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Viking 43
A student team from Western Washington University placed sixth overall against more than 80 schools from around the world this June in Fontana, California, and was selected as one of three teams to enter the final round of design in the Formula SAE competition. In the design event, the judges agreed it was the best looking car of the competition, and subsequently placed third. The team also placed sixth in Skid pad, seventh in Acceleration, seventh in the Sales Presentation, ninth in Endurance/Economy, tenth in Autocross and sixteenth in the Cost Presentation.
Formula SAE is an intercollegiate design competition, organized by SAE International for students to conceive, design, fabricate, and compete small, formula-style racing cars. First held over 25 years ago, the competition has grown to include 3 US and 6 International events annually in Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia, attracting over 400 teams from nearly 50 countries.
The competition is broken up into three static events and five dynamic events. Static events include the cost event, sales presentation and design presentation. Dynamic events focus on the cars performance on the track; acceleration, skid pad, autocross, and a 22km endurance event that tests the cars durability and fuel economy.
The team helps students develop important skills which include leadership, cooperation, budgeting, marketing, and communication, in addition to the engineering and technical aspects of a race team. The program is world-renowned for its innovation and as a consistent, top-level contender, the team has received numerous awards and achievements over the years since its debut in 1989. There are around 26 dedicated students on the WWU team, the majority of whom are Engineering Technology students.
It takes the team one school year, 9 months, and over 10,000 man hours to design, manufacture, and take the car to competition. Students work together on the car in addition to their regular coursework, forcing the students to plan out the entire year in order to manage their time efficiently. The car is driven by the most experienced drivers on the team, such as those who have been autocross or cart racers in the past.
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Content below is from November 2008's show.
Concept & Specialty
