With less than three weeks remaining until the Australian International Pedal Prix, things are starting to calm down just a little bit in the Tru Blu Racing camp, with most of the vehicle preparation and training basically complete.

As we enter the calm before the storm that is Murray Bridge, we thought we'd give you a bit of an insight into how our vehicle has been put together and the changes we have made in the last 12 months.

Chassis

We have made quite a few changes to the chassis of our vehicle since its first race at Murray Bridge in 2008, the major one being a rebuild of the seat frame that endured a lot of stress over the 08-09 seasons, resulting in fractures in the frame that could have caused us a lot of problems during races last year. Luckily the fractures weren't bad enough to end or hinder our races, but it was evident that the seat frame wouldn't survive another season unless it was made stronger. Luckily MR was able to do a great job of strengthening the seat frame without adding weight.

We have also changed many of the components on the trike to increase performance and reduce weight. These changes include lighter and more efficient brake levers, longer cranks (from 150 to 165mm), and a lighter and smaller lighting system.

Fairing

Throughout the 2010 series we have been racing a John Taylor fairing, as has been the case for the last two years. Although it may not have looked like it after Round 1, we began this series with a brand new fairing which is slightly different to our 08-09 fairing, but essentially the same overall shape. The major plus for us in using the updated shape was not having to cut and heighten the A pillar to allow toe clearance for riders with longer legs. A large number of the problems we faced when setting up our first vehicle of this style back in 2008 were related to modifying everything to allow adult riders to fit in, as the fairing was originally designed for school students. Most of these issues were non-existent the second time round due to the modifications that were made.

So there you have it! We will be putting the finishing touches to the vehicle over the next 3 weeks and can't wait to get out onto the track at Murray Bridge!