Racers earn spot on German F1 track

UQ Racing will test its new-look car in Germany next month against more than 30 international student racing teams.

UQ is one of four Australian university teams including UNSW, Monash and Deakin that will race around the Hockenheim racetrack for the Formula Student Germany competition.

The Australian version of the competition, Australian Formula Society of Automotive Engineers Australasia (SAE-A), allows students to design, build and race their own formula-style race cars.

UQ Racing Business Manager Tania Rautenbach said UQ Racing’s German team was; Luke Page, Nicholas Myers and Andre Borell and herself.

Ms Rautenbach said their new-look black car was already on its way to Germany but they would meet it there later this month, to prepare it for racing from August 3-7.

She said their car looked new with its updated chassis, bodywork and crash zone, but it was basically the same car that finished second overall at the Australian Championships last year.

It was also the first Australian student car to break the four-second barrier for 75 metres from a standing start.

Race teams will be judged on their design, cost, presentation, acceleration, cornering performance, fuel economy and endurance.

The SAE-A competition is designed to expose young engineers to practical experience and teamwork by building and racing their own formula-style car, an open wheeled race car with a 600cc engine.

The students will race four days after the German Formula One Grand Prix is held on Hockenheim.

F1 cars can go from 0-100 kilometres an hour in two seconds and reach speeds of up to 300kmh.

The students’ car will go from 0-100kmh in four seconds and reach a top speed limit of about 170kmh.

Ms Rautenbach said UQ Racing was able to race in Germany thanks to sponsor Hatch engineering, but was seeking more sponsors.

MEDIA: Ms Rautenbach (0416 746 353, rautenbach02@gmail.com) or Miguel Holland at UQ Communications (3365 2619)