Momentum - March 2018 - 13

STUDENT
GENERATION

Driving was always "on." In 2016, ARG16 was tested at MIS to its
limits as a hailstorm hit during the Endurance event. ARG17 was
sure to be ready for any weather, being tested from nearly sub-zero
temperatures to mid-80s F.

A track official at Formula SAE Michigan 2017 comes to the aid of the Cornell Racing
car that moments before had lost its right rear corner. Fortunately for the team, the
corner failure occurred after the final lap of the Endurance event had been completed.

explained. "We use the turbocharger because it flattens
out the torque curve and actually makes the car more
drivable for novices."
Translating all of this power to the ground is a chaindriven drivetrain that is mounted to the removable rear
subframe of the chassis. A single-piece, carbon-fiber 7/8
monocoque allows the team to drastically reduce weight
while increasing overall chassis stiffness-ideal for vehicle
dynamics and tuning.
Monocoque Lead Michelle Carlomusto described
the frame design: "We make the monocoque out of
carbon and an aluminum honeycomb core. One of the
things we pride ourselves on here is doing a lot of our
manufacturing in-house. The layup is very time-intensive,
but saves us money and is the best experience for
someone interested in composites."
Arriving at Michigan International Speedway for
Formula SAE 2017, ARG17 had over 200 hours of testing
time to its name due to this year's accelerated timeline.
"Finishing the first week of February was the goal for
us, and we were able to do just that," said Team Lead
Larry Lenkin. "A first drive on February 9 was perfect.
It may have been snowing and may have been thirteen
degrees [F] outside, but the car ran and did some
donuts. That was really the first win of many this year."
Working with the weather in Upstate New York has
always been a struggle for Cornell. With a driving
season that is typically only a couple of months long,
Cornell looked to extend that this year by driving every
opportunity they got.
"Rain or shine, snow or sleet, we were outside testing,"
said Endurance event driver Jonathan de la Fuente. It
was brutal while were testing, but proved worth it for the
amount of testing and training we were able to get in."

ARG17 arrived by truck on Tuesday afternoon and rolled onto MIS soil
the next morning bright and early. Cornell showed great momentum,
getting through technical inspection quickly and using their spare time
to prepare for the static events. Making final design and placing top-ten
in presentation left the team excited for Friday and dynamic events.
With decent times in the Skidpad and Autocross events, the team
headed to the Acceleration event and ended up setting the fastest time
of the day: 4.122 seconds. The last time the team placed first in this
event was 2013.
Next was the Endurance event. The afternoon queue faded and
Cornell headed out for its run at the 22-km event. Right around the last
lap, however, disaster struck.
Junior Graham Nickel told the story: "Everyone was stressed,
concerned, and nervous. We watched Harry Galbraith whip by the start
gate. We had lost track of the number of laps he had done, but swore
it had to be our last. We just had to make it one last lap. Then, we lost
sight of him."
It turned out that halfway through the lap, ARG17 lost its right rear
corner and came to a skidding halt on the far end of the track. "It was
just kind of surreal," Nickel said. "There was no way we broke down on
our last lap, I thought. But, we had."
It was not until ARG17 had been towed from the track and failure
been inspected until Cornell heard the good news: The event official
approached the car and revealed that Cornell had in fact run an extra
half lap and had not been flagged in. Cornell managed to finish the
Endurance event AND lose a wheel!
With an overall finish of 8th place, Cornell finished top-ten for the
first time in four years. There was a feeling of promise for its future as
a leader.

ROLLER COASTER
Coming off of an exciting Endurance event finish in a
hailstorm in 2016, and a respectable 23rd place overall,
Cornell had high aspirations for ARG17. What came
of MIS 2017 was nothing short of a roller coaster of
emotions for them.

MOMENTUM

ARG18
So what is next for Cornell Racing? If you ask members of the team,
they will tell you: "The top!" Cornell has had a climb back to the top
ten in the past two years, and they are not looking to stop there. If
Cornell manages a 10th MIS win in 2018, they will firmly hold the title of
winningest team in Formula SAE.
This article was written for MOMENTUM by Graham Nickel, who holds the
position of Team Lead on the Cornell Racing Formula SAE team. He is
pursuing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's
degree in systems engineering at Cornell University.

March 2018 13

Momentum - March 2018

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