After many hours of work in the Design Laboratory at UNSW, the Reback Racing FSAE team arrived in Melbourne for the 2008 Formula SAE competition, held at Victoria University, Werribee Campus. The competition is a design and build event in which students from 24 universities within Australia and internationally design, build and race open wheel autocross race cars. This was the 9th year UNSW has fielded an entry, with the team producing the RB2008 for the event. This year the competition was strong, including the title holders the University of Western Australia, and the Univeristy of Stuttgart, a German team which came with a vehicle already proven in other FSAE competitions internationally. Redback Racing performed well, claiming 5th overall, 3rd Australian team and also placing 2nd in the acceleration event.
The competition began on Thursday 27th November, with crews setting up the pits and making final preparations for the first events on Friday. All the pre-event checks on the Friday went well for the RB2008, passing the technical inspection in the early morning. Friday was also the day for the static events. There are three such events: Design, Presentation and Cost and Manufacturability. Redback Racing has always been strong in Design, and this year was no exception with a 6th placing in design. The team fielded the judge’s questions well in Cost, placing a respectable 8th. The presentation left a little to be desired, with the team placing 14th. Part of the challenge of Formula SAE is that teams must learn to take a balanced approach and develop the skills to tackle a broad range of events over and above the performance of the vehicle. This is something the team will focus on in 2009.
With Saturday came the first of the dynamic events: Acceleration, Skid Pan and Autocross. Despite the cold and inclement conditions, the Redback Racing drivers were able to record 0-100km/h times of less than four seconds, which was more than enough to secure second place. From Acceleration the team proceeded to the Skid Pan, a test of the vehicle’s cornering ability. There the team placed 6th. The final event for the day was the Autocross, a hot lap around a custom circuit designed to test the car’s ability to accelerate and handle. The team placed 5th with a lap time of sub 54s.
The final day of the competition is also traditionally the most taxing, with the 22km Endurance event being the spectacle of the day. Included in this event is Fuel Economy. These events test the vehicle’s ability to maintain performance under the stress of all-out racing, and encourage teams to squeeze as much power as possible from each drop of fuel. Out of the 24 teams competing, only eight completed the Endurance event, which is testament to the gruelling nature of the event, as well as the ability of the Redback Racing team, which was among the eight to finish. This result was only possible thanks to the whole team pulling together in trying circumstances. During the first heat, the car suffered a control-arm failure, which resulted in a DNF. The team wheeled the car back to the pits, and began to tackle the problem. Everyone played a part, and in little more than an hour the car was back out on the track, and the drivers brought home a result for the team.
All of the members of the Redback Racing team were satisfied with the results achieved in Melbourne. It has given the team members valuable learning experience, and has been a welcome end to a year’s work. The team would like to thank all those who have helped make this experience possible, especially Dr John Olsen, the Faculty Supervisor, and all our sponsors. Now the team are looking to 2009, to a new vehicle and another round of competition.
Written by Anton Messina
05/01/2009