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Society of Automotive Engineers' racing team competes in Kansas

Written by Bryan Bastible

Tuesday, 16 September 2008 07:00 PM

Mechanical engineering freshmen Scotty Butler, left, and mechanical engineering junior Alejandro Moreno load the 2008 Society of Automotive Engineers team car into a trailer. The SAE racing team is leaving this morning for the Sports Car Club of America national competition in Topeka, Kan. (The Shorthorn: Michael Rettig)

The Formula Society of Automotive Engineers heads to Topeka, Kan. today to compete in the Sports Car Club of America race.

“We always dominate that competition,” FSAE adviser Bob Woods said. “We’ve been doing that since, I think, ’91, and we’ve won that competition every year except for one year.”

Woods said the prize for the competition is more for bragging rights.

“In Kansas, it’s simply driving,” he said. “You run the track three times and the best time wins.”

He said the competition in Kansas provides a friendly and open environment to invited universities.

“We’ve gotten to know all these particular schools that tend to go to this,” he said. “[There is] a lot of comradery a lot of times to visit with the guys and have a good time.”

He said their strongest team competition is Kansas University.

“[We have] official team members around 7–8, we’re hopefully going to expand that with some of the new people that have joined this year,” said Thomas Walter, team captain and mechanical engineering senior.

Walter said he believes his team’s strengths lie in great infrastructure, incredible facilities available, and great support from its sponsors and alumni.

“Some weaknesses of the team, this year – we are fairly small,” he said. “We only have seven members that carried over from last year, so we are kind of lacking in overall experience, but we’re making up for it in determination, hopefully.”

Woods said students may join the team.

“This year, we’re going back to a four-cylinder instead of a two-cylinder, and we’re going to continue the evolution of design that we have done in the past,” Woods said.

Mechanical engineering junior Eric Leichtle said the team built the racecar, which goes from 0 to 60 mph in four seconds.

“The ’08 racecar is powered by an Aprilia 550 V-Twin engine,” he said. “It will beat the pants out of anything in autocross like a Viper or a Corvette.”

Woods said it took one-year to build the racecar.

“The day after the competition, we’re already conceiving a new car and preparing for the next year,” he said.

The FSAE racing team will participate in another competition in Detroit in May.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 01 December 2008 02:03 PM )

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