2018 Promotional video
It all started when...
The Formula Racing program at Grand Valley began during the 2014-2015 school year. With the support of the university and several local companies, the team organized with the goal of building a working car that was capable of successfully competing at the international level. Our first race was at Michigan International Speedway in spring 2015. Being a new team, Laker Racing faced competition with far larger budgets, more extensive legacy knowledge, and facilities beyond our resources. In spite of this, we received positive feedback from the judges and other competitors, who applauded us not only on our car, but also on our organization as well.
During our 2018-2019 season we had a goal to continue to make our team into one of the best. We were able to bring in an exponential amount of members that made it so that our roster was looking incredibly well rounded. We didn’t finish as high as we would have liked, but it was a great learning experience for the team as a whole. In recent years the team decided to change from a one year to a two year design cycle in order to allow for more improvements to our designs. Unfortunately, our 2019-2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic as it brought everything to a halt, but we were ready to come back strong and ready to put in the work once everything was deemed safe.
Working alongside other experienced teams at MIS allowed us to grow and gain valuable knowledge, which we put to use during our second season. Building on the success of the prior year, the 2015-2016 season was focused on improving our car and team using the lessons from the first year. Just like in real-world industry, some adaptations were technical, but many others were logistical. We were able to make significant enhancements to the car and grew as a team to include more members from a wider variety of disciplines across the university. Participating in the Formula SAE competition in Lincoln, NE in June 2016, we greatly improved compared to the previous year, placing in the middle of the field.
During the 2020-2022 season, we had built our first car utilizing our two year design cycle and we definitely saw what that extra year could do for us. We placed mid-field once again in competition, but we gained valuable information on how to improve our car. In our most current season (2022-2024), we are determined to bring the best car we possibly can to competition and show the world what we can do.