Formula SAE team racing toward redemption

After heartbreak struck during last year’s Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) competition, the University’s team is gearing up to redeem itself when it hits the track again from 5-8 December at Calder Park in Melbourne.

Formula SAE challenges students to conceive, design, fabricate and compete with small formula-style racing cars. Teams spend eight to 12 months designing, building and preparing vehicles for a competition, with cars judged in a series of events.

Last season, the University’s dream run came to an unfortunate end when the front wing of its electric car broke off mid-race, forcing the team to forfeit despite being on track to win.

Team leader Thais Wright remembers the sting of that moment well.

“It was quite hard. I went for a walk as soon as it happened. The hardest part was when I got back and saw the race engineer on the floor crying. We’d just broken the acceleration record for an Australasian team, and to have it all come to an end like that was tough.”

That emotional moment became a rallying point for the team, however, fuelling its determination to come back stronger and take every measure to prevent a repeat.

The team has reinforced the car’s front wing to withstand greater impact, ensuring it holds up during the race. To keep spirits high and make light of that history, the team even added a small sticker to the wing reading, ‘Beware of falling aero’.

“I thought, ‘let’s embrace the situation’, so I got everyone to sign the front wing that was left on the track and we took pictures with it. Now it hangs in our workshop as motivation for the race,” says Thais.

Now in its 20th year, the team is marking the anniversary season with a celebration of its history, while also showcasing the University’s commitment to the project.

With 78 students involved from across the University, the team blends engineering, computer science, business, marketing and design expertise.

Electrical engineering student and the team’s chief operations officer, Andy Woo, says this year’s goal is to make the car more consistent and reliable. The team has kept the chassis and body from last season, he says, but developed a strategy to fine-tune and perfect areas for improvement.

“We didn’t want to overhaul the car – only a few small bits and pieces that were problematic last year.”

Part of the team’s work involves planning beyond this season, with efforts underway to develop an autonomous race car that could one day compete in driverless Formula SAE events.

The German Formula SAE competition already includes autonomous events, and the Australian organisers are currently working toward introducing them as well, says Thais.

“Hopefully in the next five years, we’ll be on the podium for our autonomous cars. But for now, it’s still very much in the developmental stage.”

While the team preps for race day, it is also getting ready for three static events that are part of the competition: a design presentation, a cost report and a Shark Tank-style business pitch.

This will be the last year Thais and Andy are part of the team. Thais is off to the Netherlands for a job in team coordination with MP Motorsport, while Andy has scored a manufacturing engineering internship at Rocket Lab for the summer, which he hopes will lead to a permanent role.

“They told me the odds of getting the role were one in 128. Being part of the Formula SAE team has strongly benefitted me as it gave me the practical experience they were looking for.”

Hussein Moses