History
Beginning in 2008, and despite being fairly new to the student racing scene, the team have flown up the international rankings in the world’s largest engineering design competition, Formula SAE. The largest university competition in the world, Formula SAE sees over 600 teams compete.
After achieving second place in the 2012 Formula SAE-Australasia competition, the team made the decision to travel internationally which resulted in the 2014, 2016 & 2018 campaigns, landing the team in the middle of the English countryside at Silverstone for the Formula Student UK competition.
The team managed a 12th in 2014 and 10th in 2016, finishing among the worlds best and taking home substantial trophies:
"Cost and Sustainability Analysis"
- 1st Place FSUK 2016
"Best powertrain Installation of an Internal Combustion Engine"
- Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 2016
"Best powertrain Installation of an Internal Combustion Engine"
- Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 2014
"Innovation in propulsion systems"
- Jaguar Land Rover 2014
Later in 2014 the team pushed for a win at the Australasian competition held at Calder Park in Melbourne. At the end of the weekend the team finished a close second, only behind first place by the slimmest of margins.
At the 2018 Formula Student UK event, the team debuted it’s most innovative car yet, complete with a second-generation custom powertrain, custom hydraulically-interconnected mode-separated suspension system, and completely revised aerodynamic concept. The car had teething issues, but that didn’t stop the team from taking home one of the most coveted trophies:
"Innovation Award"
- ExxonMobil 2018
At the 2018 Australasian competition, held at Winton Raceway in country Victoria for the first time, ECU Racing claimed third overall, with a smattering of second and third place finishes.
The team designed a brand new car for the 2019 season, completing it within a year for the first time since 2012. The car was more innovative again, making use of a third-generation custom powertrain, a V2 of the first-generation custom CBR600RR that was used in 2014 & 2016, an extended and revised aerodynamic concept, and a second-generation interconnected suspension system with vast improvements over the first.
The team performed well at the 2019 Australasian competition, taking out the overall static events win for the first time in the team’s history, set up by a 1st place in Business Presentation and 2nd in Engineering Design. The car also performed well, with a 2nd place finish in Acceleration and a 3rd in Autocross, however due to a fuse issue the car did not finish the Endurance event. The team did however come away with a fifth trophy for the event, being recognised for our extensive CFD analysis of the transient airflow effects inside the intake plenum and the fluid flow within the interconnected suspension system:
"Best Use of Simulation"
- Leap Australia 2019
The team continues to push forward despite impacts from COVID-19. Development of our 2022 IC vehicle continues as the team focus on the project ahead.