PCE News
GVSU Students Participate in 3rd Formula SAE Competition
May 19, 2017
A group of Grand Valley State University students competed in the Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) collegiate racing competition May 10-13, which was held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
The competition, started in 1979, challenges teams to design, build and test formula-style race cars. About 120 different schools participated in the competition.
The GVSU Formula Racing Team, led by assistant professor of engineering, Nick Baine, consists of 35 members from a variety of different disciplines including engineering and business. “We placed 65th in the Acceleration event, 66th in the Autocross event, 80th in the skid pad event, and tied in 50th for design,” said Baine. “We placed 77th overall.” A broken motor mount and cracked engine block ended the team’s participation in the endurance race, which contributed to 40% of the final score and ranking.
Baine also noted that there are few teams competing in Formula SAE that are as new as the GVSU team. “I am very proud of our team bringing a car that passed all inspections without any major adjustments and participating in all events", Baine added. “On the up side, we [were] not in the bottom 3rd, and the team represented the school well. We came prepared and were not rushed or struggling.”
One change for the 2018 competition is that next year’s car will be designed and built this summer by one of the School of Engineering senior design project teams. Baine is hopeful that advancing the design/build schedule will allow for more time to test, make improvements, and practice driving the car.
The 2017 GVSU Formula Racing Team raised $27,000 from sponsors, including the West Michigan SAE chapter, organizations throughout West Michigan, and their greatest supporter, Autocam.
To learn more about the team, or become a sponsor, visit the team’s website at www.lakerracing.org.