A team of Missouri S&T students will test its Formula 1-style racecar against other universities at the Michigan International Speedway as part of the Formula SAE Michigan competition.

The event, a national student design competition sponsored by SAE International, will be held May 9-12. The competition challenges students to design, build and operate small-scale Formula 1-style racecars. Missouri S&T’s Formula SAE Design Team will compete against approximately 100 other teams from around the world. This is the first of two events the Formula team will compete at in 2018 – in June, the team will race in Lincoln, Nebraska.

During the competition, a skid-pad event tests the car’s turning and cornering on a figure-eight-shaped course. An acceleration test measures the car’s speed over a short distance. A one-lap autocross event proves the car’s maneuverability on a tight course and determines the starting order for the final event – an endurance race designed to test the car’s durability. In the endurance race, the car must withstand the stress of long-term driving at elevated speeds. Each race is timed to rank the teams; none of the events are head-to-head races.

Missouri S&T’s car features a student-designed and -manufactured aerodynamics package that helps produce approximately 400 pounds of downforce. For more information about the Formula SAE team, visit facebook.com/mstfsae.

The Formula SAE Design Team is one of 20 student-run teams in Missouri S&T’s Student Design and Experiential Learning Center (SDELC). The SDELC, housed in the Kummer Student Design Center, provides teams with computer design laboratories, a manufacturing shop, office space and logistical support. Design teams mirror small start-up companies that plan large-scale projects, organize into departments, raise funds, communicate their ideas and solve open-ended design challenges. Almost every team competes annually at an event against other collegiate teams from around the country and the world. For more information about the teams, visit design.mst.edu.