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The Texas A&M Formula Electric Racing team is building a fully electric race car to compete at the Formula Electric competition hosted by the Society of International Automotive Engineers in Michigan.
"It's a fully electrically powered vehicle. We buy the cells from a company and then we make and integrate our own battery pack, which is a really big challenge, but it helps us put a lot of power down on the track," Thomas Sepanski said.
The team operates on a one-year design cycle, building a new electric-powered formula-style vehicle each year for the Michigan competition.
"We are a one-year design cycle team. We design an electric-powered formula-style vehicle that we go and compete in Michigan," Braydon Tougas said.
The team had a strong showing at last year's competition, finishing 12th overall and 4th in autocross out of the teams that made it to the event.
"About 70 of those teams actually make a car and get it to the competition, and 30 of those actually passed technical inspection, which we did this past year, placing 12th overall in competition and 4th in autocross, meaning we're the 4th fastest car in the nation," Tougas said.
The competition includes 4 events designed to test different aspects of each car.
"So acceleration is just like a drag race, skid pads like a figure eight, testing your lateral acceleration. Then we got our autocross, which is a single lap around a racetrack as fast as you can, and then our endurance race, which is testing the integrity and endurance of our battery," Jackson Kimble said.
Preparing for the June competition requires an enormous investment of time from every team member.
"A few -- 100 hours a person. It's close to, I don't know, 10,000 hours plus between everyone on the team," Sepanski said.
The team has been competing in the electric vehicle category since 2021, though Texas A&M's presence in the broader competition dates back further.
"Our specific team has been in the competition since 2021, but the EC vehicle has been here since the 1990s," Gregory Nariniam said.
With last year's results as a foundation, the team is setting its sights higher for next summer.
"Hopefully, this year it goes even smoother, and we can place top 5 or even 1st place," Nariniam said.
The public is invited to meet the team at a free event at Aggieland Outfitters in College Station on October 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attendees can see the car and enjoy free food.
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