MRacing made the run up to the stage twice at last night's awards ceremony, once for winning the acceleration event and again for placing 2nd in the competition!! Both times we were jumping up and down singing "It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine!"
Business: 40th (54.44 points)
Cost: 48th (63.92 points)
Design: 5th (125 points)
Skidpad: 6th (59.96 points)
Acceleration: 1st (75 points)
Autocross: 3rd (96.78 points)
Endurance: 2nd (287.6 points)
Fuel Efficiency: 20th (55.18 points)
Overall: 2nd (814.89 points)
TU Delft took 1st place (866.56 points), and UAS Zwickau took 3rd (776.87 points)
The team will be returning to the States tomorrow.
Damage assessment: Our rear anti-roll bar broke during the endurance race and our .100" thick oil pan had all its material scraped off from bottoming out. The track had two sections where cars were being thrown into the air. Before the race we added a layer of JB-weld to the bottom of the oil pan for some added safety and that seems to have saved us. One more hit and the pan would have broke, and we would not have finished endurance!
The team would like to send a giant thank you to all our sponsors, family, and supporters for helping us get this far! Our success would not be possible without you!!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Endurance completed!!!
The final four of endurance was a fantastic race. Michael Mosburger drove for us first, consistently hitting times in the 49 second range. For the first half of the race we were the 2nd fastest car on the track behind TU Delft, laying down consistent 48 second laps. Global Formula Racing's car did not finish the race due to a brakes failure. Garrett drove the 2nd half, consistently turning 51 second laps. TU Delft's second driver continued to be in the 49's and they were very hard to catch. There were no problems at the driver change, and no problems with the car on track. The car is currently being measured for fuel consumption.
The entire day was taken up by the endurance racing and there are many spectacular highlights from today. Regensberg's car burst into flames while out on the course, and forunately the driver got out of the car quickly and the fire was extinguished. TU Graz suffered a suspension failure and did not finish. Stuttgart also did not finish due to a powertrain problem. 41 out of 76 teams finished the endurance race today.
TU Berlin's endurance came to a gut-wrenching end when their car repeatedly lost power and came to a stop in the middle of the track. They restarted it every time and would drive another lap before losing power again. Their driver limped the car like this for the last few laps until on the final turn, the car lost power again and they had to roll the last 20 feet at a snail's pace to cross the finish line. If the finish line had been 5 feet further they would not have made it.
The team is overwhelmingly happy and relieved with the completion of endurance. We are packing up our crates before the awards ceremony begins tonight. We still have no idea what the top 5 results are for each event, so we have to wait until the awards ceremony to find out the overall winner.
The entire day was taken up by the endurance racing and there are many spectacular highlights from today. Regensberg's car burst into flames while out on the course, and forunately the driver got out of the car quickly and the fire was extinguished. TU Graz suffered a suspension failure and did not finish. Stuttgart also did not finish due to a powertrain problem. 41 out of 76 teams finished the endurance race today.
TU Berlin's endurance came to a gut-wrenching end when their car repeatedly lost power and came to a stop in the middle of the track. They restarted it every time and would drive another lap before losing power again. Their driver limped the car like this for the last few laps until on the final turn, the car lost power again and they had to roll the last 20 feet at a snail's pace to cross the finish line. If the finish line had been 5 feet further they would not have made it.
The team is overwhelmingly happy and relieved with the completion of endurance. We are packing up our crates before the awards ceremony begins tonight. We still have no idea what the top 5 results are for each event, so we have to wait until the awards ceremony to find out the overall winner.
Skidpad and acceleration results released
6th in skidpad for 56.96 points
We believe we finished 1st in acceleration for 75 points, but the event officials are intentionally witholding the results of the top 5 in each event in order to make it a mystery who will win the competition overall.
Full results are posted at http://www.formulastudent.de/events/event-2010/results/
5 cars have completed endurance so far.
Many design judges have come by to look at our car today, as well as members from other teams. Engineers from Audisport are visiting our pit this morning as well so we are getting a lot of positive attention.
We believe we finished 1st in acceleration for 75 points, but the event officials are intentionally witholding the results of the top 5 in each event in order to make it a mystery who will win the competition overall.
Full results are posted at http://www.formulastudent.de/events/event-2010/results/
5 cars have completed endurance so far.
