Chippewa Racing looking to prove themselves at go-kart competition
Four Central Michigan University students with a love for racing have turned their passion into reality.
The registered student organization they formed, Chippewa Racing, is a Formula Society of Automotive Engineers team whose members collaborate to design and build a vehicle.
“The club is about a group of students of all majors getting together to design and build the best car possible,” said Northville senior Marcellus Smith, president of Chippewa Racing.
Formula SAE is a competition between universities that design, build and compete with their vehicles in different events. These events include endurance, acceleration, braking, cost, design, skid pad and efficiency.
“The teams attempt to build the lowest-cost vehicle possible,” Smith said. “We build a car with a similar structure to Formula One and IndyCars. They are single occupant, rear-wheel drive cars with a motor limit of 600cc.”
Students spend hours doing research and Computer Aided Design work to ensure that every component of their vehicle operates smoothly while also being cost-efficient.
“We design everything relative to the vehicles position, such as the frame, body panels, suspension, motor, differential and steering wheel,” Smith said.
While the team does not have much race experience, they are excited move forward in upcoming competitions.
“We do not currently have a race under our belt, but we are going to the Michigan International Speedway 2015 season and we will all be proud to see our vehicle compete,” Smith said.
Chippewa Racing’s focus for the competition will not be on the other teams, but on building the best car possible.
“With us going into our first competition, our only rival is ourselves," Smith said. "We are competing against (ourselves) to have the car built and ready for the season."
To prepare for MIS, the team went to an SAE workshop at the University of Michigan-Dearborn on Saturday to learn more about the competition, upcoming rule changes and to meet with other teams in their region.
They will also be racing go-karts with other teams in the SAE Detroit section on Nov. 14 at Kart-2-Kart in Sterling Heights.
The group's adviser Ben Ritter firmly believes the team has what it takes to succeed.
“When you've got a talent base like this group, the best thing you can do for them is give them an opportunity and get out of the way,” Ritter said. “I make sure they have opportunity, they make sure they get the most from that opportunity.”
Dedicated students who are willing to put forth time and effort are encouraged to join Chippewa Racing.
“As the student base grows, I hope our member base keeps pace, but I'm not as concerned with quantity as I am with quality," Ritter said. "Currently, I only want the best students involved (because) they are the only ones who can meet the demands of the group"
