UWA Motorsport 2009: May 2008

UWAM Express

UWAM Express

Issue #40 May 2008

From the Project Manager

Wow, what a month it has been! Apart from the huge news that our own UWA boys and girls made a killing at the FISITA Formula SAE-East Championships, it has been extremely busy back here at home. Everyday during the competition from the 13^th May we were tallying points and waiting for results from the US. It was fantastic to hear first up that we got into the semi-finals of the design event which was a great start. Whenever the time zones allowed, we gave the guys a call and asked how things were and the progress of the team. It is somewhat frustrating being so far away and not being able to lend a hand, an instinctive UWAM trait.

While the guys were busy tuning and then subsequently winning the Championship, we had to steer the ship in Australia and focus on our campaign so that we can mimic these outstanding results. May has seen a huge push on chassis development and some really interesting designs have been looked at. This is truly an exciting time for us as it is the first major component we see built and there is nothing more motivating than seeing a chassis sitting in the workshop! The end of May will see the materials for the plug being purchased with construction to start very early June. Keep an eye out on June’s newsletter as there is plenty for everyone to catch up on.

The great thing about a reasonably large team is the man/woman-power that we have access to for events, even while we have a large portion of the group either in the US or designing a car. We still managed to attend a vast array of events and much to my delight, pulled off every one without any hiccups. I truly am excited and the win in the US has fired myself and the guys up even more to produce the best UWA Motorsport car ever!

Best Wishes,

Michael Talikowski

2008 UWA Motorsport Project Manager

talikm02@student.uwa.edu.au

UWA Motorsport advises first years

Once again UWA Motorsport was invited to attend the First Year Course Advisory day held in the prestigious University Club on campus. A strong contingent from the School of Mechanical Engineering was present to advise the first years on what mechanical engineering can provide them with. It is amazing to hear how much of an influence UWA Motorsport has on people’s decisions in terms on what they study in the years after their first. Often after graduating high-school, students realise that they gravitate towards engineering but without knowing which discipline of engineering they want to pursue. After speaking with UWA Motorsport, many uncover a passion they didn’t realise they had and pursue mechanical engineering, a very prestigious and well-rounded degree. We all take great pleasure in talking with young people and guiding them in their careers and thus our deep involvement with both high-school students and young university students. This is one of the things that makes UWA Motorsport such a valuable student organisation.

ASPIRE to greatness

In yet another effort to inspire Highschool students into higher education, UWA Motorsport was invited to an event called ASPIRE organised by UWA Student Services. We pushed the cars down to Riley Oval near the University Club for a simple display for the students during their lunch break. Luckily we bought along two cars as we were being overwhelmed with interest from the students and one car wouldn’t have been enough! We jump at opportunities like these to show the cars to young people and to revoke the myths that some have about university and the professions that are possible after graduation. Speaking to some of the members on the team at the moment it is interesting to hear that they had dreamed of being on the team since seeing the cars at event such as these while still in Highschool.

V8 Supercars – Round 5

May 9^th – 11^th was when round 5 of the V8 Supercars come to Perth in a huge showing of motorsport excellence. The West Australian Sporting Car Club invited UWA Motorsport to this amazing event so that we could show what real race cars should look like! After setting up in the Merchandise area, we set about explaining what Formula SAE actually is and how it differs from Formula V’s, a comparison often made thanks to the similar sizes of the cars and the fact that we had a stall next to the Formula V’s. As per usual, the car of choice, 2004 was in the spotlight attracting many interested glances in our direction. The yellow certainly helps in gaining public attention with many taking detours to have a look at this rare exhibit of engineering brilliance.

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Triple-S Fair at Swan Christian College

May 13^th saw UWA Motorsport head down to Swan Christian College, the venue for the annual Triple S fair. This is a great event held every year to showcase what science has to offer students in their later studies. We headed down with our popular 2004 car to explain what is possible if students head towards science/engineering when undertaking extended education. We had a lot of interest from students and parents alike, which is great as the adults get a glimpse of what fun their kids will be having at university! We thank Swan Christian College for having us and we always feel welcome at these great events.

