2021 QLD Comp Day 1
Monday 29th of November marked the start of our second annual Queensland Student Shootout. The UQ Racing Team along with Griffith Racing Team and QUT Motorsport made our way to Queensland Raceway at Willowbank bright and early to get the competition underway.
First up for the day was the technical scrutineering to ensure that all vehicles were in a rules compliant and perfect condition to compete. With the assistance of our very generous volunteer judges, we were able to pass our low voltage, mechanical and high voltage inspections easily.
Next up, we got stuck into the static events starting with the Presentation event. This year, this was held over Zoom with our 2021 AV Technical Director, Cristina, 2022 Treasurer, Jordy and our 2022 Business Lead, Sophia taking charge. Their job was to create a business case for prospective investors to prove that our vehicle meets the demands of the amateur, weekend competition market - specifically as a way to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Our team members spoke as a non-for-profit motorsport club, ‘Drive Ahead’ with a goal to provide disadvantaged students with an opportunity to experience motorsports firsthand. Through discussing our vehicle, competitors, target market and finances, they were able to deliver a well-executed presentation.
The Cost event was up next, on-site at Queensland Raceway, with 2021 Team Principal, Kyra, 2022 Team Principal, Brayden, 2022 OHS & Workshop Director, Victor and team member Jess presenting their solution for the given cost task. This asked us to outline, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, how elements of the vehicle may be changed to improve the driving experience. As such, our team members discussed the benefits of widening the chassis, including an adjustable pedal box and designing a custom livery. After going over the cost report that our team members had worked hard on in the weeks leading up to the competition and receiving some valuable feedback from the judges, the Cost event concluded with the costing task. This had us explain the manufacturing process of the bevel box and as such, how this would be costed in the report.
The technical inspection continued with egress testing which saw drivers safely exiting the vehicle in less than 5 seconds. This was followed up by a brake test which we passed with flying colours. With all of these events behind us, it was well and truly time for lunch. After half an hour or so to refresh with watermelon, sandwiches and $1 Domino's pizza, we greeted our Business Presentation friends who travelled all the way from St Lucia to join us for the afternoon.
The latter portion of the day gave us the opportunity to showcase and justify our design choices in the Design event. This year, we came prepared with posters for each major subsystem on the car which gave our presentations some awesome visual aids.
At 5pm, we packed all our gear into the pits and left the raceway, keen to return for dynamic events in the morning.
