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Kevin Ramsaran (MechE 1T3), Amanda Santos (MechE 1T3), Mark Prelich (MechE 1T0), Michael Bakaic (MechE 1T1 + PEY), Pulasti Bandara (MechE 1T1) and Dimitra Tassos (Life Science)

On April 28, the University of Toronto Formula SAE Racing team revealed their greatly anticipated 2011 competition vehicle, “UT11,” at the Mechanical Engineering Building.

Over the past nine months, the team, which includes five Mechanical Engineering students and a Life Science student, have devoted their time to the realization of this project.

“It’s been many sleepless nights, but it’s been an incredible experience working with people who are extremely dedicated,” said Amanda Santos (MechE 1T3), Team Manager. “And to have the public, our parents and sponsors finally see our baby, it’s really rewarding – we’re really happy with our UT11.”

UT Racing is one of 500 collegiate design teams to compete in the internationally recognized Formula SAE series, which challenges students to develop, manufacture and race an open-wheel, open-cockpit type combustion vehicle each year. With a 14-year team history, including three world championship titles (2003, 2005, 2006), this unveiling marks the beginning of what is to be another formidable and rewarding competition season.

“Our first competition is coming up soon (in Michigan, from May 11–14). We’re quite optimistic. If we continue working hard, as we have been, we should perform very well,” said Michael Bakaic (MechE 1T1 + PEY), Team Captain.

By making design choices that enabled UT11 to be manufactured with little complexity, the team was able to get the car on-track with adequate time to accommodate driver training and vehicle testing. The most influential design choice was the decision to use a steel-tube chassis over the carbon-fibre monocoque design, as seen with UT10.

At Formula SAE competitions, teams competitively present their design innovations, cost analyses, marketing plans and on-track performance, which are then evaluated by a jury of experts from the motorsports, automotive and supplier industries.

There are nine competitions worldwide, of which UT Racing attends two: Formula SAE East (FSAEM), held from May 11–14 at the Michigan International Speedway, and Formula Student Germany, (FSG) held in August at the HockenheimRing.

UT Racing is one of only two Canadian teams to ever compete at FSG. Each year the team competes, they continue to represent the high-calibre education available at the University of Toronto.

Read about the team on the Carpages.ca blog.

Media Contact

Fahad Pinto
Communications & Media Relations Strategist
416.978.4498