26 October 2006

INTERVIEW WITH DR. TIM LEVERTON

Two months after the JCB DIESELMAX broke the FIA Land Speed Record for the world fastest diesel powered vehicle, Dr. Tim Leverton reflects on the highs and lows of the extraordinary attempt.

Looking back, how big a challenge was it to break the diesel land speed record?

Probably bigger than I realised at the time! From the very beginning of the project I had a total belief that we could do it. The question for me was could we do it within the given time scale? Ron Ayers (Project Aerodynamicist) reminded me on several occasions that these projects were nearly always multi year attempts so I was prepared for that eventuality. We were pushing the performance envelope in a number of dimensions with the engine components and the complexity of the engine installation into the car was a big design challenge and demanded a reasonable development time to get all the systems sorted. To do all this in under 12 months was an extraordinary team achievement.

Were there times when you thought the project wouldn¹t succeed? If so when and why?

The only moment I thought we might not make it was on the Tuesday 18th July at RAF Wittering when I could take full stock of the status on the car and I realised how much there was to still left to do. I drove home that night with David Brown (JCB DIESELMAX Project Manager) in total silence and really wondered if we had enough time to get it all done. I decided with John Piper that we should delay trying to run the JCB DIESELMAX by a further three days to complete the work list on the car and look at using all the remaining time until the end of our private week at Bonneville i.e. 27th August. It was a moment for keeping calm and not panicking. The team dug its way out of trouble by sheer determination and we made progress every day after that. By Thursday 20th July, two days later, I knew we would be okay.

What were the secrets of the project's success?

Fantastic teamwork from a group of people comprising absolute world class experts in each role. Its sounds simple but I have never experienced anything like it in my career before. People worked for each others success and supported each other. Interestingly, everyone in the team also got on very well with each other and often spent time socialising after work as well.

Are there any elements of the project you would change?

Two things. I would have made the decision to get going with the full engineering project earlier in retrospect. We could have gained two months had we given the go ahead immediately after Bonneville 2005. There was no way JCB could have approved the project without having visited Bonneville Speedweek during that year. Secondly, I wouldn't invite the press to early test sessions. Having members of the media at RAF Wittering so early on in the testing phase, particularly during times when we could not run the car, put me and the team under unnecessary pressure and was a distraction when we should have been focussed solely on the car. It added stress to an already stressful situation.

Was it frustrating that you couldn't 'full max' the JCB DIESELMAX at Bonneville due to the lack of suitable tyres?

No. Our calculations told us that we would struggle to do 350mph never mind 365mph or more! In the end, I was very happy to achieve our project target of 350mph. There was no need to be greedy. Knowing what the tyre limits were was part of the safe execution of the project. The racer in me wanted to go faster but moving into the unknown would have made it a different project.

Is there any chance of the team returning to Bonneville in the future with suitable tyres to achieve the streamliner’s full potential?

The JCB DIESELMAX team has just completed a thorough review of everything that happened with the car and engine performance last August. This has enabled us to identify the basis of how we would approach a repeat visit to Bonneville, what modifications we would make, and what target speeds we could expect to achieve. We have started a number of conversations with tyre manufacturers and getting a capable and safe tyre is the pre-requisite to any follow up project. I am actively pursuing this now but I cannot give a definitive statement at the moment.

Now JCB has put the diesel LSR on the map, do you expect others to challenge your record?

I hope so, but we haven't made it very easy for them! The nature of land speed racing is that someone is bound to put together some ingenious ideas and beat us sooner or later and I'm looking forward to that!

What will be your own personal lasting memory from Bonneville?

I think the friendliness and welcome we received from the Bonneville speed community was extraordinary and humbling. The hostility of the environment on the salt combined with the heat conditions and with the the sense of adventure of being based in the hangar at Wendover airport gave an amazing and unique atmosphere. Above all though, I will remember the feeling of being part of a great team.

How has JCB benefited from the JCB DIESELMAX programme?

Exernally, JCB has gained a new public profile from the project. We have been able to demonstrate that our new JCB444 engine is capable of incredible performance and hopefully a lot more people now know that we make our own engines. Internally, JCB's employees have taken great pride in the achievement and have found the DIESELMAX project motivating for their own projects. There has also been considerable engineering learning on the engine that will influence our future product strategy.

What will happen now to the record breaking JCB DIESELMAX vehicle?

The JCB DIESELMAX is still in the USA at the moment where it has been involved in a promotional tour. It will be returning to the UK in the next few days and will be making personal appearances at a variety of venues over the coming months.

What are you working on now?

I have returned to my day job in charge of all JCB engineering activities. I am very busy working with our product development teams getting over 20 new products ready for launch in 2007. I'm also spending a bit of my time working on a tyre project ...