Publications  >  Brochures  >  gt motorsports  |  A Formula SAE Student Competition Group

The concept of team is basic to gt motorsports, which brings together self-motivated, independent students who are ready to take on the challenges of designing, building, and testing a single-seat race car to compete in the annual Society of Automotive Engineers Formula (SAE) Competition. An annual competition is held each May in Pontiac, Michigan, where more than one hundred teams from universities in the United States, Asia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and South America compete in various static and dynamic events.

History

gt motorsports was founded in 1986 by a group of students who wanted to gain valuable experience by applying their classroom knowledge to real-world problems. The team competed in the 1987 and 1988 formula SAE competitions with car 66, the first Georgia Tech entry. Some of the people from that first team are still associated with gt motorsports as sponsors or advisors.

The Team

The team designs and builds a single-seat formula car following the rules set by the SAE. At the competition, team members are judged on their communication and technical knowledge through the marketing presentation and engineering design display. Then, the car is judged on its performance in various driving events, including acceleration, lateral acceleration, maneuverability, fuel economy, and endurance. All driving is done by team members; usually six members of the team drive the car in various events at competitions.

The team is responsible for every aspect of the car, from the engineering, to the body work, to the ergonomics. Aside from the fun that results from building the car and working with a group of people, the students gain hands-on experience in working with such computational design tools as AUTO-CAD and SDRC-I IDEAS, and fabrication experience with TIG welders and machine tools. They finely hone their technical experience when working with engine dynamometers to measure horsepower; they also learn testing procedures and organizational skills.

Team Composition

While a majority of the team members are undergraduates from the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, students majoring in Aeronautical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Computer Science, Industrial Design, and Management participate on the team. All work is voluntary. The students apply their individual classroom experience to the design, fabrication, and testing of the car.

The students meet industry professionals, who often serve as sponsors of the team. In addition, they learn how to meet deadlines, how to work as a member of a team, how to do public relations and marketing, how to do oral presentations, and how to interact with potential sponsors. Being a member of the team might also help when looking for employment because many of the sponsoring organizations have hired team members.

Competitions

There is one major, national competition held each May in Michigan, wherein more than one hundred teams from schools in the United States and throughout the world compete. In the summer, typically July, there is a competition in England at which more than thirty teams compete, mainly from the United States and Europe. Finally, there is an annual competition in Australia, which the team won in 2003.

Dynamic Events

At the Detroit competition five cars might be on the track depending on the event; all the events are timed. The driving events of the competition consist of:

• Acceleration tests - who can travel 100 yards the fastest
• Skid Pad tests - the lateral acceleration on the car on a figure-eight course
• Autocross - two laps of the course where the quickest car wins
• Endurance - 22 kilometers around the course
• Fuel economy

Static Events

• Cost Analysis
• Design Judging
• Marketing Presentation
• Safety Inspection

Highlights of Our Events

Car 66 1987-1988	1st Georgia Tech entry,
	1st in marketing presentation, 2nd in fuel economy, 4th in design
Car 23 1990	2nd overall, 1st in acceleration, 2nd in autocross
Car 23 1991	6th overall
Car 42 1992-1993	3rd overall, 2nd in autocross, 2nd in skid pad, 4th in presentation
Car 99 1994	6th overall, 1st in autocross, best suspension design
Car 99 1995	11th overall, 7th in autocross, 9th in endurance, 8th in presentation
Car 55 1996	2nd overall statics, 6th in autocross, 3rd in design,
	4th in cost, 8th in presentation, sportsmanship award
Car 44 1997	6th in design, best teamwork award
Car 85 1998	3rd in design, 1st in exhaust system design
Car 13 1999	3rd overall meth class, 9th in design
Car 33 2000	Formula SAE 3rd overall meth class, 5th in design, 5th in acceleration
	Formula Student (England) 5th overall, 1st in acceleration,
	4th in autocross, 4th in skid pad, 2nd in design, 5th in cost
Car 32 2001	Formula Student (England) OVERALL WINNER
	1st in design, 4th in presentation
Car 21 2002	Formula SAE 3rd overall, 2nd in endurance and fuel economy
	Formula Student (England) OVERALL WINNER
	1st in design, presentation, and skid pad,
	2nd in acceleration, cost, autocross, and endurance
Car 3 2003	Formula SAE, 4th overall, 2nd in presentation,
	4th in design, Bosch Engine Management Award, Altair Innovation Award
	Formula Australasia OVERALL WINNER
	1st in skid pad, 3rd in endurance, 4th in cost, 5th in design

