Courtesy: Panther Racing
Deep in the sub-basement of Benedum Hall, Panther Racing is revving up for the 2025 Formula Student season. With the task of building a real race car, Panther Racing offers an opportunity few other sports teams on campus can offer: a chance to learn about the operations of a motorsport team.
“What we do, simply put, is design, build, and race a Formula-style race car for a collegiate competition series,” Logan Huwe, Panther Racing’s Integration Advisor, said.
Panther Racing is a special environment for engineers because not only do they get to apply their skills practically, but the team is structured like a professional race team.
“We view are team as a professional motorsport team, which is a high level of sports,” Oscar Gerber, the team’s Technical Director, said. “We subsect into technical and business teams, and the main goal is to get everyone working to their maximum potential.”
Panther Racing mainly competes in the Michigan Formula SAE competition, a four-day event that tests various aspects of the car such as one-lap pace, acceleration, and endurance pace, but also judges the team for its business operations and design.
The team rolled out its 2025 challenger PR-037 in March and is currently testing the car’s limits. Panther Racing will participate in the SAE competition from May 14th to May 17th.