The members of the Formula Racing Team are seen here with the car they built during this past academic year. Seated behind the wheel is Anna Davies, the team captain.
The ZR16 built by UA’s Formula Racing Team, Zips Racing, proved track-worthy this past weekend at the Barrie Molson Centre in Ontario, Canada, for the Formula North Competition. Through a series of static and dynamic events, the four-day competition offers the student teams practical engineering experience.
Out of 25 teams, Zips Racing was eighth overall in the static events — placing second in presentation and third in design. The team placed 10th overall in the dynamic events — first in acceleration and second in autocross.
“The car performed well in most of the dynamic events, and in the static events, the team did equally as well,” says Anna R. Davies, one of 30 students on the team and its captain. Most of the members are students in the College of Engineering.
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Here a team member puts the ZR16 through its paces at the Formula North Competition.
Next up for Zips Racing is the Formula SAE Lincoln competition, which will be held in Lincoln, Neb., June 15-18.
“We are preparing both the car and team for the competition by reviewing notes from the judges and testing the car for issues,” adds Davies, a member of the Williams Honors College who graduated in May with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
“I got interested in the design team when members came and presented in my freshman tools class,” recalls Davies, who will join Bridgestone Americas Center for Research and Technology in Akron in July. “Each year on the team, students are given a bigger role with more responsibility. I like the challenges that came along with that, as well as the comradery of the team.”