Many design judges have come by to look at our car today, as well as members from other teams. Engineers from Audisport are visiting our pit this morning as well so we are getting a lot of positive attention.
Competition Day 5: Endurance Race
The autocross scores are posted and MRacing is in the top 4 along with Global Formula Racing, TU Purin, and TU Delft. Today's endurance race will be run in the order of autocross times from slowest to fastest, so we will be one of the last cars on the course. We will likely be running around 4:30pm Germany time, but it depends on how quickly the event goes. Times for yesterday's skidpad and acceleration have not been posted yet.
The entire endurance race will be streamed live at http://formulastudent.tv
Our two endurance drivers, Garrett Huff and Michael Mosburger, are walking the course right now. It rained this morning and the track is still damp, but drying. Right now it is partly cloudy above the track and a chance of scattered showers is in the forecast so tire selection will be crucial today.
A brief summnary of how endurance works: The race is 22km long, 11km for each driver. No parts are allowed to fall off the car or drag on the ground and no fluids can leak. At the mid-race driver change, the car will be checked over by officials before being allowed to continue. There will be 4 cars on the track at a time, and passing can only occur at designated passing lanes. The 4 fastest cars from autocross will run together after all the other cars have finished. We are in this "fast four" group. Our fuel economy score will be calculated based on our fuel consumption during the race. The race is worth 325 points, and fuel economy is worth another 100 points.
The entire endurance race will be streamed live at http://formulastudent.tv
Our two endurance drivers, Garrett Huff and Michael Mosburger, are walking the course right now. It rained this morning and the track is still damp, but drying. Right now it is partly cloudy above the track and a chance of scattered showers is in the forecast so tire selection will be crucial today.
A brief summnary of how endurance works: The race is 22km long, 11km for each driver. No parts are allowed to fall off the car or drag on the ground and no fluids can leak. At the mid-race driver change, the car will be checked over by officials before being allowed to continue. There will be 4 cars on the track at a time, and passing can only occur at designated passing lanes. The 4 fastest cars from autocross will run together after all the other cars have finished. We are in this "fast four" group. Our fuel economy score will be calculated based on our fuel consumption during the race. The race is worth 325 points, and fuel economy is worth another 100 points.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
48th in cost, currenly 2nd in autocross
We scored 63.92 out of 100 points in cost. This puts us at roughly a 20 point disadvantage to many of the other stronger teams, so we need to rely heavily on our dynamic event and engineering design scores.
Garrett Huff started off autocross with two runs in the 54 second range, putting us right in the middle of the quickest teams. Michael Mosburger was able to post a 53.043 and then a 52.539, both times fast enough for first place. However, Global Formula Racing has just answered back with a 52.453 so we are currently in 2nd place for autocross. TU Delft just ran a 52.561 with their first driver. TU Munich is right behind them with a 53.095. Both our drivers have taken their runs so now we are just waiting to see how quick everybody else is. ETS is having problems with shifting, not being able to hit 3rd gear. They can only drive in 2nd and 4th gear. Stuttgart has yet to run. Autocross is far from over so we are hoping to hold on to 2nd place.
The team ran autocross early so that we have adequate time to prepare for design finals which begin at 8pm.
Remember that you can watch the action live at http://formulastudent.tv/
Garrett Huff started off autocross with two runs in the 54 second range, putting us right in the middle of the quickest teams. Michael Mosburger was able to post a 53.043 and then a 52.539, both times fast enough for first place. However, Global Formula Racing has just answered back with a 52.453 so we are currently in 2nd place for autocross. TU Delft just ran a 52.561 with their first driver. TU Munich is right behind them with a 53.095. Both our drivers have taken their runs so now we are just waiting to see how quick everybody else is. ETS is having problems with shifting, not being able to hit 3rd gear. They can only drive in 2nd and 4th gear. Stuttgart has yet to run. Autocross is far from over so we are hoping to hold on to 2nd place.
The team ran autocross early so that we have adequate time to prepare for design finals which begin at 8pm.
Remember that you can watch the action live at http://formulastudent.tv/
Skidpad complete, sitting 1st in acceleration
Skidpad did not go as smoothly as planned. Katie Lapham's first run did not count, and her second run was in the 5.2s range. Sam Fowle's runs were in the 5.3's. This puts us in the middle of the pack for the skidpad event.
