FSAE team captures an eighth world championship with 926 out of 1000 possible points.

Cornell’s Formula SAE race car team won its eighth FSAE World Championship May 23 in Pontiac, MI, prevailing over some 130 universities from 13 countries. The team of Cornell Engineering students scored 926 points of a possible 1,000 in a series of events that ranged from design evaluation to competitive driving.

The competition, sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Sports Car Club of America, challenges students to design and build a race car and drive it in a series of events. The final score is determined by adding points for driving, design, and presentation.

The climax is a 22-kilometer endurance race over a one-kilometer road course, at speeds of up to 60 mph. Other driving events were an acceleration test, skid pad (cornering in tight circles), and autocross (maneuverability and handling). Meanwhile, teams are judged on their designs, a "business presentation," in which they pitch their designs as they would to potential investors, and on what the car would cost if put into production. Cornell placed either first or second in all the dynamic events and came in second in design, fourth in cost, and seventh in business presentation.

For winning first overall, the Cornell team received the SAE Foundation Cup. In addition, the team took home the Spirit of Excellence Award, the SAE Motorsports Award, the Bosch Engine Management Award, the PACE Best Engineering Design Award (second place), the Henkel Technologies Structural Foam Award (second place), the Goodyear Best Performance Award, the Hoosier Tire Autocross Award (second place), and the Solidworks Skidpad Award (second place). The various awards add up to $4,950, plus 18 tires and some software.

Cornell first entered the competition in 1987 and has won the title in 1988, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, and this year. "We win often because we take a systems approach," said Al George, the J.F.Carr Professor of Mechanical Engineering and principal adviser to the team. He summed up the systems approach as,"I'm designing this part,and it has to fit in with those other parts." He added, "We also have an unfair advantage, you might say, because we have an outstanding engineering school. Our students really do understand everything they're doing."

Brad Anton,Cornell associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is co-adviser for the team. Principal sponsors of Cornell's team include General Motors, Heller Industries, and Hunter Industries. Some 50 other firms contribute parts and other support.

—Bill Steele, Cornell News Service