14 of the CSU Motorsport Engineering graduate students took a field trip to the RuSPORT Champ Car World Series team shop, on March 23, 2007, as part of the weekly Motorsport seminar.
Ryan Heimer, a CSU graduate and long time RuSPORT engineer led the tour group on the tour. The students saw details of the fueling rig, the composites and machine shop area, and even had a chance to watch the pit crew practice tire changes on the Lola pit stop practice car. It was very interesting to also be able to see a Cosworth engine on an engine stand where Ryan fielded lots of questions.
New Panoz DP01 Champ Car: The students had the opportunity to see two Panoz cars in differing states of assembly. During the tour, Justin Wilson was being fitted for a new seat. This was a unique opportunity for the students to see some of the details that are so important. Ryan, as an assistant track engineer, was a very knowledgeable tour guide. The group was able to even see a disassembled transmission and separate differential on the bench. Students also saw the timing stands and all the data streams that the team engineers keep track of during a race.