Sam drove first for acceleration, posting times in the 4.2's because of bogged launches. We made some changes to the launch control settings, and Katie was able to run a 4.004 and then a 3.975. This puts us in first place for acceleration with half an hour left before skidpad and acceleration close. TU Munich, TU Graz, and Global Formula Racing are the closest competitors, running in the mid 4.0's
After Katie's fastest run, members of MRacing who were spread out in the crowd of spectators cheered "Go Blue!" in unison.
The official times will be released later today.
Live streaming of dynamic events
To watch today and tomorrow's dynamic events live, go to http://formulastudent.tv/
Competition Day 4: Skidpad, Acceleration, Autocross
Dynamic events begin today with skidpad and acceleration open from 8:30AM - 1:00PM. Each event is worth 75 points.
The skidpad event tests the lateral (turning) speed of the car. The course is comprised of two tangent circles (like a figure-8) in which the car goes around one circle twice, and then switches to the other circle to turn the other direction twice. The average of the times it takes to go around each circle is taken. The acceleration event consists of a straight line track 75m long.
The team just finished up preparing the car. We will be heading to skidpad first, then acceleration. Today's acceleration event should be very exciting. We won the event at MIS with a 3.766s time a few months ago but TU Munich posted a 3.751s time at FS Silverstone. The surface at Silverstone is notoriously fast, so it should be a neck and neck race between MRacing and TU Munich now that we are on the same surface.
Autocross will be from 3:00PM - 8:00PM. The course is a one-lap sprint containing turns in both directions ranging from high speed sweepers, slaloms, to tight hairpins. The result of this event is very important because it is worth 100 points, and it determines the running order for tomorrow's endurance race. We need to place very high in this event so that we will not be blocked by slower cars during endurance.
An update on other teams: Wisconsin suffered a turbocharger failure in the test drive area yesterday and had to swap their spare on. The nut holding the compressor wheel loosened, allowing the wheel to crash into the housing. TU Graz was at the engine test area all yesterday afternoon due to engine difficulties. As of this morning they are still trying to solve the problem.
Photos taken by event photographers can be found at http://www.formulastudent.de/events/event-2010/gallery/
The skidpad event tests the lateral (turning) speed of the car. The course is comprised of two tangent circles (like a figure-8) in which the car goes around one circle twice, and then switches to the other circle to turn the other direction twice. The average of the times it takes to go around each circle is taken. The acceleration event consists of a straight line track 75m long.
The team just finished up preparing the car. We will be heading to skidpad first, then acceleration. Today's acceleration event should be very exciting. We won the event at MIS with a 3.766s time a few months ago but TU Munich posted a 3.751s time at FS Silverstone. The surface at Silverstone is notoriously fast, so it should be a neck and neck race between MRacing and TU Munich now that we are on the same surface.
Autocross will be from 3:00PM - 8:00PM. The course is a one-lap sprint containing turns in both directions ranging from high speed sweepers, slaloms, to tight hairpins. The result of this event is very important because it is worth 100 points, and it determines the running order for tomorrow's endurance race. We need to place very high in this event so that we will not be blocked by slower cars during endurance.
An update on other teams: Wisconsin suffered a turbocharger failure in the test drive area yesterday and had to swap their spare on. The nut holding the compressor wheel loosened, allowing the wheel to crash into the housing. TU Graz was at the engine test area all yesterday afternoon due to engine difficulties. As of this morning they are still trying to solve the problem.
Photos taken by event photographers can be found at http://www.formulastudent.de/events/event-2010/gallery/
Competition Day 3: Business Presentation, Cost Analysis, Engineering Design
Today we completed the Business Presentation in the morning followed by the Cost Analysis and Engineering Design events in the afternoon.
We scored 54.44 points out of 75 points for our Business Presentation.
We are still waiting for the result of the Cost Analysis.
After Engineering Design, we were selected for Engineering Design finals along with Stuttgart, TU Munich,TU Graz, Ravensburg DHBW, Karlsruhe IT, UAS Wiesbaden, and UAS Zwickau. The design final is going to be held on Saturday night,and all group leaders are doing their best to prepare themselves for it. This is very promising for our overall outcome because Engineering Design is worth 150 points, and we have secured ourselves a spot among the top 8 in the event!
