Winning Warwick Racing team defend championship title in electric Grand Prix
Engineering students at the University of Warwick aim to defend their championship title at this year’s Electric
Vehicle Grand Prix (EVGP) in the United States.
The team of eight students have designed and built an electric-powered vehicle and to improve on last year’s winning kart they have reduced the weight of the kart by 20%, making it lighter on the track.
The competition consists of two races, the first on the Purdue track on April 27th 2013 and the second on the Indy Motor Sports track on May 12th 2013.
The team will not only be assessed on the performance of the go kart in the race, but also what they have done to educate their community about electrical engineering. The racing team have been involved with the Imagineering Fair and Nissan Formula Student Event where they have showcased their electric-powered vehicle to the public.
The student team includes Evangelos Contoleon, Jenny Chan, Sean Oliver, Matthew Duckhouse, Luke Lynch, Alex Kullmann, Sam Tracy and Mauricio Cavalieri Carreiro.
Project Leader Evangelos Contoleon said: “When we first went into this project we didn’t know much about Electric Vehicles (EV’s) but now we’ve built up this knowledge and we want to make sure it sticks around and that people are interested in it. EV’s are going to be the future and it’s an important project for students to be working on. We want to be successful in the competition and so far we’ve come fourth and first, with the competition only being two years old. We are pretty competitive and we want to build up our performance in the US and hopefully the UK.”
Race Driver Luke Lynch adds: “Considering last year’s team won, I am expecting us to do the same. As the driver, I have a lot of weight on my shoulders. We can improve the kart all we like but if I make a mistake it is all over. I have done a few hours in the kart now though, and the kit feels good. I’m hoping to bring the trophy home.”
As well as defending their EVGP championship title, the team plan to launch a UK-based EVGP competition with the race being held at the Sustainable Moto Expo 2013 from the 28th – 29th September. The event will include both universities from the UK and the USA competing in a wheel to wheel race, design competition and an eco-challenge.
The team is supervised by Dr James Meredith at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) who said: “After the winning performance of the Warwick team at the 2012 competition in the USA we knew that our kart was a good platform. So for this year we have concentrated on powertrain efficiency and removing weight.
“The team has spent significant time in the vehicle energy facility at WMG optimising and matching each of the battery cells to increase performance. Furthermore, they have developed a new motor control strategy which will enhance power output whilst using less energy. On the chassis, weight savings have been found from use of titanium and magnesium alloys as well as advanced composite materials. We are looking forward to this year’s competition and are hoping to perform as well as last year.”
Anyone interested in sponsoring the team should email Project Leader and Sponsorship Manager Evangelos Contoleon at e.e.contoleon@warwick.ac.uk
ENDS
Notes to Editor:
Photography available at:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/march2013/evgp_team_2.jpg
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/march2013/evgp_team_3.jpg
For interviews or filming opportunities with the Warwick EVGP team or for more information contact Sharon Gill, Assistant Press Officer at the University of Warwick on + 44 2476 575601 or + 44 7824 541142. Alternatively email Sharon.gill@warwick.ac.uk
