As Resilience Racing embarked on its mission to put para-disabled veterans behind the wheel, numerous challenges presented themselves and it became increasingly evident that there were no integrated options available.  Domestically available adaptive hand controls for passenger cars with traditional 'push/pull/twist' throttle and brake levers are not safe or effective for the precision and rigors of competitive road racing.   Coupled with the typical reliance on automatic transmissions, durability becomes a significant risk factor, especially under the tortuous demands of endurance racing.  Sequential transmissions are ideal but very costly and a barrier for most aspiring disabled racers.    

A central goal to our mission is a focus on the Club Racer / Amateur level where affordable race cars like older Mustangs, Corvettes, BMWs, and Miatas dominate the entries.  This is where most aspiring racers start and where affordable access to a universal and competitive hand control system will open new doors.   

Resilience Racing has begun a partnership with the Texas A&M College of Engineering to work together to innovate unique designs for this mission.  This work will modify and integrate components from several other companies and engineers, to create adaptive hand controls that provide the optimal ergonomics, performance, and safety necessary in competition racing at an accessible level for amateurs and club racers. 

Clutch Actuator
Starting with the electronic to pneumatic to hydraulic clutch actuator from MME Motorsports, a clutching control sensor is placed onto the shifter handle itself to allow for the retention of a factory clutch and traditional manual transmissions.  This integrated design eliminates the need for costly full sequential transmissions, and avoids the limitations of automatic transmission options available to most club racers.

Double Ring Steering Wheel
Creating the right steering wheel design for optimal brake and throttle performance remains critical to success.  The unique design of Glenn Sidman's SimAbility double-ring simulator wheel represents a compelling and high performance option to adapt to real-world racing applications.  This design is unique in its integration of 360* use of both the throttle and brakes while retaining precision control at all times. 

Brake and Throttle By Wire
Using the double ring design wheel, both brake and throttle use an electronic control module to provide accurate and redundant signals to the the electronic throttle body and the pneumatic/hydraulic actuator plumbed in-line with factory brake systems.

Considerable work remains to finalize the design needed to fully integrate these components, fabricate prototype pieces, and exhaustively test the system for optimal performance.  Please follow along on this process as we create something special not only for our own veteran programs but something that provides inspiration to all who are para-disabled.