Driver Jason Smart '09 is congratulated by the Cornell Racing team as he finished the second half of the 20-lap endurance race in the Formula SAE World Championships, held May 14-18 at Michigan International Speedway outside Detroit. The competition challenges student teams to design, build and drive a race car in a series of events that test the speed, endurance and maneuverability of the car and the skill of the drivers. The Cornell team of 45 undergraduate and nine graduate students has been at work on the project since early fall.

Cornell has won nine times out of the 22 years it has entered the competition, but placed seventh overall this year. The team is more than happy with the results, said Jonathan Green '08, business team leader. "Being in the top 10 out of 120 entries is actually very successful," he said.

"Our car is certainly as fast as the competition," said David Porter '08, overall team leader. "We lost points on design and marketing and made some small errors in dynamic events." Many of the top 10 finishers were European teams who had more time to prepare, he noted, suggesting that future Cornell teams might start over the summer rather than in the fall.