Prodrive, to be formula one’s twelfth and last team in 2008, has literally raced into space.
The British motorsport company, founded and run by former Benetton and BAR-Honda boss David Richards, says it provided satellite parts for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida last month.
“This is a first for Prodrive and quite possibly (for) any motorsport business,” Richards, Prodrive chairman, said.
“However, I believe it will become increasingly common in the future as the skills and manufacturing capabilities we have in the motorsport industry are ideally suited to the demands of aerospace.”
A statement provided by Prodrive also explained that it has launched a “specialist manufacturing operation” to produce more parts for non-motorsport sectors.
The statement, meanwhile, said the power of the Atlas V rocket at take-off is equivalent to 3000 F1 cars.
