University of Western Australia
The UWA Motorsport Team is a diverse group of like-minded students who work together to design, manufacture and test an electric, formula-style vehicle each year.
The students, who come from disciplines ranging from marketing and finance, to chemistry and electrical engineering, aim to compete annually at the FSAE-Australasia competition in Victoria.
Guided by faculty supervisor, Angus Tavner, the students manage external and internal relations, whether that be obtaining sponsorship and participating in outreach, or budget management and maintaining a leadership structure within the team.
Involvement with the team facilitates a multitude of skills including CAD modelling, electronics manufacture, machining, accounting, logistics and marketing, as well as team-work and professionalism. Members from all areas of study are welcomed to join and new recruits are guided to feel comfortable, while also being encouraged to jump in the deep-end and find out what they are truly capable of.
The team, which has been in operation since 2000, initially ran in the internal combustion category of the competition – the only category available until the electric vehicle (EV) category was introduced. The UWA Motorsport Team transitioned to designing electric cars in 2017.
Image: The UWA Motorsport Team is excited to compete at FSAE Australasia.
The UWA Motorsport team has a long and well renowned history throughout the FSAE community and has achieved several milestones in its time, winning both Australasian and international competitions.
In 2008, after winning in Australia, the team travelled to Michigan where they won overall – a memorable experience and an inspiring one for today’s students of the team.
Even with the constant and inevitable turn-over of members since its founding, the one thing that seems to remain common between its generations, is the team’s dedication and commitment to pushing boundaries and chasing their passions.
From 2017 to 2020, the UWA Motorsport Team designed and manufactured the first ever student-built, electric, formula-style vehicle in Western Australia — a milestone which has set a strong baseline for the team going forward.
Since then, students have worked hard to maintain the progression to be able to compete in the EV category.
In 2019, although the team’s competition EV was not in a running state, students went to the competition to learn all they could from the technical inspection process and static events which encompass business proposals and costing of the vehicle.
Although they were unable to compete dynamically, their determination paved the way for the next generation of the team, who worked extremely hard to produce a fully-built running, electric car in 2021 – the earliest a team has done so in its history.
The team, now led by project manager Julian Blair and technical director Joshua Perin, are on track to compete at the FSAE-A competition in Victoria.
After launching their 2022 vehicle in early November, they aim to have UWA Motorsport’s first competition-ready car in almost 10 years. The vehicle is a complete 600V accumulator, with a custom distributed battery management system as well as a full carbon fibre monocoque, an aerodynamics package and a custom differential case, machined in-house.
Contingent on passing a rigorous technical inspection, the car will compete in dynamic events such as auto-cross, skid-pad, 22km-endurance and acceleration. Students anticipate the opportunity to compete with excitement and an eagerness with the aim of perfecting their craft.
Since the article was written, the team has competed in the Australasian Formula SAE competition held at the Winton Raceway in Victoria. They finished 7th overall in a field of 20 electrically powered cars and 5 combustion-engine cars, picking up a trophy for second place in the business presentation, and finishing 4th in design, 4th in autocross, and 5th in both the acceleration and skidpan events.
Unfortunately, an electrical fault prevented the team from completing the endurance event, a fate that befell many of the teams at this year's competition. The team was very pleased to be back at a competition after missing two years due to covid and look forward to competing again next year with a new and improved car.