By KELLI FONTENOT
Published June 20, 2008 by The Dalles Chronicle
On your marks, get set, go — to California.
For the first time in 12 years, the Western Washington University automotive engineering team has finished building a formula-style racing vehicle in less than a year, team captain John Furtado said. The team will race its car, the Viking 43, at the Formula SAE West Competition in Fontana, Calif. The Society of Automotive Engineers will host the event at the California Speedway from June 25-28.
With the big competition only a week away, three teams — WWU, Oregon State University and University of Washington — gathered at a decommissioned runway this week at the Columbia Gorge Regional Airport in Dallesport to test their cars, select drivers and catch a glimpse of the competition.
The teams hoped to run their cars under hot-weather conditions similar to those in California.
“It’s been pretty useful to see the other people’s cars and kind of benchmark where we’re at,” Furtado said.
The roaring engines are reminiscent of big formula racers, but these cars have a style all their own. Each car is compact, aerodynamic and built with careful consideration of the contest restrictions.
The team has been preparing every day for the last few weeks. The students met Wednesday to set up an endurance course and hold open practice.
The WWU team, which includes The Dalles resident Eric Urness, began building its car during the 2007 Christmas break, teammate Adam Baxter said. The small, aerodynamic car seemed ready for competition Tuesday as it rapidly weaved through a course of traffic cones positioned on the makeshift racetrack. The team’s engineers used woven carbon fiber to create some of the lightweight elements of the car.
Carbon fiber and the other materials necessary for constructing a car are expensive. The team received most of its financial support from parents and sponsors, Urness said.
At the competition, judges will evaluate the team’s performance in skidpad, acceleration, autocross and endurance courses. Furtado said the team has spent most of its time engineering the vehicle because the judges will scrutinize the team’s design, presentation and technical work. Judges will also test the car’s noise level, master switch, brakes and stability.
“They want to see what the car can actually do and then they add the driver element,” Furtado said.
The driver element in this case consists of five engineering students from Western Washington University, Urness said. Adam Baxter, Kyle Donohue, Trever McDermott, Erik Kremsner and Scott L’Farrell will drive for different events at the competition.
On Tuesday, the team chose Donohue as an autocross racer. Donohue went to UW for three years and transferred to WWU. His classes taught him about automotive engineering and driving, but he also learned from his experience in SAE.
“It’s one thing to have knowledge and it’s another to implement it,” Donohue said.
Besides education, the SAE offers a sense of comradeship. The track provides students with an environment for discussing cars and making good friends, said Donohue, who has been autocross racing for about three years. Donohue said he is unafraid of being behind the wheel of the Viking 43, which can accelerate to nearly 100 mph.
“If you’re scared to drive, you probably shouldn’t be in the car,” Donohue said.
Many members of the SAE have already competed in competitions this year. WWU’s engineering students earned first and second place awards at a SAMPE structural bridge competition this year, Urness said.
This weekend, the team will put the finishing touches on its entry for the upcoming competition. About 80 schools will participate in the event this year, according to volunteer information from FSAE West.
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