UWAM wins Formula SAE-East Championship in Detroit

The dream of countless UWA Motorsport members and Alumni has been realised after the guys that travelled to Detroit, Michigan in early May took the title of Formula SAE World Champions. There are probably no words to describe how the guys feel and we all couldn’t be happier for them. The hard work and dedication that has gone into the car and the team has paid off and the university can now bask in the glory of being one of the premiere engineering universities in the world.

The media has been jumping all over the story but good footage of the event was hard to get, where we finally bought footage off FSAE in the US. Visit our ‘Media’ section of our website to see some videos and pictures of the win. Also check out the ‘In the Media’ section for articles that have covered the story since the fabulous win. Read below for a day-by-day breakdown of the competition through the eyes of the project manager, Gurkaran Bansal and Simone Boekelaar, the 2007 Marketing Manager.

Gurkaran Bansal:

The majority of the 2008 US team arrived in Detroit on the 1st of May. This was the 5th time UWA Motorsport had made the trip to the largest engineering competition in the world and we were suitably excited to represent the university and team. However, the excitement was tempered with some serious onset of nerves. But we assumed this was normal.

The competition:

Wednesday:

We arrived at the competition on Wednesday 13th to find a good venue and a very busy atmosphere. The weather was definitely not in our favour though, with wind and rain being the order of the day. We settled in the best we could though and the guys got stuck into organising the pits and the car ready for scrutineering later that afternoon. Meanwhile a few of us got the team registered and worked on the logistics and procurement of things. Technical Inspection was started, but not completed that evening as the volunteers and officials tried to work their way through the 100 odd teams who were in line. We did tech with RMIT next to us, and we both had to complete minor tech details the following day. That night we went back to our accommodation where we had the first home cooked meal in our time in the US. Simone whipped up a sensational soup, and after eating junk for two weeks straight it no doubt helped us before a big static event day on Thursday.

Thursday:

We had to get into the track nice and early as we had the Design event first up at 9:30am, followed by presentation at 12pm and Cost Event at 3pm. In between all this we had to fit in all the dynamic scrutineering events as well as complete the technical inspection, which is no easy task when you are trying to do it along with 100 other desperate teams.

We had planned this day well though, and although we fell behind on schedule a couple of times, we managed to stay on course over the day and complete all events and all scrutineering events successfully. To top it off we found out we made the design semi-finals, where only the top 15 or so teams battle it out for the 4 finals spots. The design guys were pretty ragged by the time they got home after the evening semis, which concluded at 10:30pm.

Friday:

This was the first day of dynamic events, with Acceleration and Skidpan in the morning and Autocross event in the afternoon. This was quite a stressful day as tyre choice was crucial, and the dry tyre we had chosen should give us an advantage if the weather held. The boys took the car to the practice track and took the opportunity to give Paul some warm up time before heading to the queues for both morning events. As the car and drivers, Paul and Ayrton went about their business, we got through results for the Presentation and Cost events. In Presentation we came 22nd, with a score of 59.2/75, with National University of Singapore taking out first place. In Cost we came 33rd, with a score of 80.53/100, with the Engineering school of Sorocaba from Brazil taking out first place with a score of 90.94. As you can tell, the points spread was pretty close, and while were disappointed with the placing, we were happy with the points we achieved.

That afternoon we took part in the Autocross event. Peter Marsh and Chris Reindler were our drivers. The event was quite a sight, with 100 teams lined up and even though it was a flying lap, there were at least two cars on track at any given time. Pete did a great first lap, but managed to hit a cone on the second one. After a lengthy delay as other teams ran, Chris managed to get out for his two runs, while quick, he wasn’t clean enough, and ran off course and hit a cone. Some teams couldn’t believe he spun and still posted a 52 second lap, when the quickest was a high 46.

