Photography by Paris Van Gorder
What is the number one question FSAE teams get asked by students looking to join? “How can I drive the car?”
For ERAU Motorsports it is not a one and done thing. Instead, the team puts together a process known as Driver Selection. This system is comprised of two main parts as well as a look back into the candidates’ time with the team.
Students of every major and year looking to claim the title of driver must first show their basic knowledge and speed in a form of racing where a lot of pro drivers get their start.
That’s right, go-karts.
At the Orlando Kart Center, candidates take the course by storm, all aiming to sit in one of the five driver spots.
From there the top 10 fastest students are selected and offered a chance to move on to the next round of Driver Selection: driving the previous year’s car in mock competition trim.
In collaboration with Volusia Sheriff’s Office, ERAU Motorsports uses the officer training track to set up full-size autocross and skid-pad courses.
From there, students are given full gear–safety first–and then a rundown of the car’s mechanics, before being set free. Each driver candidate completes a total of five out laps/warm-up laps, two autocross runs–with a cool-down lap between each– and then two runs on the skid-pad course.
During each run, the team collected not just timing but also live telemetry. This gives them a closer look into overall handling and just how well each driver was adjusting to issues such a mis-shifts.
One week later, the results are in. This year’s ERAU Motorsports drivers are:
Liam Mahon
Major: Aeronautical Science
Year: Senior
Previous Experience: This will be Liam’s third year as driver for ERAU Motorsports. Liam grew up karting and currently holds the title of K1 Speed U.S. National Champion as well as K1 Speed World Champion.
Competition Event: Autocross and Endurance
Ryan Ray
Major: Mechanical Engineering for High Performance Vehicles
Year: Senior
Previous Experience: This will be Ryan’s third year as driver for ERAU Motorsports. Ryan occasionally did rental carts growing up but has grown exponentially as a driver over the past 2 years.
Competition Event: Skid Pad and Endurance
Theodore Bernold
Major: Aerospace Engineering
Year: Junior
Previous Experience: This will be Theodore’s second year as driver for ERAU Motorsports. Theodore secured the team third place during the acceleration portion of the FSAE competition last year.
Competition Event: Acceleration
Jacob Jander
Major: Mechanical Engineering for High Performance Vehicles
Year: Freshman
Previous Experience: This will be Jacob’s first year as driver for ERAU Motorsports. Jacob has competed in SCCA autocross over the course of the last year and has transferred large amounts of his knowledge toward driving for the team.
Competition Event: Autocross and Skid Pad
Nathan Pennington
Major: Mechanical Engineering for High Performance Vehicles
Year: Sophomore
Previous Experience: This will be Nathan’s first year as driver for ERAU Motorsports. Nathan comes into the role with some karting experience and is eager to learn more from the rest of his fellow drivers.
Competition Event: Reserve Driver
This year's driver lineup is very promising, and I'm excited to see what they all learn from each other. Watching them push the car to its limits during selection was awesome, and I'm sure the team gathered some great data to transfer over to the ER09.
What about AJ Matheson? He was pretty quick in my 250cc shifter.
I can't help but mention that having incoming drivers practice on older cars is a lot like what Formula 1 teams will do since testing time with the upcoming/current season's car is strictly limited.
Nonetheless, it's very cool to have a look inside the process.
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