Cal Poly Pomona's student racing and engineering team is bound for Europe after continuing its winning streak in June by coming in fourth in a competition in Nebraska.
The Formula SAE team's performance in Lincoln placed it alongside teams from Kansas University, Texas A&M, University of Wisconsin, and San Jose State. The team performed particularly well in the 22-mile endurance portion of the competition, placing third.
"We're up against guys with much bigger budgets and much bigger teams," says Ryan Bowers, president of the club. "The other teams are well-funded and we get by with what we can. All the money we have we raised from sponsors."
The competition requires teams to design and build their own car styled after those used in Formula 1 racing. The teams are judged on racing performance, technical aspects, documentation and presentations to panels of judges.
At a race held in May in Michigan, Cal Poly Pomona's team placed 14th out of 120 competitors. Their next race will take them to Germany later this summer. This is the first time since 2009 that the team has qualified for the overseas race.
Bowers says the team will spend the next few weeks in the lab "buttoning down the details."
"We have to ship everything over there, which will be quite an adventure," he says.
For more information about the team or for updates on their progress, visit the Formula SAE website, the Facebook page or follow them on Twitter.