This UBCO designed race car is ready to win in Michigan

The University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) Motorsports Club is revving up to hit the track next month in Michigan, to compete in the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) competition.

Every year, the engineering team has to create and manufacture a fully functional small Formula-style race car.

“We start the design in the summer and into September and start manufacturing the car in January with the competition beginning in May,” UBCO Motorsports Technical Director Andrew Faul told Kelowna10.

He and his fellow club members invited members of the public and potential supporters for an up-close look at the car which will compete in the IC (Internal Combustion) Competition at the FSAE, against other schools from the U.S.A, Canada, and Germany.

Each team will be scored in categories such as design, acceleration, braking, and endurance.

Michael Benoit, the faculty advisor for the team said their car was able to withstand the rigorous testing last year that was required to move further along in the competition.

“Our club made it through the technical inspection which only had a success rate of 50 per cent among all the clubs, and we made it through the brake testing event… which only 33 per cent of clubs got through,” he said. “From where our club stood with the resources that we had available to us, this club did a really amazing job at the competition last year. And I’m hoping this year we do even better.”

Benoit noted while everything is done by the students out of their own passion and dedication, this kind of competition helps them learn all facets of engineering.

“They all tend to learn a lot about the technical side of engineering, but they also learn important soft skills like project planning,” he said. “They start with nothing at the beginning of the year and in May they have to have a fully functional race car. And learning things like community engagement, reaching out to those who might care about this event, getting sponsors, there’s a lot of technical and soft skills they develop.”

The UBCO Motorsports Club will hit the track at the Michigan International Speedway in May.