343-8177, or commun@lakeheadu.ca

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,900 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca