RIT Formula Race Team Competes in Michigan this Week

First competitive test of season for newly built race car

It’s racing season once again for Rochester Institute of Technology’s Formula race-car team.

Students are in Michigan this week for the annual Formula SAE, which concludes this Sunday in the Pontiac Silverdome.

RIT is competing among 140 teams in autocross and 22-kilometer (13.66 mile) high-performance endurance challenges, and vying for top acceleration, design, fuel economy and cost report.

RIT’s newly built black, silver and orange racer features enhanced engine and brakes and a lighter weight. It goes from zero to 60 miles an hour in less than four seconds and reaches a top speed of about 90 miles an hour.

Thirty students on RIT’s team include mechanical engineering, computer engineering, industrial and systems engineering, and information technology majors, along with a single art major.

RIT earned third place in international Formula competition in Australia last December. Formula competitions are sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, DaimlerChrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.