University motorsport is gearing up for a big post-Covid return this year, when electric cars will dominate – along with  driverless cars – for Formula SAE-A 2022 at Winton Motor Raceway.

The Society of Automotive Engineers – Australasia (SAE-A), the peak professional body for mobility engineers, will stage Formula SAE-A at Winton from 8-11 December 2022.

Chairman and CEO Adrian Feeney said the post-Covid resurgence of the event would bring significant new technologies to the track, especially in the driverless cars.

"The teams are super-keen to get back to the track this year, coming from all over Australia and the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

"This year's program starts early, on 31 March, with a special virtual careers expo, at which our sponsors will connect with the brilliant students who compete in Formula SAE-A.

"Although Covid prevented us from staging a physical event in February, we are determined to preserve the core educational and career benefits of Formula.

"It's a big year all round for Australian automotive engineering, starting with APAC21, the 21st biennial Asia Pacific Automotive Engineering Conference, which we are hosting in Melbourne, 3-5 October.

"Autonomous technology features in both of these events, and they serve to highlight just how much of the world's engineering innovation is happening right here in Australia."

This year will mark the 21st running of Formula SAE-A, which ran as a physical event from 2000 to 2019, then a virtual event in 2020 before its full-scale return this December.