The Gator Motorsports family is preparing for a road trip to Michigan, where its "baby" will take its first competitive steps.
The baby's carbon fiber and fiberglass body will accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds - a feat that should give the team an edge in the upcoming competition.
UF's student organization Gator Motorsports is in the process of preparing its student-built, single-seat, open-wheel race car for events at the Michigan International Speedway from May 13 - 16.
After finishing in the top 10 for the past three years, the team hopes to finish in the top five with this year's car, said Michael Braddock, the faculty adviser for the organization.
But before the car can hit the speedway, the team still has some adjustments to make.
When the driver brakes quickly, for instance, the car shakes and shimmies from side to side, said Lane Gniewek, a senior mechanical engineering major and a team leader.
Team captain and UF mechanical engineering senior Pedro Rivero said after team members make all the necessary tweaks, they will tune the engine and choose the fastest drivers for the competition.
Rivero said the team will take about two months to prepare the chosen drivers, who will compete in events such as the skid-pad where the car completes a figure eight, an acceleration run, an autocross event where the car makes a timed lap around the course and a 22-kilometer endurance event.
UF junior Lori Harrington, president of Gator Motorsports, said the endurance portion of the competition is the most stressful, given its high point value.
"I hold my breath the entire time," she said.
Gniewek said each car must also pass a technical inspection, and each team has to describe how its car could be marketed and sold.
"It's definitely a nail-biter just watching the judges look at your car and question every aspect of it," Gniewek said.
But students gain more from the experience than merely the thrill of competing.
Braddock said working on the car gives students an experience similar to an internship but one that works well with their schedules, Braddock said.
It also offers lessons in commitment and integrity because if team members do not meet deadlines it sets the whole team back, Braddock said.
Harrington, who is also president of the Society of Automotive Engineers, said time management is the hardest part of the preparations.
"It's like a family, and we're all putting in an effort toward one thing," Harrington said.
