University of Canterbury Motorsport students make history

Enterprising students from the University of Canterbury have tasted success at an international motorsport competition.

The University of Canterbury Motorsport team won the student-run Australasian Formula SAE competition in Melbourne with an electric race car, in a first for the competition.

More than 30 teams from around the world design, construct and race a single-seat race car to take part in the event.

UC faculty advisor Bruce Robertson says the team’s win is an outstanding effort, given it’s only the fourth year they have competed.

“I am immensely proud of what the UC team have achieved this year,” he says

““It was the most technically advanced car at the competition, featuring an electric four-wheel-drive system with independent torque control allowing torque vectoring , wheel slip control, and launch control.

“This is all done using electronics and software developed by our students.”

The UCM race car also won the Skidpan event for the second year in a row, which tests the ability of the cars to generate lateral grip in a steady state cornering situation.
Previous UCM students have been offered jobs in professional motorsport in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as working with Rodin Cars in Waiau, following UCM’s success in the Formula SAE competition.

The 2016 UCM car was painted in hot pink and blue in tribute to the late Christchurch engineer, innovator and entrepreneur John Britten, who designed and built the famous Britten V1000 motorcycle.