Racing team recruits

By Kelsey Whipple

Published Aug. 31, 2007

The boy-girl ratio at Wednesday's Mizzou Racing meeting was about 65-to-five, but what the group lacks in estrogen, it more than makes up for in adrenaline.

The organization, which is dedicated to manufacturing a Society of Automotive Engineers formula racing vehicle, is not shy about its goal of ending the summer of 2008 as one of the top 10 teams at the Detroit Society of Automotive Engineers competition. Mizzou Racing President Andrew Blaquiere said this competition is the "Super Bowl" of college racing.

"Something over 120 teams worldwide will be competing, and we generally do really well," Blaquiere said. "There are competitions in Italy, Germany, Australia, etc., and this one is the biggest. We have high hopes."

Blaquiere is one of 20 remaining team members, a number he hopes will double this year. The meeting's turnout, which produced more than expected, suggested his hopes are justified.

"We're going to fabricate and design an entirely new car this year," Blaquiere said. "We need people to build new cars. We need people to do welding, to get sponsorships, to work on the old cars. We have a lot of stuff to do before Detroit."

Every year, the group designs and builds a new racing vehicle from the ground up. About 90 percent of each year's car is student-built.

"Basically, we build everything except the engine," car chairman Josh Felling said. "And anyone can do it, not just mechanical engineering majors. Underwater basket weaving, whatever, we'll take you."

Faculty adviser Martin Walker said there are no expectations for incoming members.

"Part of the SAE experience is to give you the hands-on experience," he said. "These people think they're experts now, but don't let them fool you. If the will is there, we can teach you everything you need to know."

New members must be willing to put in five to 10 hours a week to learn the ropes, which, until the second semester, will not include driving.

"The amount of time the guys on the front row and I put in each week would probably add up to 25-30 hours," Blaquiere said. "It all depends on how much you want to contribute. The chemistry on the team is really good, though."

And it's true. After an upsetting performance at Detroit last year, during which the school's team was one of the only to drive through rain, the group returned in the same spirits as before.

"(Officials) don't take bad weather into account," Blaquiere said. "That's racing. Last year, the car only got top 20, but we're OK with that. Those things happen."

And when an accident occurred with a different car the week before a competition and ended up in a run-in with a pole, Blaquiere said no one was angry.

"That weekend, 15 people from all over Missouri came back to work on the car," he said. "We didn't race it, but we still went to the competition, because every time we learn something it helps."

The cars the team builds can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds, which would outrun any other car on the streets of Columbia.

"It's all about the acceleration," Blaquiere said. "We do pretty well against a Dodge Caravan."