At the end of the day we got all our scores for the dynamic events, with Acceleration 4th, Skid pad 7th and Autocross 5th. Again we had a consistent points finishes in every event and were pretty fast with Pete’s first ‘sighter’ lap proving to be our quickest due to driver errors in the other runs. Now it was onto Saturday. The day of reckoning, and the day where over half the teams don’t complete the 400 point Endurance and Fuel event. Rough calculations had Delft University placed first and us placed 4th, with about 15 points covering 2nd-7th, with RMIT, Tu Graz and Helsinki amongst the teams in it. It was going to be an exciting day indeed.

Saturday:

The team arrived on track early as usual, despite our run not starting till 1pm. All eyes were on the weather again as cool conditions suited us well, especially if there were a few drops of moisture. The weather stayed fine though and overcast with a high of 19 degrees C.

Then, before we knew it was our turn at the track. We were running with Missouri S&T, Wisconsin, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Texas-Arlington and our old rivals RMIT from Melbourne. The event consisted of 9 laps per driver with a driver change, and Pete and Chris our two drivers. With fingers and toes crossed we began the event. Pete started off and was quickly on the pace. He had one hairy moment as he went off course, but that was quickly corrected and before we could tell, his stint was over. The driver change is always gut wrenching, as the vehicle in minutely examined by officials for leaks or infractions, and the second driver has to hot start the car for his stint. But it all went smoothly for us as Chris got in the car and did his stint. For someone driving in his first competition he did a great job, and aside from a similar mistake resulting in an off-course to Pete, he brought the car home in one piece.

As we then lined up for post race scrutineering and fuel we got news that Delft had not made it in Endurance. This meant that it was all now in our hands and the results from Endurance and Fuel would determine our overall position.

Sunday:

This was the day that the entire team got up, got dressed and got to track in nervous anticipation. The awards ceremony was after the Design finals, which weren’t going to influence the overall result we hoped. It’s funny how when you least want it, time seems to drag on as you wait for the news you want. The ceremony went for over an hour and all the awards were announced before the final placings were announced. They went in reverse order, and there was a surprise as RMIT were announced in 5th position, with our unofficial calculations placing them 3rd. A few bewildered expressions were passed around and some fingernails received some rough treatment. Wisconsin was fourth.

Technical University of Munich was third. Stuttgart University was Second……and then there it was, 5 years of trying and they announced the news...

…First place Overall, and the FISITA Formula SAE World Champions, The University of Western Australia!!!

The first feeling was relief that it was over and then, instantaneously it hits…we’ve done it. You beauty!

It’s surreal, writing this, as even a week after; it doesn’t quite feel like we won. The amount of work and time the team puts into this project is incredible. But even though it was a group of 12 students representing the team in the US, this win means so much more to so many more. We are in no doubt that what we managed to achieve was completed on the backs of teams in previous years who laid the foundations and paved the way for us. Every UWA Motorsport alumni out there deserves to share in this success.

And just as the students put everything they have into this project; it would not be possible without the opportunity. That is, the opportunity the University provides by continuing to support us. The opportunity all our sponsors provide by continuing to generously give us all we need to succeed. The opportunity to learn that every supervisor and workshop technician provided us when we pestered them and asked them the same thing a million different ways.

To single out a few people, I’d like to thank Professor Alan Robson and the Vice-Chancellery, Professor Mark Bush and the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Math, Professor Brett Kirk and everyone at the School of Mechanical Engineering. Thanks to Angus Tavner and Lynn Kirkham, our long suffering supervisors. Thanks to Derek Goad, Ian Hamilton and the entire Mechanical Engineering workshop staff. Thanks to every alumni. Thank you to family and friends who have to put up with us.