We scored 54.44 points out of 75 points for our Business Presentation.
We are still waiting for the result of the Cost Analysis.
After Engineering Design, we were selected for Engineering Design finals along with Stuttgart, TU Munich,TU Graz, Ravensburg DHBW, Karlsruhe IT, UAS Wiesbaden, and UAS Zwickau. The design final is going to be held on Saturday night,and all group leaders are doing their best to prepare themselves for it. This is very promising for our overall outcome because Engineering Design is worth 150 points, and we have secured ourselves a spot among the top 8 in the event!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Competition Day 2: Scrutineering
We completed scrutineering this afternoon on our third attempt. The car was sent back to the pits for modifications to the firewall and driver positioning. It was a very frustrating ordeal to pass scrutineering and the general consensus among other teams is that the inspectors are being very nit picky this year. Regardless, our team is cleared to drive.
Noise went very smoothly, with our exhaust coming in at only 103dB. The forward-facing muffler mounted inside the sidepod seems to contribute a lot in noise reduction.
Tilt table went smoothly as well.
Passing the braking test took a few attempts, but that is normal. The event officials enacted a new rule that speeds must be kept between 30-40 kph after our car reached 80 kph before the braking zone last year.
All 4 inspection stickers necessary to drive are present on the nose of our car.
The team is currently hosting some executives from Bosch. They are getting a tour of our car and an introduction to the team members. The importance of this visit is huge because it could open the doors to many new opportunities both technically and financially.
Tomorrow we have the engineering design (150 points), cost analysis (100 points), and business presentation (75 points) events.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Competition Day 1: Registration and Scrutineering
The team completed registration this afternoon and we have already unpacked both our crates into our pit area. We are 39th in line for scrutineering which is going on today and continuing tomorrow. Final preparations are being made to the car so that we can pass through smoothly.
The motorsports atmosphere is in the air here. All day there is the sound of screeching tires and full throttle exhaust notes from cars making laps around the track. Notable cars on the track today were a Mercedes SLS and a Lexus LF-A. Just a week ago our pit area was occupied by Formula 1 teams.
We are sharing our garage with RIT, TU Cottbus, Global Formula Racing, Loughborough, and Stuttgart DHBW. There are posters in the area describing the World FSAE Rankings, in which MRacing is pictured along with 4 of the best teams in the world: TU Graz, Helsinki, Stuttgart, and TU Delft. It's very apparent that we are recognized as one of the best at the competition.
This year, the Formula Student Electric competition is being held alongside ours. They have a separate paddock to house the 15 registered teams. Interestingly, their endurance race will be held at night after ours.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Auto&Technik Museum and some friendly competition
Yesterday the team visited the Auto and Technik Museum in Sinsheim. The showrooms were filled with cars, planes, machinery, and weapons of all sorts. The museum had many unique and sometimes unusual items on display such as a history of chainsaws, wedding gowns, and vacuum cleaners. In the evening, we checked in to our hotel in Bammental followed by dinner in the beautiful city of Heidelberg.
Today we went kart racing at a track near Karlsruhe. We happened to run into the Fast Forest (Deggendorf) FSAE team. They were there making last minute preprations to their car, as well as their Formula Electric car. They are a 2nd-year team, and it's quite impressive that they were able to build two cars, one gasoline, one electric, with such a small group. Today was the first day they've driven the electric car (just one day before competition begins!) and everything seemed to work properly.
The whole team had a great time karting this afternoon. Competition at the Hockenheimring begins tomorrow with registration and tech inspection. We will be unpacking our crates as well.
New photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/mracingfsae
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Testing complete: MR-10 ships to Hockenheim
Today was another successful test day. No mechanical failures hampered the skidpad and autocross runs. Michael, Sam, and Garrett had ample time in the car to practice their events.
Oklahoma and RIT had plenty of time to drive today as well. ETS was only able to get some skidpad testing done before encountering shifting problems. By the time we left the air base, they were still working on their car.
At the end of the day, we packed up our crates again and loaded them onto a flatbed to be taken to the Hockenheimring. A small group of team members will accompany the race car to Hockenheim tomorrow. The team will be moving to the next hotel tomorrow and have two days off.
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