Tufts Racing gears up for annual competition

Tufts Racing kicks off a new season of driving towards the Formula Hybrid Competition.
The racing team

The Tufts Racing Team is gearing up for the annual Formula Hybrid International Student Competition in New Hampshire, after a successful kickoff event this weekend.

The team began racing in 2008, led by Matt Liberatore, E09, and began competing as an electric, or “hybrid-in-process,” car in the Formula Hybrid competition in 2009. Since then, Tufts Racing has participated in gas-electric and all-electric races, winning first place in the Electric Division at Formula Hybrid in 2015. This year, the team is designing all-new elements for their car, including new framing and a new braking and suspension system.

The Formula Hybrid Competition is organized by the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College and brings together undergraduate and graduate students to build and drive energy-efficient, innovative vehicles. The Competition focuses on acceleration, autocross, and endurance tests to determine the best designs for electric drive systems and vehicle suspension.

The racing team is composed of 25 to 40 students, and is led this year by captains Catherine Gao, E18, Jordan Stone, E18, and Martin Majkut, E19, with faculty advising from Professor Bill Messner of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.