So on behalf of the 2008 US team, Alastair Grey, Ayrton Sue, Alan Tan, Simone Boekelaar, Peter Marsh, Fred Goh, Chris Shaw, Chris Reindler, Callum Stewart, David Donnelly, Paul Riley and myself….THANK YOU!

With your continued support UWAM will no doubt go from strength to strength, and cement our position as the NUMBER ONE Formula SAE team in the World.

Best Wishes and warmest thanks,

Gurkaran Bansal

Project Manager 2007 / US Manager 2008

Simone Boekelaar:

From the very first events it was clear that there were 30 to 40 other cars with a very strong chance of winning. The final result would come down to a combination of good preparation, a reliable vehicle, and a little bit of luck, especially with regards to the highly changeable Michigan weather.

Despite the rivalry on the track, the atmosphere in the pits was one of camaraderie. All teams, regardless of their experience or perceived level of prestige, lent a hand to other teams when needed. Every competitor was open to sharing their knowledge and experiences, and was proud to show off their hard work.

Throughout the competition I had the opportunity to talk to students and faculty who had come from a wide range of places. I spoke with people from everywhere; from Vermont to Venezuela, and Saskatchewan to Stuttgart. Cultural barriers were easily overcome as we all had something in common. It was fantastic to be able to talk to people who had been through similar experiences with Formula SAE, and could completely understand where you were coming from.

Over the last 18 months I have learnt so much. I learnt a great deal about team work and communication. My organisation and time management skills have greatly improved, and I have leant a lot about logistics and commerce that have already started to help me in my working life. Above all I have learnt that I am capable of far more than I ever thought, including surviving two weeks living as the only female in a house of 12 males!! I would like to thank all past and present team mates, the university, our sponsors, all UWAM Alumni, and my family and friends for all their assistance and support. Congratulations, we finally made it!!

All the best.

Simone Boekelaar

Marketing Manager 2007

UWA Motorsport shows off on TV!

Soon after the commotion of winning the title in the USA, we were being chased by media wanting to do a story on our fabulous effort. Arrangements were made with Network Ten to conduct an interview with some of the guys who had already returned from Detroit. They also requested some footage from the Championship, which once that was arranged, Dougal Wallace visited us at the lab and interviewed Ayrton Sue, Race Engineers and Chris Reindler, Driver. The story aired on Wednesday 28^th May at about 5:40pm with a substantial amount of time designated for the story on UWAM’s international success! Please keep an eye on the ‘Media’ section where we will upload the news telecast for anyone who missed it!

Formula SAE Australasian Competition Date released

It’s official! The competition Dates have been set. See below for the exact dates. Formula SAE-A, the governing body for the Australian FSAE teams released the dates just recently. We have already booked our accommodation in Werribee and are gearing up for a ripper competition!

The official dates released by Formula SAE-A are:

Competition Dates: Thursday 27^th – Sunday 30^th November 2008
Registration Due: 18th July 2008
Structure Equivalency Form: August 29, 2008*
Pre-Event Design Reviews: September 19, 2008
Impact Attenuator Data: September 19, 2008
Cost Report Due: October 17, 2008

Progress Report

This month, amongst a lot of other things, there has been a heavy focus on the chassis. Denis Streltsov, Chassis Team Leader says:

Although chassis design has been delayed by a few weeks, we are currently on track to have a final design by the end of this weekend. With side-pods and airs-coop, well on their way to completion. As soon as the chassis design is locked in, we are fully prepared to begin chassis plug construction, with the MDF ordered, rotisserie created and CNC machined ready to go. As well as having the team ready to do a bit of sanding and shaping!

Also in the past month, a full size replica of the driver-bay has been made, ready for a ‘smashing’ side impact test

Denis Streltsov

Chassis Team Leader

Warrick Carden, Technical Director’s report on Progress:

The UWAM08 concept is progressing well and is in fact becoming a reality. The basis of the chassis plug has been assembled so we now have some idea of what our car will eventually look like. Progress in other areas has unfortunately been hampered to some extent by the onslaught of end of semester assignment deadlines. There are however big plans and expectations for the long awaited mid year break. These include chassis mould construction, fitting and running new test components on the dyno engine and validation of some 08 concepts on IHS-007 when it returns from the USA.