From Our Alumni

When I was a student at Georgia Tech in the late 80's, I was part of the gt motorsports team. We placed second in the nation at GM's proving grounds outside Detroit, and I must say it was one of the highlights of my academic experience. The team puts a lot of work into these cars and the lessons learned last a lifetime.

Ehab Jaleel, BME 1991
The Coca-Cola Company

Formula SAE at Georgia Tech taught me more than any of my classes and more than my seven quarters of co-op experience. Formula SAE exposed me to design, test, fabrication, competition, tradeoffs, marketing, sales, teamwork, leadership, planning and deadlines; in short, a real-world engineering challenge with no simplifying assumptions and no corners cut. This experience challenged me and enthused me about engineering in general and my automotive interests in particular like nothing else that I experienced prior to starting my career with General Motors.

Paul B. Allen, BME 1987
Senior Project Engineer
General Motors Corporation

gt motorsports was the most valuable experience I had at Georgia Tech. I learned things about being a good engineer that simply cannot be taught in a class — yet it was my insatiable desire to build a faster, more winning racecar that kept me coming back to the books and class. What is unique about gt motorsports is that it is so much more than designing and building a great racecar. The toughness of the competition combined with the fierce independence of the team requires that you first build a winning TEAM through effective leadership, team organization and motivation, PR, sponsorship development, etc. The skills I developed for the cause have paid huge dividends in the business world. The rush of driving racecars and making life-long friendships with some of GT's finest were all thanks to gt motorsports.

Jimmie MacLean, BME 1999
Senior Field Engineer
Schlumberger

Thanks to Our Sponsors

gt motorsports maintains a standard of engineering excellence through the support and generosity of its sponsors. The team requires approximately $60,000 each year to compete at the highest level in the domestic competitions. In addition, to successfully compete in the Formula Student SAE competition in England and in Australia as they have so successfully done in recent years, the team requires additional funds. The team appreciates the continued generosity of our sponsors.

• 10,000 RPM-Redline

  Ford Motor Company, General Motors,
  Georgia Tech - George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering,
  Georgia Tech - College of Engineering,
  Georgia Tech - Student Government Association

• 1,000 - 10,000 RPM

  Downing Atlanta, Elan Power Products,
  Cummins, Exxon Mobil,
  Timken, Hewlett Packard,
  Holox, Panoz Motorsports,
  Lockheed Martin, Proctor & Gamble,
  Kimberly Clark, Dekalb Tech,
  Loctite, Racing Communications,
  National Instruments, Roswell Fun Machines,
  Ricardo, Vought

• 500 - 1,000 RPM

  Anoplate Corporation, GE Polymershapes,
  Ladd Industries, Gran Turismo East,
  Braddock Metalurgical, JGM Automotive Tooling,
  Glenncast, Inc., Torsen

• Ignition - 500 RPM

  Aurora Bearing, Discovery Motorsports,
  Kavlico

How to Contact Us

gt motorsports shares facilities with other student competition teams at Georgia Tech in the Mechanical Engineering Research Building, also known as the Tin Building.

50284 Georgia Tech Station
Atlanta, Georgia 30332
Phone:	404.894.3222
Online:	www.me.gatech.edu/gtmotorsports
Mr. Paul Johnson
Team Leader
E-mail:
Mr. Kevin Bray
Chief Engineer
E-mail:
Dr. Ken Cunefare
Faculty Advisor
Phone:	404.894.4726
E-mail: