Two New Zealand universities will be the teams to beat at next month's Formula SAE-A competition at Calder Park in Melbourne, Australia.
All eyes will be on the two teams which won outright last year – University of Auckland in the EV class and University of Waikato in the internal combustion (IC) class.
They lead teams from five countries at the 22nd running of Formula SAE-A, which returns to Calder Park from 14-17 December with an EV-dominated field, driverless demonstrations and powerful backing from Australia's mobility engineering sector.
Electric vehicles dominate the event, with 25 of the 31 vehicles entered, representing every state of Australia as well as Taiwan, Japan and Indonesia, plus of course New Zealand.
Run by the Society of Automotive Engineers – Australasia (SAE-A), it is the last phase of a year-long program for engineering students from Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
Teams compete in business, cost and design presentations before taking to the track to assess acceleration, skid pad and autocross performance, efficiency and endurance, the most demanding of the on-track events.
SAE-A president Gary White said the New Zealand teams were long-term competitors who proved to be very popular winners last year.
"Auckland and Waikato were cheered on by hundreds of trans-Tasman fellow competitors, who admire the commitment it takes to cross the ditch for this event," he said.
"But with every year there is an opportunity for new teams to emerge as winners, just as the Kiwis did last year.
"It is sure to be a great competition, backed by a remarkable display of vehicles by our sponsors who represent the best of Australia's mobility engineering sector."
Major sponsor this year is Caterpillar, which is showcasing its latest equipment along with Jack Miller's amazing Cat-sponsored MotoGP World Championship motorcycle.
Applied EV is displaying its autonomous delivery vehicle featuring Digital Backbone™ technology which combines state-of-the art software and hardware to control the vehicle.
Completing the roster of major industry sponsors are Ampol Charge, car companies Toyota, Ford and Tesla, defence organisations ADF Careers, Supacat and Thales, and Henkel, Leap Australia and Transport for NSW.
Full details at https://www.saea.com.au/fsaea-2023.
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