The University of Kentucky’s Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Team placed third in cost and presentation at the international Formula SAE competition on May 18-21, 2022.

The UK Formula SAE team, also called the Formula Kentucky team, is a College of Engineering student organization with 60 members who engineer and fabricate a small Formula-style race car.

The annual international Formula SAE competition challenges teams of university undergraduate and graduate students from all over the world to conceive, design, fabricate and develop Formula-style race cars. Participating teams enter their vehicles in a series of off-track and on-track events where they earn scores from judges.

Each competition gives teams the chance to demonstrate their creativity and engineering skills in comparison to teams from other universities around the world.

The Formula Kentucky team competed with the fourth iteration of their racecar, FK04. They placed 33rd in skid pad, 35th in autocross and 47th in acceleration. FK04's design score was a ten-point improvement over FK03.5. The team also placed third in the presentation and cost events.

“Placing third in cost and presentation is the first time the team has ever won anything in a competition,” said Adam Reynolds, a senior engineering student who is the current team captain for Formula Kentucky. “In design judging, we gained ten points on our previous score as well. The team has been a lot more organized, which has really helped us improve.”

Built through Spring 2022, FK04’s design is focused on reliability and manufacturability, designed to be an "iteration zero" for future development. FK04 features:

• A Honda CBR600RR engine and transmission
• Willwood disk brakes
• Haltech ECU
• 495 lb curb weight

“This car has provided so much experience and knowledge to build on for the future, and our team is better for it,” said Reynolds.

If you are interested in learning more about the team, visit sae.engr.uky.edu.