Overcoming small obstacles

The team encountered some small issues trying to get the car out on track today. During engine warm up, the water pump sprung a leak. After installing a new pump and driving the car for a quick shakedown, we discovered that an aluminum insert had pulled out of a rear lower control arm. The rest of the afternoon was spent switching the suspension back to steel components and setting the suspension up again. The car will be ready to run tomorrow morning.

ETS suffered a transmission failure today and had to perform an engine swap in the afternoon. They should be ready to go tomorrow. Oklahoma’s car ran reliably today and they were able to get skidpad and slalom practice done today. RIT arrived with their crate this afternoon, but did not make it out onto the track.

Day 1 at Rammstein Air Force Base

The team begun competition preparation at 10AM this morning. Unpacking of our two crates went smoothly. We spent the majority of the day getting the car ready for tomorrow’s shakedown. The carbon fiber control arms were installed along with one-piece forged aluminum wheels. System checklists were performed as well. Finding fuel for our car was quite an adventure, as most German gas stations do not have the E85 (ethanol) that our team uses. We did not have the opportunity to fire up the engine today due to the lack of fuel.

Oklahoma University begun their preparation alongside us. They were able to unpack their crates and start their car up. ETS had a late start on their preparation because their crate did not arrive until the afternoon. There was no sign of RIT or their crates today.

We are beginning suspension setup early tomorrow morning and plan to have our car ready for testing by noon. It should be an interesting day having all these teams working side by side and sharing a test track.

Photos are now available at: http://community.webshots.com/user/mracingfsae

MRacing arrives in Germany to begin preparation

The team arrived in Germany early Tuesday morning at Frankfurt Airport. After checking in at our hotel, we spent the afternoon in Kaiserslautern. The city is nearby the U.S. Air Force Base in Rammstein.

On Wednesday, we drove through Strasbourg, France on our way to the Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse, France. The museum had several enormous showrooms filled with automobiles from every point in the history of the industry. The vehicles on display were all of French, Italian, and German origin.

Tomorrow the team is heading to the air force base to begin preparation for Formula Student Germany. RIT, Oklahoma, and ETS (Montreal) will be joining us as well.

Photo updates will begin tomorrow, as it very late and the team needs sleep for tomorrow. Goodnight from Europe!

MR-10 en route to Germany for Formula Student

The 2010 Formula Student Germany competition will be held August 4-8 at the Hockenhimring in Hockenheim, Germany. The venue is a historic racetrack that Formula 1 and other high-caliber racing series have competed at in the past and present.

The MRacing team is nearing completion with preparation for FSG. We will be taking on the best teams in the world at this event. MRacing will be 1 of 5 American teams competing. At last year's event, we were the highest placing American team, at 5th overall. This year we are shooting for 1st place.

The MR-10 has undergone a rigorous summer testing regiment to maximize speed and reliability in Germany. The car is sporting several upgraded components. Most notable is a new lightweight carbon fiber suspension.

After an arduous week of organization and packing, the MR-10 and all the team's supporting supplies and tools were packed into two crates to be shipped to Germany. The crates will be arriving at the U.S. Air Force Base in Rammstien, Germany for a few days of testing prior to the competition.

The team will be arriving in Germany on July 27.