Profile: Paul Webb, Global Product Manager, Autosport

I suppose much like other people in this industry I liked taking things apart to see how they worked. Occasionally I managed to put it back together again in the same order and that’s how I started to learn. I also discovered motorsport at a suitably youthful age when I watched the Italian Grandprix from Monza on our neighbor’s color television.  Black and white just didn't really do the exciting sport enough justice, and my interest started to point at vehicles rather than random mechanical items.

Due to the nature of what we do at TE and my experience, the electrical elements of the racecar are where my knowledge is strongest.  However you can not work around racing people without absorbing other elements of racecar design and setup.  No human on earth can know everything about car design, and we have many series to support so I’m always learning new things. 

It is actually the only industry I have ever been involved with in my fifteen years with the company.  I have had a few different roles, but my passion for motorsport certainly makes getting out of bed on a gloomy Monday morning much easier!  

Motorsport is a living beast and change happens all the time. New ideas and solutions often happen over a single race weekend!  New materials and amazing design solutions have allowed huge evolution, so teams can refine their vehicles to levels only dreamed about a few years ago.  Some of the F1 teams take 3D printers to the track now to alter aerodynamic pieces overnight.  Computing power has changed what can be done at the track and the race team factories simultaneously. It's like something from a science fiction film, and this can only continue in the next few years.

The world points to low carbon emissions and more efficiency to be at the forefront of racing rather than an excess of cylinders and noise being the main attraction.  However, fans still want to see exciting racing technologies, like fuel flow monitoring, allow the sports authorities to encourage a range of technologies that can compete with each other.  An examples of this is the LMP1 (Le Mans prototype series) where turbo diesel with flywheels competes with gasoline and super capacitors with gasoline and battery storage.  The 2015 race finished with these different technologies still fighting it out into the last hour.  Just when you think you are getting on top of a series, a new set of regulations or innovation turns conventional thinking on its head – which is why we enjoy working with this industry.