Despite the temptation to relax as the summer began to kick in, the time between our return from FSAE Michigan and our departure for FSAE California was filled with long days and nights at the shop, attempting to rectify the issues that held us back at our first competition this year.
Thankfully, these efforts paid off tremendously, helping us to a 6th place overall finish at the last ever FSAE California event at Auto Club Speedway! The following is our individual event placing breakdown:
Static Events
Cost – 23rd
Business Presentation – 27th
Design – 8th (one place short of making design semi-finals)
Dynamics
Acceleration – 20th
Skidpad – 6th
Autocross – 8th
Endurance – 9th
Fuel Economy – 15th
Overall – 6th place
Now here’s a full recap from Dale Sormaz, Illini Motorsports’ engine team leader (complete with links to onboard videos!):
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“If you didn’t already hear, the California competition was a huge success. The static events got us off to a good start. We passed tech inspection with only three or four minor fixes. Thanks to an exhaust modification since the Michigan competition, we easily passed noise test on our first attempt at 105 dB. The business and cost events went well; the judges had very positive feedback for both Prashant and Henry. Even without representation from our aero team, we were able to take 8th place in the design event.
With the static events efficiently knocked out, we were able to focus on putting together a top performance in the dynamic events. Jack drove skidpad first, putting down a solid time of 5.275 seconds on his second run.
Jack Sormaz – Skidpad Driver 1
With warm tires and a solid time already recorded, I was able to attack the skidpad course and shoot for a quick time. After getting over my fear of turning right, I was able to put down a time of 5.149 seconds on my second run, earning the 6th place spot for the skidpad event.
Dale Sormaz – Skidpad Driver 2
After a commanding performance on the skidpad, it was time move on to the acceleration event. Our first driver, Ryne Jones, had shown true skill in launching the car during testing. However, with the increased grip of the stickier, hotter track surface, as well as newer tires and a very worn clutch, he was unable to break the tires loose with his test-proven 2nd gear launches.
After a short discussion, it was decided that Andrew Morrill would be the second driver. Taking from his drag racing experience, Andrew had put down some very quick times during testing and had more experience launching the car than any of the other eligible drivers. By launching the car in first gear, Andrew was able to overcome the high grip and slippery clutch, putting down a time of 4.421 seconds, for 20th place.
Andrew Morrill – Acceleration Driver 2
The autocross event proved to be a bit more challenging. In order to gain experience for next year, It was decided that Jack Sormaz should drive first. However, with his seatbelts coming off in the first left turn and a spinout towards the end of the lap, his first run was no good. Jack took control of his second lap, putting down a respectable time of 71.353 seconds, even while breaking a shift cable towards the end of the lap.
The car was pulled aside and a repair was attempted. With only 2 minutes left in the autocross event, it was decided that the repair should be abandoned and that Henry Africano would have to run his autocross laps entirely in second gear. Unphased by this trivial obstacle, Henry recorded a 69.006 second lap on his first attempt. On his second lap, a stuck throttle (not my fault, I swear) forced Henry into the grass and it seemed that hopes of a top ten autocross finish were dashed. However, one of the other cars on the course kindly spun out, bringing out a yellow flag and allowing Henry to run another lap. With hot tires and an extra lap of practice, Henry recorded a 66.142 second lap, which put us in 8th place for the event. Seconds after we pushed the car off the track, the event was closed.
Henry Africano – Autocross Driver 2
With only the endurance event remaining, the team nervously prepared for the next day. After spinning rod bearings both in testing and the endurance event at Michigan, it was known that oil heating was a serious issue for this car. Luckily, before competition, Ryne Jones had managed to gain sponsorship from AMSoil – a race oil which is proven to perform at higher temperatures. In addition, Joe Sheehan worked hard to ensure that our in-house-designed live data logging equipment was up and running. By retarding spark timing, overfilling the engine with AMSoil, and logging oil temperature, we were able to ensure that the car survived endurance. Jack Sormaz kept the drivers on radio, instructing them to drive slower and in a higher gear as the oil temperature climbed over 300 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, the in-house-designed electronic steering wheel kept the drivers constantly reminded of the engine’s temperature. Oregon State was pushed off the track early with a mechanical failure. At the driver change, both Kansas and Missouri S&T were pulled due to oil leaks. With three of the top contenders out of the running, we all cautiously considered the possibility of a very high finish. After Henry finished his ten laps, the engine decided to exercise its sense of humor by refusing to restart immediately. However, the team was relieved and energized to see the car moving under its own power before too long. After a nail-biting ten laps, Rob Tarlton crossed the finish line with a 130 C water temperature and a 340 F oil temperature.
Our strong performance in every single event and professional approach to the endurance race earned us a 6th place finish overall – our best performance at the California competition in history. Look out for car #6 next year.”
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Of course, none of this would have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Whether it was a cash donation, materials, machine time, or simply donated expertise, each and every sponsor played a crucial role in helping us achieve this excellent result.
And now… time to start prepping for FSAE Michigan 2012!
Best Regards,
Prashant Jayaraman
