RIT Formula Racing Team Earns a Top 10 Finish in National Competition

Rochester Institute of Technology’s Formula SAE racecar team captured seventh place overall, among 130 challengers, at the 2007 Formula SAE competition, May 16-20, at the Ford Michigan Proving Grounds in Romeo, Mich.

In specific categories in the annual collegiate design and racing contest, RIT earned third place for cost, sixth place in endurance/fuel economy, 14^th place for design, 15^th place for skid pad, and 22^nd place in the autocross race. This year’s seventh-place overall finish topped last year’s 13^th-place finish.

“It was a great competition with a lot of challenges,” says Anthony Capobianco, a fifth-year mechanical engineering major and RIT team project manager. “Our goal was to capture a top 10 finish. We were extremely determined to do this no mater what obstacles we had to overcome—we removed the engine and installed our spare engine. We then fixed the engine and re-installed it in time for the autocross and endurance races. The team worked so well together—I’m proud to say that we accomplished our goal and brought home a seventh-place trophy!”

Next up, RIT’s Formula racing team competes, for the first time, in the Formula Student Germany contest, Aug. 8-12, in Hockenheim, Germany.

RIT Formula racecar teams have competed in Formula SAE contests every year since 1993. Formula SAE sponsors include DaimlerChrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.