ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University's Formula SAE race car team won its ninth world championship May 22 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich. Cornell has won the competition three years out of the last four. It was the 19th year that a Cornell team has entered. 

The Cornell engineering students scored 906 points out of a possible 1,000 in a series of events that ranged from design evaluation to competitive driving, and they won the SAE Foundation Cup honoring Cornell alumnus Neil Schlike. The team was first in the climactic endurance race, won the Bosch Engine Management System Award for its engine control computer and took second place in the autocross event.

The team brought home $3,750 in cash awards to be applied to next year's car, plus 18 tires awarded by Goodyear and Hoosier Tire. 

The second-place team was the University of Western Australia with 868 points, third was the University of Wisconsin-Madison with 853 points and fourth was the University of Waterloo, Canada, with 812 points. In all, 140 teams from around the world participated.

The joy of winning was tempered by a report that three students from the University of Minnesota-Mankato died in a highway accident on the way to the competition. Mankato would have driven car No. 28, so each team added a small 28 to its car, and many teams added a Mankato State sticker. 

The Formula SAE competition, sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, Daimler-Chrysler, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors, challenges students to design and build a race car and drive it in a series of events. The final score is determined by adding points for driving, design and presentation. 

The climax is a 22-kilometer (about 14 miles) race over a 1-kilometer (1,094 yards) road course, at speeds up to 60 mph. Each team fields two drivers, each of whom drives 11 kilometers (about 7 miles). Although this is primarily a race against time, usually five cars drive the course at once, so overtaking and passing skills contribute to a driver's success. But engineering is crucial here as well: Due to breakdowns, only about 40 percent of entrants finish the race. 

Other driving events included an acceleration test, driving around tight circles and autocross, in which drivers race a short but unfamiliar course. Teams also were judged on their designs, on a "business presentation" -- pitching designs as if to potential investors -- and on what the car would cost if put into production. 

The Cornell team of 26 students begins design work in the early fall, completes construction of the frame by the end of the fall term and finishes the car in the spring. The only components that are bought off the shelf are the tires, the transmission and a Yamaha YZS600 motorcycle engine block, which is highly modified by the team. Over the two semesters, students practice driving on local courses that simulate the actual competition. Six students participated as drivers in the various dynamic events.

Cornell first entered the competition in 1987 and won in 1988, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2004. Al George, the J.F. Carr Professor of Mechanical Engineering, was principal adviser to the team. Brad Anton, Cornell associate professor of chemical engineering, was co-adviser. Team leaders, all seniors, were Ben Kennedy, chassis; Chris Davin, engine; Chris Hopkins, electrical and computer; and Erin Green, business. 

Principal sponsors of the Cornell team include General Motors, Hunter Industries, Heller Industries, Lockheed Martin, General Electric and Shell Oil. Some 50 other firms and alumni contributed parts and other support.