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Bobcat Motorsports History |
| 2007-2008 | Bobcat Motorsports just completed its third build year. Capstone groups were expanded to include 26 members, and in the fall we had 50+ new underclassmen join the club. Fundraising results were exceptionally good, wiht super help from Ressler, BP, and Quantum among others. And a BIG sponsor - Kawasaki - donated THREE motorcycles plus three crate engines to the club. Preliminary design was "finalized" in December, so with a design in hand the build phase began in January 2008. Determined to make 2008 the best yet, groups worked through lots of design issues and almost got things done by the end. Unfortunately the capstone efforts fell a little short in the braking, steering, suspension, cockpit, drivetrain and body. Since the schedule and project managment details fell through the cracks the remaining design/redesign/build was left to a few dedicated folks who REALLY wanted to compete! So after pulling many all-nighters to finish the unfinished business, the club loaded into a borrowed trailer with no time to spare and headed for California. And made it!! It was a good showing with an untested car, which looked super-sweet. See the writeups in the news, and stay tuned...Next Year will be even better! |  2008 Formula SAE Racecar | | 2006-2007 | Students returned in the fall, encouraged by the successes of the year before, and filled with ideas for the new car. Three students remained of the senior design groups and eleven new students were added to these groups. Our faculty advisor coordinated shop space needs and other MIE faculty got on-board. Once again the capstone design groups were selected and charged with a ground-up design, having an advantage this time of using the old car as a basis for analysis and design. The results were a vastly improved car that took 24th place of 80 teams at the California Speedway SAE Formula West event in June 2007. The car has been rodded hard ever since and continues to be the focus of club activities, fundraising, and test.
|  2007 Formula SAE Racecar | | 2005-2006 | Preliminary design began in September and in the spring of 2006 the build commenced. The Capstone project groups defined at the start of the year were expanded slightly as a few new students were brought on in spring semester. With great determination, the club arrived on the morning of the event at the California Motor Speedway. They had made it, two and a half years later with an hour to spare. The team passed technical inspection on its first attempt and competed in each event. The team finished 45th of 71 registered teams. The team also competed in Sports Car Club of America races in Montana and Idaho that summer.
|  2006 Formula SAE Racecar | | 2003-2005 | In the fall of 2003 Montana State University’s Society of Automotive Engineers Club began. Over the next two years, club members and faculty advisor Robb Larson worked with the College of Engineering’s Heidi Sherick, and other faculty, to secure support and funding to start the Formula SAE project. These first years laid the foundation for the first build. | |
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History