Uni Students Engineer a Race to Glory
Mark Lucas reports on a new challenge facing Melbourne engineering students hoping to win a top F1 race.
Melbourne university students will be facing a new challenge in their quest to win the internationally-recognised SAE-A (Society of Automotive Engineers – Australasia) car race. After 20 years based in Melbourne, this December the race moves to the South Australian desert.
Over 1200 engineering students from Australia, Asia and the Middle East have designed and built race cars from scratch to compete against each other in the annual Formula One-style event taking place for the first time at the new Bend Motorsport Park in Tailem Bend, South Australia.
For hundreds of students from four Melbourne universities competing – University of Melbourne, Monash University, RMIT and Swinburne – this adds an additional new challenge, turning a short commute into a seven-hour trip for the event.
President of the SAE, Martha Oplopiadis, said, “for many students, Formula SAE-A represents the first time their work is assessed by practising engineers rather than academics alone.”
The Bend is located 110 kilometres north-east of Adelaide and will greatly affect local team resources and attendance. Swinburne team leader Alex Jaison said, “Instead of a five-day event where some could commute from their homes each day, most of our students will be leaving Hawthorn up to two or three weeks in advance.”
The location change affects resources and attendance due to current high fuel costs and additional costs for accommodation and freight. “Previously, the only time our Uni life would overlap with the competition weekend is when we’d get our results while competing,” said Jaison. “Now, potentially leaving three weeks early, we must ensure exams are not affecting our travels.”
Jaison also expressed concern about the limits imposed on mechanical and trackside students who may not be able to prepare their cars until final assessments are submitted. “At this point, some of our team may be in Melbourne at different times, as students have different exam schedules,” he said.
The Bend Motorsport Park is a new multi-million-dollar facility that hosts a mix of international races and amateur track days for motorsport and engineering fans. South Australian Minister for State Development, Chris Picton, describes it as “one of the best racetracks in the country.”
In comparison, Melbourne’s Calder Park was known for its lack of maintenance and bumpy pavement, and Team Swinburne driver Declan Wills thinks the trade-off is worth it. “While it's a less convenient trip, it’ll be a huge relief to drive our car on a smoother surface that’s well maintained,” he said.
The average track conditions hint that while local teams enjoyed racing close to home, a new road was long overdue, making the stakes much higher for Team Swinburne as they test their engineering skills on a much grander and more professional stage.
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