Not many people get to boast about building an open-wheel race car from scratch that can outdo a Ferrari on a racetrack-but that's exactly what the Duke University Motorsports Team does every year.
The fully student-run group of fewer than 30 students, which began in 2002, builds, designs and markets a new open-wheeled race car every year for a Formula SAE series competition, occurring this year from May 14 to May 18 at the Michigan International Speedway.
The car's main purpose is for use in autocross, a safe form of racing popular in the United States among race car enthusiasts who enjoy modifying cars and racing them across rigidly defined tracks, said junior Alex Berghorst, the team's corporate relations liaison.
"The idea behind this competition is what if manufacturers sold a prebuilt, inexpensive, open-wheel, purpose-built car specifically for [autocross]," Berghorst said. "So we're essentially designing and building a prototype to present to real manufacturers."
Junior James Montupet, the team's chief engineer, said the four-day competition in May will offer $50,000 in prize money and include racing events that will test various parts of the car and static events that will allow the team to present a marketing strategy for its car.
The team has recently added ExxonMobil to its list of sponsors, which range from big-name companies like Ford to the University's Engineering Alumni Council.
The sponsorship from ExxonMobil will include scholarship funding, fuels and oil, which will help the team's estimated yearly $40,000 budget, said Montupet.
"They're giving us the money, and they're also giving us fluids," added Berghorst, who applied for ExxonMobil sponsorship for the team after working for the company over the past summer. "Their products are Mobile One lubricant, gear oil, engine oil, synthetic grease, and we're also getting fuel."
Being responsible for the jobs of designing, building and marketing, the team members put in a tremendous amount of time into the car.
"It's a huge commitment," Berghorst said. "We absolutely have a place on the team for anyone with any level of commitment they can afford, but its a very time-intensive activity. There are members of the team who will spend literally 30 to 40 hours a week in addition to their class schedule in the garage."
Most members of the team said their reason for putting in so much time and effort are simple: they're nuts about cars. Many stayed an extra week into Winter Break to work on the car and will do the same over Spring Break. They estimated their hours of input will increase to 100 per week as the competition nears.
However, many do not regret their level of commitment, viewing it as an opportunity to think outside the box and put what they learn in the classroom to the test.
"As undergraduate engineers, most of the classes we deal with use very basic mathematical and engineering models with idealized equations,"? Berghorst said. "The team allows us to use advanced design software and other real-world technology, and at the end of the day we can actually see and drive the result."
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