Warrick Carden

Technical Director

Want to get involved?

We’re looking for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th year engineering students that want to be part of a world class team, is that you? If so, there are so many ways of getting involved with UWA Motorsport.

Driving	Adrenaline rushing, high speed, gut-twisting action. Learn how to be a real race car driver with UWAM
Technical Design	Design a race car! Learn skills in drawing, CAD, FEA and everything involved in design. Areas of design are: Chassis - Suitable for Mech Eng students Powertrain - Suitable for Mech Eng students Vehicle Dynamics - Suitable for Mech Eng students Electronics - Suitable for Mechatronics & Electrical students
Marketing & Management	Commerce/Eng double degree students here are something for you! Get all the experience needed for your degree. Network with BIG NAME sponsors and use your commerce skills to increase our financial resources! LOOKS GREAT ON YOUR RESUME!!!
Hands on Jobs	Lay up Carbon Fibre!!! Gain experience with an extremely expensive, high strength and lightweight material! Help our designers with the manufacturing of their projects. COME ON! GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY!!!

UWA Motorsport
Room G52d ENCM building Visit us on:

Ph (lab): (08) 6488 7912 http://www.motorsport.uwa.edu.au/

Ph (Office): (08) 6488 2529

Spotlight on Sponsors

Prime steels are a family-owned business which supplies specialised steels and alloys to its customers. UWA Motorsport would like to thank Rod Price from Prime Steels for his continuing support of the team and its ambitious goals of becoming World Champions. Prime Steels has provided UWA Motorsport with highly specialised, rare alloys for a number of years and often at short notice!

We would like to thank Prime Steels for their generous support, without which we could not achieve the goals we have set ourselves.

THANK YOU PRIME STEELS!!

Contact Prime Steels:

Unit 1/30 Industry St

MALAGA 6090

Western Australia

Tel: (08) 9248 2666

Established in 1927 the Western Australian Sporting Car Club is the largest car club in WA and the longest established promoter of circuit racing in Australia.
Today the WASCC promotes many race meetings each year, with the highlights of each season being the WA Rounds of both the Super Trucks and V8 Supercars Championship Series. This is undoubtedly one of the biggest sporting events in Western Australia, with more than Seventy thousand spectator's trackside over the three days and a national live television audience in the millions.

The club also conducts Drift Battles, Super Sprints, Hill-climbs, and Competition Driving Schools each year, plus a Member's Tuning Day at the circuit three times most months. The WASCC runs more competition events than any other CAMS affiliated club in Australia. Furthermore, the track is used virtually every day of the year by clubs wishing to conduct events, competitors using it for private testing, commercial organisations staging vehicle promotions or drive days, schools for advanced driver and rider training and many other activities.

The WA Sporting Car Club is a not for profit organisation with all funds generated by the club reinvested into club activities and facilities. Its main aim is to both enhance and continue its role as the leading promoter and organiser of CAMS sanctioned Motorsport in Western Australia.

UWA Motorsport welcomes the WASCC on-board as a new sponsor for 2008! The WASCC provides us with use of Jack’s Hill, close to Barbagallo Raceway and a display stand at many of its annual events including the V8 Supercars and the Night Masters Race meetings. Thank you WASCC for your generous support and on behalf of the whole UWA Motorsport team, we look forward to a prosperous relationship for years to come.

THANK YOU WASCC!!

Contact Western Australian Sporting Car Club:

Barbagallo Raceway

Wattle Ave (off Yanchep Rd)

NEERABUP

Tel: (08) 9306 8022

Fax: (08) 9306 8539

http://wascc.com.au/

Email:

wascc@wascc.asn.au

Principal Sponsor