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Wednesday, Nov 14, 2012 10:15 AM UTC

BMW building a new 2-man sled for USBSF

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Topics: From the Wires,

BMW building a new 2-man sled for USBSFUSA 1 pilot Steven Holcomb with pushers Justin Olsen and Steven Langton and brakeman Curtis Tomasevicz race to a second-place finish in the men's bobsled World Cup competition on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)(Credit: AP)

BMW is trying to build a better bobsled for Team USA.

With an eye on the 2014 Sochi Olympics, BMW of North America and the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation have been working for more than a year on the development of a new two-man bobsled. The deal is being announced Wednesday.

A prototype has been delivered already, and testing is ongoing to make the sled as fast as possible. Some U.S. drivers, including reigning Olympic and world champion Steven Holcomb, tested the prototype on the 2002 Olympic track in Park City, Utah earlier this year.

BMW says it is bringing lighter material, along with “optimized aerodynamics and chassis dynamics” to the sled-design process.

More Tim Reynolds.

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