Sport

The 4th Formula SAE Brazil – Petrobras – Competition was held from November 8 to 11 2007, at the Goodyear Testing Fields (Anhanguera highway, km 128), in Americana, São Paulo.

The event brought together 15 cars, designed by students from 15 educational institutions from six Brazilian states and from Venezuela, totaling nearly 250 students of engineering. This was the first time the competition included foreign teams.

Created in 2004, the Formula SAE Brazil - Petrobras is the most recent SAE Brazil student competition and encourages technical specialization in Brazilian mobility engineering. By engaging in designing cars, the so-called Formula SAE, the university students are required to developed real-world problem-solving skills and capabilities, with creativity and administrative competency, in which project costs must be observed.

And, as such, competition progresses, particularly with regard to the cars’ technical level. "This year, while analyzing the teams’ reports, we realized the projects had evolved a lot and are now largely aimed at car structural improvements," said André Soares, the competition’s technical director. Among the innovations, André Soares points to the increasing use of simulation software in vehicle development, to the low consumption levels during operation, and to the investments made in driver safety.

The cars are built solely for the 3-day competition, during which they are submitted to statistical and dynamic evaluations, to events that assess each project’s performance on the track, and to team technical presentations. At the end, the top two teams earn the right to represent Brazil in two international competitions SAE International carries out in the US.