On September 26th, Rocket Motorsports Formula SAE team traveled to Toronto, Canada for the University of Toronto Shootout. Three drivers from Rocket Motorsports placed with impressive times among 54 drivers and 16 teams.

After countless hours of preparation and a morning of throttle and shifter issues, the team drove away with second place overall. Driver Neal Wagner also drove away with the second fastest lap time of the day with a time of 67.010 seconds, only 0.020 seconds behind first place. Andrew Lesiecki placed fourth with a time of 67.309 seconds, and Jonathan Lesiecki placed sixteenth with a time of 73.900 seconds. Cooper Tire supplied the team with tires for the event, and Courtney Engineering Company sponsored the team’s travel to the event and camping for the weekend.

Rocket Motorsports attended their final race of the season on October 3rd at the Lawrence Tech Grand Prix. The team competed for fastest lap time as well as most laps completed. Despite a morning of overcast weather and dry asphalt and an afternoon of rain and wet asphalt, the team still drove some of the fastest laps all day. Rookie driver Jonathon Lesiecki made the team’s fastest dry time of the day as well as fastest wet time of the day. The team drove away with first place overall for the second year in a row. The team also won most laps driven- a feat also accomplished by Lesiecki. It was the first event new Formula SAE members could attend, and the last event of the season. Cooper Tyre supplied the team with race slicks, and Courtney Engineering Company sponsored the team’s transportation.

Rocket Motorsports will surely carry the energy from these wins as they drive, full throttle, into the upcoming season. The team will kick off their 2016 season at Michigan International Speedway May 11th-14th 2016.

The mission of Rocket Motorsports, a Formula SAE team, is to achieve new designs and push the envelope to find more efficient and economical engineering solutions. FSAE gives students a chance to experiment with new technologies such as ethanol based fuels combined with extensive research in kinematics, dynamics, fluids, aerodynamic properties, and electronics to come up with safer and more economical designs that offer greater performance and reliability. Additionally FSAE strives to pass on knowledge and professionalism to new students creating future business and industry leaders. 

To get in touch with the team, send an email to sae@eng.utoledo.edu.