Pole position video text
Description: Monash Logo and Pole Position Title
Description: Racing car speeding around track
Caption: Samantha Blair Reporting
Narration: The lure of fast cars, roaring engines and the glamour of the motor racing industry is taking Monash engineering students out of the classroom and on to the track.
It's a cold, wet and windy day at a go-kart track in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. But this track has become a familiar setting for a team of engineering students who are this year's entrants in the international design and racing competition known as Formula - Society of Automotive Engineers (F-SAE).
The international competition has students design, build and race Formula 1 – style race cars.
Caption: Rachel Mace 2009 Project Manager
Rachel Mace: "Well the team is comprised of me, the project manager, there's the chief engineer and then there's section leaders from six main sections on the car. That would be the chassis, suspension, power train, electrical, body work ... and I always forget one of them ... what one have I forgotten guys? …aero, aerodynamics of course, sorry…"
Description: Students working on race car
Narration: While students are required to test their cars in time trials, there are a host of other tests, including fuel efficiency, endurance and design evaluation.
Just like real-world car racing, the team has a budget that F-SAE has set to $25,000 with which to build the car. Panels are made of carbon fibre, the wheel rims are aluminium and the engine and working parts are all made from durable and lightweight alloys. Students raise funds to pay for the project.
Rachel Mace: "Monash University are very good in sponsoring us and they pretty much provide most of the financial funding for the team, so we're very grateful."
Description: Students working on race car
Narration: Monash Motorsport is proud to be ranked among the top teams out of over 500 entrants worldwide, taking out fourth place in the world championships in 2008.
In 2010 the team will head to Germany.
Caption: James Mischaud 2010 Chief Engineer Formula SAE Team
James Mischaud:"We haven't competed against many of them because there's usually only one or two that come over for the Australian competition so if we can go over there and compete against some new universities, find out what they're doing, get some more information."
Description: Students working on race car
Narration: The opportunity to gain skills in a range of engineering settings is invaluable for the students, as they will take what they have learnt into the workforce after graduation, giving them an edge over other graduates.
Caption: Luke Mackenzie Head aerodynamics engineer
Luke McKenzie:"A lot of experience that no other university students would really get. I've probably spent over a hundred hours in the wind tunnel, like the full scale wind tunnel, testing a number of aerodynamic packages, configurations for the car, plus manufacturing these wings is an experience, it's just great hands on work, which you don't otherwise learn in the classroom."
Description: www.monashmotorsport.com
Video ends.