FAST TRACK REPAIR KEEPS WILLIAMS F1 IN POLE POSITION

The fight for the coveted top spot in Formula 1 has become increasingly dependent on the development and testing of new technology, so when Williams F1 had a problem with their wind tunnel Dowding & Mills' capacity for rapid repairs proved invaluable.

Dowding & Mills, Southampton received a call mid-evening reporting the failure of the Williams F1 Vacuum Blower's 15 kilowatt motor, an important part of the wind tunnel used for testing their Formula 1 cars. The motor was brought in at 9pm and the night shift engineers handled it as an emergency situation.

Despite the fact that the motor required a complete rewind and new bearings, all repairs were completed ready for collection at 7am the following morning. Keith Attwood, Branch Manager, said: "For a motor of that kilowatt one would normally expect a twenty-four hour turn around, it's great that we have the facilities and technical expertise to provide such a rapid service. We have worked for Williams F1 before although more on the mechanical side, I hope that this will cement our good relationship with them further."

David Witham, Wind Tunnel Engineer at Williams F1 said, "At Williams F1 we consider testing to be very important, we run a 16 hour day and to have been without the wind tunnel for any length of time would have been a major inconvenience.

"Thanks to the prompt actions of Dowding & Mills the minimum amount of development time was lost and the program to get the cars on the front row of the grid and the drivers on the podium continues apace."