EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State University Formula Racing Team will unveil its 2006 formula race car to the public before it faces off against more than 100 teams from around the world in the Society of Automotive Engineers’ 2006 Formula SAE student competition.
The unveiling will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, May 15, on the south lawn of the Engineering Building on MSU’s campus. The event is free and open to the public, and free parking is available at the ramp on Red Cedar Road behind the Communication Arts and Sciences Building. Guests should RSVP to Brian Austin at (262) 203-1866 or austinb6@msu.edu.
The five-day competition, which also is free and open to the public, runs May 17-21 at Ford Motor Co.’s Michigan Proving Ground at Fisher and 34 Mile roads in Romeo, Mich.
MSU’s 27-member team spent about a year designing and building the race car – cutting and welding every bar, said Adam Zemke, a mechanical engineering graduate student and the team’s project manager. During the competition, cars will be judged on a number of technical and structural criteria during activities that include a 22-lap endurance challenge around a specially designed course.
“This isn’t a racing competition; it’s an engineering competition,” Zemke said. “There is no one perfect combination of parts for an SAE car. The point is to think outside the box.”
For more information on the MSU Formula Racing Team, see http://www.egr.msu.edu/fsae.
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