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The clever design of uniquely integrated parts to achieve performance vehicle dynamics is the secret weapon The University of Western Australia's Motorsport Team is hoping will give it the edge in the Society of Automotive Engineers Formula competition next month.

The four-cylinder 600cc single-seater formula type race car, built by a team of UWA science and engineering students over the past year, is being unveiled tonight at the University's Crawley campus.

The vehicle has fewer parts and is smaller, lighter and cheaper than previous years' UWA entries.  At just under three metres in length, it runs on 98 octane premium unleaded petrol.  This year the UWA team also reduced the width of the vehicle to better handle the slalom test track.  Competition standards require a 20 mm restrictor on the air intake to keep the average track speed to within 50-60km an hour.

UWA internal combusiton team has been highly successful at the challenge in previous years, consistently ranked in the top 10 universities out of 450 competitors, and ultimately winning the world championship in the United States in 2008.

UWA Motorsport Team Manager, fifth-year Science and Engineering student Matt Schrader, said this year's team brought some new ideas.

"The team built this year's car from scratch," he said.  "A bit of creative design and some good sponsors helped us to achieve our key design goals, which included reducing the number of machined parts so that one part serves more than one function."

Main features include a carbon composite undertray to improve vehicle dynamics and aerodynamics, in addition to the design of unique suspension springs to better control brake and acceleration forces.

The vehicle will compete in a number of individual events designed to test its engineering design and fuel economy at the Victoria University Industrial Skills Campus in Werribee from December 6 to 9.

The car will be put through its paces in three static and five dynamic events, including raw acceleration tests, skid pad tests to determine the cornering ability of the vehicle as well as laps to test agility and endurance.

The UWA Motorsport team is supported by more than 40 sponsors, including the University, Orbital Engine Corporation, Swarbrick & Swarbrick Yachts and Goodyear.

Media references

Matthew Schrader (UWA Motorsport Office)  (+61 8)  6488 2529 / 6754
Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783